This is in addition to my last "initial" thingy....
Me: 5'5", 165, mid-60's, Mountains of Central Az. 5500-8000' elev. This is a hardscrabble place. Trees are huge, it's dry, there's about 4 of us that swing steel here.
OK- took my lil banger, "MONGO" and "CHOP-ZILLA" to the pine pit. Yeh, pine, big whoop you say? It aint wat you think- this is massive OG Ponderosa, and who knows what else. It is truly the nastiest, snottyest, most-softball sized knot filled wood I have ever seen. Rounds average 26", 36" is common, the big stuff is just below out of view. This stuff will suck your will to live. No golf swings here. Maybe 1 out of 15 rounds is a clean 8 piece pie. This stuff is just crippling. Some of the veins are as thick as your arm. It's suck it up and split old school. Don't forget yer (plastic, no steel, fire danger) wedges and banger.
OK: how'd our little "do all" splitting axe "MONGO" do in the burlyest stuff around (check the vein in the 2nd pic, it's just huge): I redid the edge and opened it up- not a lot, just a tad. Waxed it good. That helped a ton. I used it primarily for my 2.5 hours session (yes it took 2.5 to make this stack, again- this wood is super-gnar) and split little less tha half the stack in the 3rd pic. First few rounds, "CHOP-ZILLA" would start a crack, then I'd finish with "MONGO" if it wasnt too gnarly, or, switch bacn n forth. More than a few times, the CT 5-pounder did it all on it's on on some large 20" + stuff cutting the pie well, even zinged through a couple nots. It got way stuck a couple times, but plastic wedged it out easy. In big clean stuff? It actually works. 7-8 swats. Just get one crack going, it's yours- again in the clean stuff. I was actually having fun with it. Glad I got the long handle. Helps when yer sucking wind. I banged the handle HARD a few times on un-even splits- this axe needs a guard, it's gona need a new handle soon. But that's life in the tough lane. The mashed up (factory) eye reveal wood stopped chipping out- the head never moved. Even after the dummy moves I did to it. I thought for sure that long thin handle was gona snap- nope. Still tight. I need to be more careful with the handle. And that's why ya always bring two axes on the first day. Had to use the maul a bunch as some stuff was just way too gnarly, and even then I was there for a while, some chunks are just knot balls connected with twisted gooey epoxy yarn, they just wont split. It's a good workout.
So- overall working impression: after a quick tune up, "MONGO" earned it's keep. I even polled the maul with it when a wedge got stuck, no sparks, nothing broke. Put on a chunkier handle and a guard and go. I've changed my mind about doing the fake "wood bullet" thing with it. It actually found a place in my line-up, cuz like I said before, more axes the better, variety rocks, and I sure didnt have one like this. It's my first store bought in decades. And I got a sliver (I don't wear gloves, do wear glasses), didn't know it, ended up blooding the new axe- hahaha. So I guess I gotta keep it now.
Tomorrow: giving it a try in my oak pit- "Y" crotch-splits? Those will make you just walk away sometimes That wood is freaking gnarly too, but it's drier and a bit smaller.
Take care kids!