The Time-Honored Art of Splitting Wood

By Larry Diamond
Published on November 1, 1980
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 A sledge and wedges are good for to handle big rounds.
 A sledge and wedges are good for to handle big rounds.
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A splitting maul, the standard tool for splitting wood.
A splitting maul, the standard tool for splitting wood.
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If a wedge is stuck in the top of a log, try driving one in from the side.
If a wedge is stuck in the top of a log, try driving one in from the side.
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Splitting on the checks (cracks) is the best way to start opening up a log.
Splitting on the checks (cracks) is the best way to start opening up a log.

Chopping stovewood to size by hand may, at first glance, appear to be a ponderous, imprecise activity that requires little more than pure brute force. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. There is, instead, a distinct art to splitting wood. The skilled woodsman or -woman who works with — rather than against — the rounds he or she is handling can split up a lot more fuel in a given time than can some muscle-bound ox who tries to club the wood pile to smithereens. In fact, a great many experienced splitters (both chore-laden homesteaders and briefcase-laden urbanites) have honed their skills to such a point that they look upon billet-busting as one of life’s more enjoyable tasks.

And even if you’ve never split a stick, you can become an accomplished woodcracker yourself. To do so, you’ll need a few commonly available tools, the how-to basics I’ll share in this article, some rounds of ripe-for-the-opening wood — and practice.

The Tools

The instruments most often used for working up wood by hand are the single-blade splitting axe, a pair of three- to five-pound steel wedges, a middle-sized sledgehammer, and an eight-pound splitting maul. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Several manufacturers have devised variations on the standard hand tools — we’ve sized up a number of woodcracking aids inThe Great Wood-Splitting Contest II

However, it isn’t necessary to have all of these tools to begin work. I recommend starting out with a pair of wedges and that workhorse of the log-busting trade, the splitting maul (or “go-devil”). The blade of the latter implement can crack open many a billet, while the tool’s back end can be used for driving wedges. (By the way, never use the butt of an axe for pounding — its thin head may crack!)

The Technique

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