Dead-blow hammers are well-known in the construction industry for minimizing rebound. [Jacob Fischer] is on a mission to bring this concept to splitting axes.
Over the course of several months, [Fischer] has been working on adding a dead-blow to a splitting axe. This fifth iteration uses a custom-forged head from blacksmith [Todd Elder] with a dead-blow box welded to the poll. The combination of the head geometry and the dead-blow distributing the delivery of force seems to result in a very effective splitting axe.
The dead-blow portion of the axe is a steel box filled with lead (Pb) BBs. Since the BBs are trailing the axe head within the box, the force from the BBs is delivered later than the initial impact of the steel axe head onto the block of wood, allowing the full force of the blow to be spread out over more time. Dead-blow hammers typically use polymers to further absorb any rebound energy, so there is some limit to the extent rebound can be reduced as seen in the testing portion of the video.
Looking for other ways to split wood? How about this cross-bladed axe or maybe a log splitter or two? If you’re curious about how they used to make axes in the old days, we’ve got you covered there too.
I couldn’t get 30 seconds into the video before plonking it, but my question was: What the heck kind of wood is he splitting that he needs to reduce rebound? Or is this thing just for the clicks?
Yea I’m no woodsman but I chop wood at least a few times a year and I’ve never had an issue with rebound. If anything, I have the opposite problem, burying the maul in the wood and being unable to extract it.
Exactly my first thought. The nice thing about a hammer is that it doesn’t tend to get stuck in the material.
It looks like frozen green Oak. If you just want to see the comparison, go to 8:30 for without and 20:34 for the deadblow version.
Thanks for the timestamps. Even there the rebound looks like a total non-issue :)
There was a time when the lack of modesty of an author was made evident through their name on a book being in a larger font than the book title itself. The modern equivalent being Youtubers having their face right in the frame rather then the topic of interest itself. This isn’t unique. No I didn’t watch the video.
Why, if you’re doing so much to save time, bother commenting either?
So we don’t feel alone in this Echo chamber a Day, willing to be free of this click bait video with shallow content! (same here, did not watch this macaque face catching bait but did comment here)
Nothing says click bait like *checks notes* spending a ton of time to actually make something and then sharing it with the world on your channel that mostly gets a few thousand views. Wait, that doesn’t seem right… Thanks for taking some time out of your busy day to hate on this random dude and let us all know you didn’t watch his video!
I can’t stand the guys who make a weird face in those pictures. Makes me not want to watch the videos.
Blame gootube and it’s evil algorithms, not the creators. If you don’t put your face in the thumbnail with a surprisedpikachu expression, youtube won’t suggest it to anybody, including your own subscribers.
It’s their choice to feed and grovel to their AI overlords.
Wait, these things sorta exists no? I used them before, like an axe with special area on the back to be hit with a hammer, forgot the name
Called a maule. However trying to split a brick causes them to bounce a bit.
Whats up with him cycling through various hilarious accents? Love it :p
“There’s no bounce!”…. as the axe bounces…
That was hard to watch.
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem. Split many cords of wood with many different techniques. Rebound was never an issue. Part of me wonder if this fool might have solved his rebound problem by splitting on a different surface – like NOT a squishy old stump. When it comes to busting up a log, mass is king. The heavier the maul, the better the split. All the dumb gadgets like the 4 way splitters and “Wood Grenades” we’re just gimmicks. Just like the dead blow maul, except perhaps in demolition.