THE TIME-HONORED ART OF SPLITTING WOOD

(Page 4 of 4)

November/December 1980
By Larry Diamond 
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Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to use that chunk as an overnighter log in your own or a neighbor's fireplace. Perhaps the piece will be more "mauleable" if you try splitting it in the dead of winter (it's amazing how often hunks of tough wood will open quite easily when all the moisture inside is frozen! ). You may even find some creative use for the crooked tree section around the homestead. Just don't take its stubbornness as a personal challenge and wear out everything but your own wrath trying to break the billet down.

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THREE RULES

Let me sum up this article by providing three overall guidelines to help anyone master the craft of splitting wood by hand:

  1. Work safely. Don't ever try to chop pieces that are lying between your legs, or free stuck tools by lifting the entire round — by the tool handle — over your head. Don't ever cut kindling by holding the axe with one hand and the wood with the other (people lose thumbs that way!). Every year folks foolishly and seriously injure themselves working up firewood, so don't take ANY short cut that might end up giving you a long cut!

  2. Seek the easy way. Try to decipher the approach that will "unlock" each piece as simply as possible. (And don't forget the corollary of that rule: Never get hung up trying to open an overly obstreperous log.)

  3. Don't overdo it. When you get tired, stop. You'll be leaving yourself some exercise to enjoy another day. And if the labors of lifting and splitting and stacking begin to bother your back, start doing sit-ups to tone your stomach muscles. A fine volume that explains the usefulness of this and other back-helping techniques is Lawrence W. Friedman and Lawrence Galton's Freedom From Backaches; Pocket Books, 1976.

There's hardly a feeling in the world more satisfying than swinging a maul over your head on a clear, crisp day and watching it smoothly and cleanly cleave a round of firewood right in two. So head on out to that woodlot — and happy splitting!

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Comments

  • mink 12/12/2007 11:18:00 PM

    look for checks in the round good place for that first axes strike,
    easy way to split a knot, turn log so knot is farthest away from
    strike.if your axe gets stuck good into the round ,if the round is
    not to heavy for you,don't waste your time trying to pull the axe
    loose,swing the peace full circle over your head coming down on the
    axe head wood on top .the weight of the wood being greater will
    most always split free.CAUTION do not try this if your not firmly
    stuck in the wood or your not strong enough to swing the wood
    around.this doesen't work with a double bladed axe.have more tricks
    of the trade ,ask me

  • mink 12/12/2007 11:17:53 PM

    look for checks in the round good place for that first axes strike,
    easy way to split a knot, turn log so knot is farthest away from
    strike.if your axe gets stuck good into the round ,if the round is
    not to heavy for you,don't waste your time trying to pull the axe
    loose,swing the peace full circle over your head coming down on the
    axe head wood on top .the weight of the wood being greater will
    most always split free.CAUTION do not try this if your not firmly
    stuck in the wood or your not strong enough to swing the wood
    around.this doesen't work with a double bladed axe.have more tricks
    of the trade ,ask me

  • mink 12/12/2007 11:12:50 PM

    look for checks in the round good place for that first axes strike,
    easy way to split a knot, turn log so knot is farthest away from
    strike.if your axe gets stuck good into the round ,if the round is
    not to heavy for you,don't waste your time trying to pull the axe
    loose,swing the peace full circle over your head coming down on the
    axe head wood on top .the weight of the wood being greater will
    most always split free.CAUTION do not try this if your not firmly
    stuck in the wood or your not strong enough to swing the wood
    around.this doesen't work with a double bladed axe.have more tricks
    of the trade ,ask me

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