-- Alkuperäinen viesti ---
Aihe: Vipukirves Christmas Present
Päiväys: 31.12.2008 14:17
Lähettäjä: Gary X [garyx@me.com]
Kopio: Gary X [garyx@me.com]

Dear Sir:

I saw videos showing your axe in operation on the Internet.  I was so 
impressed by the videos that I hinted to my family to get me one for 
Christmas.  My daughter, Kelly X, of St. Joseph, Illinois, USA,  
did purchase the axe for me.

I was THRILLED to open the box on Christmas morning.  The quality, 
appearance, and construction of the tool was just what I had hoped it 
would be.  I was also impressed that my daughter would have gone to 
the expense to have purchased the item and paid for the shipping to 
get it here.  Obviously, it is something of an extravagance, but I do 
enjoy dealing with firewood.  At my age (63) I guess the axe could be 
thought of as an investment as a piece of "exercise equipment" as I do 
think there is a health benefit from doing all the tasks related to 
getting wood cut, moved, split, burned, and so on.

I was a little worried as to whether the axe would perform in a way 
that would justify the cost.  I had read a semi-scientific evaluation 
of the axe  at this internet location:
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=46925&page=8
    The article is not entirely favorable to the Vipukirves and says 
that the axe would have problems with the hard varieties of wood we 
have in this part of the world.  I was particularly concerned as I 
split a great deal of Red Oak.  I read this article AFTER I had hinted 
to my family that I would like this axe for a gift.

So, when I went out to split about 15 rounds of recently cut red oak, 
averaging around 25 to 30 inches in diameter and about 16 inches in 
length (basically trunk wood) I wondered how the axe would work.  I 
hoped that I would not have added an extremely expensive, but little 
used tool to my garage.

The axe performed beyond my expectations!!  I could not have been more 
wrong in doubting whether this tool would work for me.  With my family 
watching through the dining room window,  I blasted through a sizeable 
stack of red oak in short order!!  They were impressed with the amount 
of power the old guy (me) could generate and were genuinely impressed 
with the tangled knot wood i was splitting.


As I had watched a lot of video of the axe in action, I felt I knew a 
little about the technique to be used.  It did not take long for me to 
feel as though I was using the axe in the intended manner.  I produced 
decent sized spits (for my woodstove) and did so very quickly.  I used 
a chopping block with a tire as you show in your videos.  I would say 
I can swing an axe with considerable force (I can hit a golf ball over 
300 yards)  so I may not be a typical user.  However, I did split 
through knots in the red oak.   I was extremely impressed with the 
amount of splitting force being brought to bear on the knots I was 
going through.  Again, I was quite impressed and produced much better 
results than I thought I would get after having read the Arborsite 
article.

As with any man powered device used in attacking a tough round of oak, 
judgement must be used.  There are techniques learned over the years 
in splitting wood and  those must be applied with the Vipukirves, too, 
or you will waste a lot of energy.  Techniques and knowledge of how 
splitting wood works (at least with a non hydraulic man powered 
device) are essential.

But, if you do know a thing or two about splitting wood, this 
Vipukirves is a fabulous tool.  No matter what the cost, if you like 
making firewood, and you consider it a fun and challenging activity, 
this is the best item you can buy.


 
 I BELIEVE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL PRODUCT AND I LOOK 
FORWARD TO USING IT FOR YEARS TO COME.

Sincerely,

Gary X

(axe was purchased by my daughter, Kelly X)