The Easy-to-Use Swedish Kindling Splitter You Need // Spantan vs Garberg
Stikkan Spantan
The Spantan kindling splitter from Stikkan is made in Sweden, where, apparently, they really know their wood fires.
The Spantan is a double-handled knife for kindling, but with a whomp! We put it up against a basic Kobalt hatchet from Lowe’s and a Morakniv Garberg Fixed Blade Knife for comparison.
Heavy Duty Cast Iron
Bill ordered the Spantan kindling splitter from Huckberry, a favorite retailer of ours that specializes in the outdoor life and good living.
The Spantan is designed both for stability but also force. An anodized zinc finish protects it from corrosion.
We found it was easy to use with one hand holding the Spantan and the other holding the piece of kindling to get it started. Then, with both hands, a few taps ran the splitter through the wood.
Blessed with a pile of heart pine full of sap; we made short work of splintering a decent piece into a dozen chopstick-sized bits.
Kobalt Comparisons
As always, we had to pull out a few other hand tools and compare efficiency.
Using a Kobalt hatchet, we found that the thicker “V” of that blade did work well on splitting larger pieces, but was not as effective as the Spantan for making those pencil-sized sticks we desire.
The Garberg Tries a Bite
Just in case we were a bit too excited about the experience of using the Spantan, Bill brought out another kindling-splitting possibility. Next he tested his carbon steel 3.2 mm thick Morakniv Garberg on the pine to settle the debate.
His Garberg even features an unpolished spine specifically designed to be used with a fire starter.
It’s poly handle is full tang and fixed, so there are no worries about it folding or slipping in your hand.
The Garberg did a great job of making the finer, brush bristle-sized shavings that curl and catch fire quickly.
Final Evaluation
The Spantan did well for both medium- and small-sized kindling. It’s like having the best of a hatchet and a knife in one device.
It feels a lot easier to control than a hatchet, and seems less likely to cut yourself as is possible with a knife.
The directions arrived in both Swedish and English. Bill threatened to use his Rosetta Stone subscription to learn how to translate them!
To watch us giving it a run; here’s a link to my video SPANTAN VS HATCHET VS GARBERG KNIFE FOR SPLITTING HEART PINE KINDLING so you can see it in action for yourself!
