Nicely filmed and sagely expressed. My current problem (in the forest, just splitting firewood for overnights) is that some of the deadfall deciduous trees--even small, under 6 inches diameter--are effectively petrified, and just will not split. I probably need to find a way of determining this before I haul a 25-foot section back to my spot, only to find that it is difficult to buck, and impossible to split. At any rate, thank you for sharing your wisdom. Be safe, and enjoy the woods.
Andy thanks for the vid and demonstrating these techniques. As long as we are talking safe techniques, I will mention the Official Boy Scout policy/method, which will not be popular, fast or manly but is safe and useful even if swinging an axe. (And yes, to put it bluntly we where “officially” not allowed to swing axes for splitting due to the risk of injury and liability.) So the method was to place the axe edge on the wood which is on a stable surface and use a wooden maul (baton) to baton the axe head through the piece. Though this seems like overkill , I have found some practical uses for this technique. If I am struggling to get my axe head out, I might as well drive it through. If I am not lugging around a wedge and sledgehammer it make an good substitute for difficult pieces. It can multiply the force of a light axe or hatchet for splitting. Lastly , though I can’t quote the source, I remember it being stated as a technique to be used in a survival situation since it reduces the chance of injury. Apologize for the length of this and as always your mileage may vary.
One thing you may consider adding is to bring the pole of the axe into the stump with the wood stuck on top of it if you get the axe caught in wood. Paul kirtley demonstrates it in his axe demos. I hope your knee if fully healed my hatchet has got me as well before.
There was a time I used a felling axe to split small amounts, but after buying my Gransfors Bruk 3.5 lb large splitting axe, I never looked back. It's pretty awesome. It can split and chop. I'm in the Canadian Rockies so I split a lot of wood for the winter. If I'm at home, I use a 9.5 hp Rapid Fire log splitter. If I'm in the bush at base camp, I'll use the Fiskars 8 lb splitting maul with wedges and a sledge or the 36" splitting axe. But if I'm mobile, it's the Gransfors Bruk large splitting axe. I might buy a GB 5.5 lb splitting maul just to have something in between. I say all this to confirm, splitting axe or splitting maul to split. But the shape of the head on the Gransfors Bruk is what you want. I tried several others and they just don't work the same. Cheers
I love gransfors. I have the maul to split the rounds and the large splitting axe to finish up. It is insane how efficient this combo works for me! It saves a ton of energy and I just wouldn't ever want to split with out this combo!
Great vid. As a “Safety Guy” (from the chemical manufacturing industry, but safety consciousness is safety awareness in my experience. Grateful viewer.
Nice if you study the wood first saves a lot of time. i use a lot of axes but I love to use my double bits with the flick method. As I go I put the tuff ones in a pile and get my wedges and hammer out.
I had a bit of a mishap with a hatchet once. It got stuck while splitting kindling and I held the log with my left and pushed the head axe to the right with my other hand in order to force a split... well, the hatchet slipped out of the log and just lightly touched the basal joint of my thumb. Blood was forthcoming quite readily. Upon closer inspection I mustered the month of medical training I got in the German army to patch it up nicely with superglue. Could've been a lot worse.
@@innerbarkoutdoors Yeah, glad it was just a little nick. Hospitals are not a place I enjoy spending time in. Not to mention losing use of a very handy digit, even for a few days/weeks - no fun at all. Hopefully, sharing stories of such mishaps makes them stick in the back of one's head, causing the subconscious mind to give you pause when attempting something along those lines.
I got a gransfors brüks axe for Christmas and today I was chopping up some wood just testing it out and the axe bounced off the peice of wood I was splitting went through my leather boot and right down to the bone in my foot
The saw is awesome. All torque all the time so you don't have to speed it up before going into the wood. It's quiet so I don't need ears, pretty darn powerful as well. This saw is discontinued, but if I had to buy a limbing saw or climbing saw, I'd get the newer flex volt chainsaw. We just got a professional chainsaw to work on the 20 acres and they should pair nicely with each other. My ONLY complaint is that the saw is rather oil thirsty, and to my knowledge there isn't a way to dial it in like with my Stihl.
I wouldn't recommend it. You can stack 4x4s perpendicular to each other to get some height and catch your axe head. I'm afraid of you going right thru plywood.
For the 1st time in my 30 years of life i acknowledge i made some mistakes. 1.Dont split firewood in flip flops *obvious ik* so dont do that to yoruself , also another mistake i made not wearing a good durable strong pair of boots to to protect my toesies while i was chopping firewood , so now im searching my heart for *best* pair of work boots that i can put on and work in the yard or i could throw on and spend day with my family , my problem i have medical problem with 2 bunions 1 the size of a softball *metphaphorically* that is causing irratation for extended period of time so i need comfortable durable strong pair of of work boots and also learn safety , 1 thing i did was i took a log and pried it up leaning against another log while spliting firewood , i have learned not to split firewood *temperairily for now* untill i can get *durable work boots* my brothers and sisters learn from mistake and keep yourself safe i also made sure my dog was laying down and far , far , far , away from me as he was in night night sleep mode in the grass laying down. 1 problem other then not having boots is that i have * no where* in my yard to safely split trees to provide firewood for myself and family
Thank you so much for patiently sharing the safety use and technique in using the axe and related tools, blessings from the Philippines 🇵🇭
Thanks for watching!
Using another stick to hold smaller sticks seems like such an obvious thing to do, but I hadn’t thought about it. Thanks!!!
*thumbs up*
Nicely filmed and sagely expressed. My current problem (in the forest, just splitting firewood for overnights) is that some of the deadfall deciduous trees--even small, under 6 inches diameter--are effectively petrified, and just will not split. I probably need to find a way of determining this before I haul a 25-foot section back to my spot, only to find that it is difficult to buck, and impossible to split. At any rate, thank you for sharing your wisdom. Be safe, and enjoy the woods.
Andy thanks for the vid and demonstrating these techniques. As long as we are talking safe techniques, I will mention the Official Boy Scout policy/method, which will not be popular, fast or manly but is safe and useful even if swinging an axe. (And yes, to put it bluntly we where “officially” not allowed to swing axes for splitting due to the risk of injury and liability.) So the method was to place the axe edge on the wood which is on a stable surface and use a wooden maul (baton) to baton the axe head through the piece. Though this seems like overkill , I have found some practical uses for this technique. If I am struggling to get my axe head out, I might as well drive it through. If I am not lugging around a wedge and sledgehammer it make an good substitute for difficult pieces. It can multiply the force of a light axe or hatchet for splitting. Lastly , though I can’t quote the source, I remember it being stated as a technique to be used in a survival situation since it reduces the chance of injury. Apologize for the length of this and as always your mileage may vary.
This is why I love the comments section. Thanks for sharing!
One thing you may consider adding is to bring the pole of the axe into the stump with the wood stuck on top of it if you get the axe caught in wood. Paul kirtley demonstrates it in his axe demos. I hope your knee if fully healed my hatchet has got me as well before.
Thanks for the info! The knee feels good. I had SHOT show after i got the stitches out, and walked probably 30 miles during the trip
really good tips
Thanks!! Glad it helps
Sorry about the knee Andy. Thanks for the safety reminders.
Lesson learned, thankfully it was a great lesson with *given the circumstances* not "too" much damage.
There was a time I used a felling axe to split small amounts, but after buying my Gransfors Bruk 3.5 lb large splitting axe, I never looked back. It's pretty awesome. It can split and chop. I'm in the Canadian Rockies so I split a lot of wood for the winter. If I'm at home, I use a 9.5 hp Rapid Fire log splitter. If I'm in the bush at base camp, I'll use the Fiskars 8 lb splitting maul with wedges and a sledge or the 36" splitting axe. But if I'm mobile, it's the Gransfors Bruk large splitting axe. I might buy a GB 5.5 lb splitting maul just to have something in between. I say all this to confirm, splitting axe or splitting maul to split. But the shape of the head on the Gransfors Bruk is what you want. I tried several others and they just don't work the same. Cheers
GB Makes great tools
I love gransfors. I have the maul to split the rounds and the large splitting axe to finish up. It is insane how efficient this combo works for me! It saves a ton of energy and I just wouldn't ever want to split with out this combo!
Great vid. As a “Safety Guy” (from the chemical manufacturing industry, but safety consciousness is safety awareness in my experience. Grateful viewer.
Glad you like the video! Hearing it's good from people like you (safety kind of person) means i'm doing a good job, thanks for the comment
Great Video, Thanks for posting !
Glad you enjoyed
Nice if you study the wood first saves a lot of time. i use a lot of axes but I love to use my double bits with the flick method. As I go I put the tuff ones in a pile and get my wedges and hammer out.
Good idea to put the tough ones aside to come back to! Taking note on my end :)
please make a second safety vid for 3/4 axes and boys axes
show how to use a kneeling stance
I'll keep that in mind, thanks!
The naughtier the better, solid advice lol
Glad someone caught that
Really great stuff thanks a lot!
Glad you got something out of it!
Great video!
*thumbs up* Thanks!
good tips
Thanks *thumbs up*
I had a bit of a mishap with a hatchet once. It got stuck while splitting kindling and I held the log with my left and pushed the head axe to the right with my other hand in order to force a split... well, the hatchet slipped out of the log and just lightly touched the basal joint of my thumb. Blood was forthcoming quite readily. Upon closer inspection I mustered the month of medical training I got in the German army to patch it up nicely with superglue. Could've been a lot worse.
OUCH! I could easily see how that could happen. Glad you saved it!
@@innerbarkoutdoors Yeah, glad it was just a little nick. Hospitals are not a place I enjoy spending time in. Not to mention losing use of a very handy digit, even for a few days/weeks - no fun at all.
Hopefully, sharing stories of such mishaps makes them stick in the back of one's head, causing the subconscious mind to give you pause when attempting something along those lines.
Is using a sledge hammer and wedge safer than using an axe? (sharp blade wise, when training someone new at cutting firewood?)
Great video as always. 👍
*thumbs up* Thanks man!
I got a gransfors brüks axe for Christmas and today I was chopping up some wood just testing it out and the axe bounced off the peice of wood I was splitting went through my leather boot and right down to the bone in my foot
yup, when I hit my knee, it didn't hurt, just felt like i bumped it.
Fucking ouch man
tell me more about that DeWalt cordless chainsaw!
The saw is awesome. All torque all the time so you don't have to speed it up before going into the wood. It's quiet so I don't need ears, pretty darn powerful as well. This saw is discontinued, but if I had to buy a limbing saw or climbing saw, I'd get the newer flex volt chainsaw. We just got a professional chainsaw to work on the 20 acres and they should pair nicely with each other. My ONLY complaint is that the saw is rather oil thirsty, and to my knowledge there isn't a way to dial it in like with my Stihl.
If I don’t have a big log to split wood on top of can I use a piece of plywood?
I wouldn't recommend it. You can stack 4x4s perpendicular to each other to get some height and catch your axe head. I'm afraid of you going right thru plywood.
dang you cut of the dogs tail
Nope
For the 1st time in my 30 years of life i acknowledge i made some mistakes. 1.Dont split firewood in flip flops *obvious ik* so dont do that to yoruself , also another mistake i made not wearing a good durable strong pair of boots to to protect my toesies while i was chopping firewood , so now im searching my heart for *best* pair of work boots that i can put on and work in the yard or i could throw on and spend day with my family , my problem i have medical problem with 2 bunions 1 the size of a softball *metphaphorically* that is causing irratation for extended period of time so i need comfortable durable strong pair of of work boots and also learn safety , 1 thing i did was i took a log and pried it up leaning against another log while spliting firewood , i have learned not to split firewood *temperairily for now* untill i can get *durable work boots* my brothers and sisters learn from mistake and keep yourself safe i also made sure my dog was laying down and far , far , far , away from me as he was in night night sleep mode in the grass laying down. 1 problem other then not having boots is that i have * no where* in my yard to safely split trees to provide firewood for myself and family
*thumbs up*
@@innerbarkoutdoors than you , im getting bettet at splitting wood with practice
It's also easier to cut the limbs off cutting towards top of tree instead of towards the bottom
Ah, I failed to mention that, since most of the limbs on my trees come out at perfect 90s. Thanks for sharing!
Beware of chainsaw kickback, and wear chainsaw gloves!!
Tell us to use the right axe for the job, proceeds to choke up on a felling axe to the length of a hatchet.
*laughs in utilitarian*
who manufactured your pants?
These are prototype pants from Lykos Designs
Boom, 6th! Lol.
BAM!
Using proper protective equipment but doesn't wear chainsaw gloves. Brilliant
Ohh lord... Take it easy.