The X27 Splitting Axe from Fiskars Oyj Abp - extra-long handle for heavy rounds

Reviewed: ad hoc news B2B & Pro desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-27, 17:47. Details in the imprint.

The X27 Splitting Axe from Fiskars lands in your hands with a surprising lightness, yet the first swing into a knotted birch round sends a clean crack through the wood and a dull thump into your palms.

Handle length made for distance

At around 96 cm overall length, the X27 is built for tall users and for splitting big, stubborn rounds without crouching. The long fiberglass-reinforced shaft keeps your hands further from the log, which feels safer when you miss slightly.

The orange grip section at the end has a slightly tacky texture, so even with damp work gloves you feel a clear stop before your hands slide off. On a cold morning it stays relatively neutral in temperature, unlike bare steel that bites into your skin.

Head design and splitting feel

The X27 uses a wedge-shaped, convex blade profile that starts fairly thin at the edge and thickens quickly, forcing fibers apart instead of cutting deep. A low-friction coating on the head helps it slide through green or slightly resinous wood rather than binding halfway.

When you swing into a straight-grained spruce round, you hear a sharp crack and often see the log pop apart in one hit. On twisted hardwood, the head sometimes stops short, but it usually releases easily with a vertical wiggle thanks to that smooth coating.

Weight, balance and fatigue

With a head weight in the roughly 2.5 kg class including the handle, the X27 feels lighter than many classic full-steel mauls. The balance point sits slightly ahead of the midpoint, so the axe naturally wants to drop into the swing arc without constant correction.

After an hour of splitting, the fiberglass handle transmits fewer harsh shocks than an all-steel tool. Your forearms still feel worked, but not rattled, which frequent users like Finnish product lead Jari Nurminen say was a key design target for the X-series axes.

Safety touches and durability

The handle and head are permanently molded together, so there is no loose wedge to check, and there is no sense of play even after repeated hard strikes. The synthetic shaft does not mind standing in a damp shed in the way that a bare ash handle would.

The bright orange end cap is highly visible in leaf litter or snow, which sounds trivial until you put the axe down and later pick your way through firewood and branches to find it before dusk closes in.

Where the X27 fits in

Within Fiskars splitting line-up, the X27 sits at the top in length for large rounds, while shorter models like the X25 suit medium logs and the compact X17 targets smaller stoves. That makes the X27 particularly interesting for rural households with larger log piles.

For many users, the trade-off is that the long handle feels unwieldy in tight wood sheds or when you are splitting on a cramped balcony block. If you mostly quarter 20 cm rounds, the X27 can feel like overkill compared with a mid-length axe.

Price point and availability

In European retail, the X27 typically sells in the mid-double-digit euro range, depending on promotions and bundle offers with chopping blocks or saws. It is widely available through DIY chains, garden centers and online retailers rather than being a niche pro-only tool.

For German consumers, the X27 is a familiar sight on the axe wall in many Bauhaus-style hardware stores and online shops, slotted alongside classic wooden-handle brands and heavier steel mauls aimed at occasional winter firewood work.

Stock reference and company context

Fiskars Oyj Abp, known for its orange-handled scissors and outdoor tools, remains a diversified consumer-goods group with brands ranging from gardening to tableware. The Fiskars Oyj Abp share price is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki under the ticker FSKRS and ISIN FI0009000400.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.