Leveraxe Designer has an Ax to Grind with Tradition
A while back we shared a video on our social media channels of a Finnish man by the name of Heikki chopping wood with the craziest-looking ax we’d ever seen. What was even crazier was how effective it was. Thus we were introduced to the Vipukirves Leveraxe – a revolutionary design that makes wood chopping more efficient, even for those with the biceps of a bodybuilder. It started as a successful Kickstarter campaign and now sells online.
Rather than centering the handle on a symmetrical ax head, the Leveraxe abandons all previous designs. The off-center handle attaches to a decidedly, well, not-so-attractive head. Some might say it’s a look that only a mother (or designer) could love, but this is such a game-changer that users are going to think it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve seen in hand tools.
Leveraxe Design and Functionality
Looking at it from the front, the business end is a fairly typical splitting edge. the right side then juts out before coming back in on a slight curve back to the handle. The left side takes off in an increasingly steeper curve essentially creating a counterweight. The combination strikes the log and then allows physics to take over. The counterbalanced head redirects the force from downward to the side. The result is that the wood is penetrated, then pushed apart.
As you watch the video, you can see how quickly the Leveraxe’s head turns to the side once it strikes the wood, creating the splitting action. The question I’m left with isn’t whether or not the tool is effective, but rather how the rotation affects your hands and arms. Regardless, the log splitting seems so effortless compared to a traditional ax that it may not matter.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure exactly how tied to owning the design Mr. Heikki is, but this could end up being a very lucrative deal if the right brand decides they’d like to see their name on it.
