Splitting Logs - Bad Wrists - Fiskars X25

[Sutton]

6 minutes ago, MattyF said:

I blame skateboarding and tree work for being an arthritic cripple at 45! Even using a basic hammer or paintbrush flairs up issues in my wrists … gone are the days where I would of thought nothing of splitting 50 tonne of rings a year for firewood thinking logs splitters are for pussies. 

We've got 2 hydraulic splitters but that means hustling to the diesel. Its nice just doing a bit by hand. but unlike yous, I don't climb except into the cab 😂 so steady rhythms after a days work can be ok.

[Witterings]

Cheers for everyone's input .... replying to a couple of the comments / suggestions I do split at knee height and use a tyre, sometimes the rounds when I start are too big to fit in the tyre so will split them before putting them in.

I do have an X27 as well, I'll give that a try and see if it makes a difference but before I do will try the old axe again for a while.

 

Has anybody suggestions for a not too expensive splitter, I'm thinking I'd probably prefer electric simply because of the noise, ideally something that'll do decent size rounds although only 9" deep.

[sandspider]

I knackered my right wrist a couple of years ago, still not healing. I used to use an X27, but the occasional go with it after wrist injury made it flair up again. (Mind you, so do most things - including hammering, so don't think it's the fibreglass shaft). I got a smaller X10 which I use left handed (feels odd but works OK), or sometimes borrow a Forest Master 7 ton duocut electric splitter. The latter is good and powerful - slower than the X27 and tyre when splitting straight ash, but it will munch through things I couldn't split with the axe even when my wrist was normal. And it's generally easier on the body, especially the wrist.

Edited December 6, 2022 by sandspider

[Witterings]

1 hour ago, sandspider said:

I knackered my right wrist a couple of years ago, still not healing. I used to use an X27, but the occasional go with it after wrist injury made it flair up again. (Mind you, so do most things - including hammering, so don't think it's the fibreglass shaft). I got a smaller X10 which I use left handed (feels odd but works OK), or sometimes borrow a Forest Master 7 ton duocut electric splitter. The latter is good and powerful - slower than the X27 and tyre when splitting straight ash, but it will munch through things I couldn't split with the axe even when my wrist was normal. And it's generally easier on the body, especially the wrist.

 

Cheers for that, I was looking at the 7 ton and 8 ton version lasty night ... they also do a Kinetic which is super quick.

The kinetic's out of stock at the moment and not due back in until feb / march next year, they stopped production to make some modifications to the design after they found a couple of small issues they felt needed improving.

I've got enough split wood for this year and 1/2 of next, I may limp on with the manual splitting until I've got the whole of next done and seasoning and grab a kinetic one then.

 

[rapalaman]

55 minutes ago, Witterings said:

 

Cheers for that, I was looking at the 7 ton and 8 ton version lasty night ... they also do a Kinetic which is super quick.

The kinetic's out of stock at the moment and not due back in until feb / march next year, they stopped production to make some modifications to the design after they found a couple of small issues they felt needed improving.

I've got enough split wood for this year and 1/2 of next, I may limp on with the manual splitting until I've got the whole of next done and seasoning and grab a kinetic one then.

 

The kinetic one will hurt your wrists/hands. Very uncomfortable to use - I had the portek version and sold it on after a few months. See if you can try one on different wood types before you commit to buy

[Witterings]

1 hour ago, rapalaman said:

The kinetic one will hurt your wrists/hands. Very uncomfortable to use - I had the portek version and sold it on after a few months. See if you can try one on different wood types before you commit to buy

 

Cheers for that, it's exactly what I'm trying to avoid 👍

[Vedhoggar]

22 hours ago, Witterings said:

I haven't split logs for a while as I had bad wrists that took ages (months) to get fully better and did about 1/2 hr last night and my wrists are absolutely killing me today.

 

I've recently been using a Fiskars X25, before I bought this just used to use a standard wooden handle axe and can't remember having a problem but I'm also getting older.

 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this since using a Fiskars, I'm wondering if maybe the type of handle gives off some sort of vibration.

 

I'm not here looking to bash a product but simply asking of anyone's experienced similar and whether it could be the cause, it may just be I'm getting more prone to arthritis although if it was that I don't think it would have completely got better.

It sounds like carpel tunnel syndrome and using an axe as well as some other activities will only make things worse, a machine is definitely the way forward as suggested (purchase or hire in one for time being) but you may need to rest wrist for a couple of weeks until it gets better (the nerve in wrist will have swollen putting pressure on it), a support can help until gets better but if it gets worse a steroid injection can help but still need to rest wrist.  I had it bad in my late 20s which was probably a combination of various arb/forestry activities to a point I couldn't climb trees/couldn't sleep for pain and again in late my 30s tree planting on chalk it flared up however I haven't had a problem for years now ... using an axe a lot can also cause a problem with rotator cuff in shoulder.

[Witterings]

On 06/12/2022 at 11:16, rapalaman said:

The kinetic one will hurt your wrists/hands. Very uncomfortable to use - I had the portek version and sold it on after a few months. See if you can try one on different wood types before you commit to buy

 

I was having a look at the Kinetics again and watched a video of the one you had, whar about it aggravated your wrists do you think, certainly that model they seem to "slam" the levers back / forward reasonable hard do you think it was that?

There are others that don't seem to requite the "slamming" action which I would have thought would be easier on teh wrists if so?

[rapalaman]

Just the whole shock through the handles was very uncomfortable- ok the first few times but after a while it started to really hurt my hands/wrists. I have no problem using the x25/x27

[Billhook]

On 05/12/2022 at 13:16, Witterings said:

I haven't split logs for a while as I had bad wrists that took ages (months) to get fully better and did about 1/2 hr last night and my wrists are absolutely killing me today.

 

I've recently been using a Fiskars X25, before I bought this just used to use a standard wooden handle axe and can't remember having a problem but I'm also getting older.

 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this since using a Fiskars, I'm wondering if maybe the type of handle gives off some sort of vibration.

 

I'm not here looking to bash a product but simply asking of anyone's experienced similar and whether it could be the cause, it may just be I'm getting more prone to arthritis although if it was that I don't think it would have completely got better.

After decades of playing league hockey, tennis, squash, workshop hammering, axe work, hoeing sugar beet, shovelling corn, potatoes, my wrists said enough!  I built the splitter out of scrap during lockdown.  My X27, which I rate highly, has been put on one side and instead I operate a remote control which is bliss.

My wrists have gradually been improving with the rest.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Billhook