Chopping wood is one of those things that people love or they hate. There’s a reason why professional lumberjacks are nearly as ripped as professional bodybuilders…throwing a heavy object over and over again is one heck-of-a-workout. Regardless if you’re a professional lumberjack or a ‘casual woodsplitter’, the Vipukirves (Finnish for LeverAxe) is without a doubt something that makes everybody’s job easier and more fun.
Conceived of by Finnish inventor Heikki Kärnä, the axe not only makes the task of splitting wood easier but also safer. The name LeverAxe essentially implies exactly what makes the axe different than any other centuries-old axe design: it uses a lever instead of a wedge alongside a sharpened blade to shift the center of gravity away from the middle. When the axe is struck upon the wood, the sharp edge is driven into the wood while the rest of the body is driven away and to the side by force…essentially becoming an automatic lever with pre-existing energy from the strike:
“VIPUKIRVES™ is an efficient tool for chopping firewood, possessing many advantages, such as speed and work safety, over traditional axes and small hydraulic log splitters. VIPUKIRVES™ separates sections from the log using a unique lever action that allows logs with branches to be split into firewood in seconds. The splitting force of VIPUKIRVES™ is considerably stronger than with a traditional axe.”
Depending on how often you split wood, the time saved just might warrant the seemingly expensive price €193.12 in EU countries and $280 in the US (including shipping).
You can order one over at Vipukirves.
(Images via Vipukirves)
