Awesome, you rock, and first EVER to finish the cordwood challenge! And you make it look fun, but of course that's easy since it is damnit! You're looking very comfortable with that axe. Golfswing splitting is awesome. Love the rant too. I'll send prizes whenever I make them. Big respect brother.
City people just don't get it. I cut and stack 6 cords of wood a season. I use a chain saw and log splitter rather than an axe, but hey to each their own. But in the event of some catastrophe we'll be warm and able to cook. I just dropped a standing dead red oak, 90 ft tall and 71 inches across the base. This one tree will yield I'm guessing 4 to 5 cords.
I don't think I'll ever be doing that, but I wish I could. All we have here is oak and hickory, neither are going to split like that, and felling with an axe would be insanity... I must say that my family as heated with wood for 25 years. It was until about three years ago that I got interested in splitting them with us putting mouse head of a hydraulic splitter of my friends. There's two of them on this Farm. Ivory should have got addicted to splitting with a splitting maul. Absolutely loved it. Good exercise challenging just absolute fun like you said. I totally get what you're saying about it being enjoyable. One doctor said that splitting firewood and shoveling snow are old man's friends... Because they died with relatively little pain very swiftly and without wasting a lot of money for their family to cover the expenses of,
It ain't stupid, makes all the sense in the world. Some quotes, quoted from Bill Coperthwaite's book A Handmade Life. "Those who live without working are either beggars or thieves".... Proudhon "No order of society can last in which one man says to another"you work and toil, and earn bread, and I will eat it".... Abraham Lincoln I belong to a church where there are neither harmoniums nor pews, but this law; Only those belong who work for a living" ..... Pierre Ceresole
Love your video, subbed. Don't sweat the haters. I grew up in this life style, Western Woodsman do it yourself. The satisfaction must come from your actions in your heart, and the scoffers be damned. You did an awesome job.
Thanks Redwolf Woodsman. I've had a blast doing the challenge so far. I've got a lot of other stuff to do now that spring is approaching so we've got to slow down with the wood chopping a bit, but I'm 2/3rds of a cord away from the second cord at this point so we should get there by June with no problem
It's not stupid and I understand your frustration. I've been chopping wood for the first time this year and I've never done anything so masculine! Good on you, there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned hard work. Just don't tell people next time! 👍👍👍
Thanks Griffin Benchmark! You should consider joining the challenge. I couldn't tell from your Montana Sky video if you had access to trees there, but it sure is beautiful country. I imagine it would be mostly spruce and maybe Doug fir there in Montana? I grew up in Colorado, I love it here out east but I do miss those big skies sometimes.
Oh, I would love to take the challenge if I could. Much has changed in my life since my Montana Sky video. We now live in S.E. Idaho All I can do right now is be envious for the time being! Thank you for your response! I'm excited to watch your channel!
Oxbow Farm I guess I didn't really address your tree questions. On the property we lived on, we had no trees but they were all around us and we definitely would have had to cut wood for the winter months had we stayed. We had birch, fir, cedar, aspen, white pine, ponderosa & other varieties all around our property. Wish we could have stayed. Long story though. Perhaps it will make good video fodder at some point in the future? 🤔
Good job! You make it look easy. As for those who criticize, this country has really taken a turn in the assbackyards direction. Unfortunately I think it's going to take some horrible circumstances to get those people to pull their heads out of their asses.
They hopefully will do that before they die. But I doubt it. So many people need to perform that DIY operation very delicate very sensitive but very effective is; Auto cranial rectal defilade extraction
Big ups for being the first to complete the cordwood challenge! I definitely agree with what you're saying, too. Skidding with an ox is super cool by the way, I bet many smaller scale beef producers could get a lot of work done with animals they're raising anyway.
There are haters for everything, but there are more of us that love your videos so keep on trucking bro. The haters are all the fat lazy people that can't do what you do, or they are kids that don't understand doing things with their hands other then pushing buttons. Great videos keep it up man
Congratulations on your accomplishment! I wish I had access to enough good trees to be able to attempt something like what you did (nevermind the awesome ox!). I have a vintage True American double blade and a Kelly Works Dynamic that I would love to put to the test. Someday perhaps...
Good luck David. I don't really like using double bits myself, just not my style. Buckin' Billy Ray does some amazing work with his though, and you can do the flick split with a double bit much more easily than with a poll axe.
don't worry about the others, we get it and understand personal growth and why we do things, while I will probably never have the time to do this challenge I do enjoy splitting most of my wood by hand and yes I have a gas splitter that people like to remind me
I want that style of axe. I have a few Collins being I live in ct and a sweet unnamed Dayton from the early 1900s. Amazing cheeks on that axe. I got it professionally sharpened. I have an American style hatchet from Germany from the 1800s. My great grandfather brought it over. A knife maker offered me two hundred for it.
Jersey patterns aren't too hard to find, Council still makes them. They don't make high centerline cheeks though, but you can still find jersey pattern Kelly Woodslashers on ebay quite reasonably, and they are still pretty common at garage sales here in my area. I'm not really a collector, but I buy nice axes when I see them at a garage sale. If I find something with high collector value like a Norlund Hudson Bay or something I pretty much always sell it and keep the solid old stock users.
Great Job!!! Especially digging the ox and arch. The people you mention are the ones who buy their personae at the mall, not create it as a byproduct of their existence. Think about tattoos - they used to be fringe (Sailors, Marines, bikers, etc.) but now they are very mainstream. Exercises used to be only part of the regimen to improve one's abilities in sports or combat, now it is a goal unto itself (or looking good in that oil and Speedo (snicker)). Lumber-sexuals? Lawyers riding Harleys? Collecting movie prop replicas? It is all about what one looks like, not the content of their character; all about looking interesting rather than BEING interesting. Be true unto yourself and screw them if they think it is their right to be critical of that.
Dave H, thanks for the comment. I'm not even really trying to mock folks who spend large amounts of time at the gym. I can totally respect intensely pursuing an activity (even an activity I have no interest in) if it gives your life some kind of meaning. I was more trying to call out people who react with hostility to the idea of the challenge, which is a significant but minority reaction. Why is this activity less valid than working out at a gym or doing tons of yoga, or pick your activity. Many people find deep meaning from strength training or yoga etc, I find deep satisfaction from cutting my firewood with an axe. I'm just trying to put it in perspective, but I realize I may have come off as dismissive of another pursuit.
That is some very nice hardwood firewood man, did you cut all of that in one day? Anyone that thinks this is stupid doesn't understand that a chainsaw actually uses more calories in total energy (between the gasoline and you handling the chainsaw) than an axe to cut a cord of wood. I can't totally agree with what you said about lifting weights though, axe work and strength training change your body in completely different ways. I do both, and they both synergistically help each other get better. The strength training makes me have more control over the weight of my axe and how hard I can strike(the heavier I deadlift the harder I strike), and the axe work gives me a bit of cardio, focus(beats out the monkey mind), and finesse which is actually useful in compound movements. I don't lift weights to get my body fat down though, I don't even care about body fat it is the strength that matters and aids me in my daily activities. A garage gym is a wonderful investment my friend.
Complete Bagel, no it took me a little over a month of on and off chopping. It really isn't seasoned yet, it needs quite a bit of time in the rick before I would call it seasoned. I'm not trying to say all fitness training is foolish, just contrasting the societal acceptability of the two activities.
Perhaps the naysayers are simply echoing something that's driven into our head daily thru advertising, which is 'buy our product to save work', and what people who like to use hand tools does then flies in the face of that. Never mind that we actually have to work (often at some so-so job) to get the $ to buy the product! I'd rather be in the woods any day working quietly, unless it's windy.
People now a days are way to lazy, to put it bluntly. They spend hundreds of dollars at the gym while all they could do is look around and see what nature has to offer to get a good workout. There's always something you can do. I laugh each time when I see people running on that treadmill behind glass, with their headphones plugged in or on their ears looking like they are in some zombie trance or something. I mean, seriously, take that shit outside, go to a park or drive to a nearby forest for all I care, and enjoy nature at least one hour a day, ffs. Heck, bring the kids along if you want too, kids themselves provide you with a good work out too, physically AND mentally, and they'll be better off than sitting their lazy asses in the couch in front of a screen, playing video games or watching movies. I myself don't go to the gym. I hate those places with a passion. They are ridiculous. Instead I look for things around me that could offer me a good free workout, like chopping wood for myself or for a friend. Or landscaping, or painting a ched. Anything goes for me, as long as it keeps me busy while having fun AND a workout, even if it's not that much. I'm about the split about 7 cords of wood as we speak. Green live big chunks of wood, different species, not the small seasoned ones. Those cords were dragged in and out my car by myself, and stacked by myself in a period of 4 days (you gotta know your physical limits at my age). And let me tell you, there's no better work out than working WITH nature IN nature, the pain in my muscles each time confirms this. LOL Cheers. Ps: well done with using nothing but the axe to get that cord done!
I do understand why folks go to gyms, and I don't necessarily look down on them for it. Many people live sedentary lives, and exercise is necessary for health. But my lifestyle and situation are different, and it makes much more practical sense to do activities such as this, than travel long distances to a gym. I am more frustrated that people can't make the same leap and accept that this is a worthwhile activity for me to be doing for a variety of reasons, without judgement.
I like how this is a challenge for some while just a reality for those who can't afford a chainsaw
Awesome, you rock, and first EVER to finish the cordwood challenge! And you make it look fun, but of course that's easy since it is damnit! You're looking very comfortable with that axe. Golfswing splitting is awesome. Love the rant too. I'll send prizes whenever I make them. Big respect brother.
I just want to say your finesse and prowress with an axe is really impressive the hater's are idiots
City people just don't get it. I cut and stack 6 cords of wood a season. I use a chain saw and log splitter rather than an axe, but hey to each their own. But in the event of some catastrophe we'll be warm and able to cook. I just dropped a standing dead red oak, 90 ft tall and 71 inches across the base. This one tree will yield I'm guessing 4 to 5 cords.
I don't think I'll ever be doing that, but I wish I could. All we have here is oak and hickory, neither are going to split like that, and felling with an axe would be insanity...
I must say that my family as heated with wood for 25 years.
It was until about three years ago that I got interested in splitting them with us putting mouse head of a hydraulic splitter of my friends. There's two of them on this Farm.
Ivory should have got addicted to splitting with a splitting maul. Absolutely loved it. Good exercise challenging just absolute fun like you said. I totally get what you're saying about it being enjoyable.
One doctor said that splitting firewood and shoveling snow are old man's friends... Because they died with relatively little pain very swiftly and without wasting a lot of money for their family to cover the expenses of,
It ain't stupid, makes all the sense in the world. Some quotes, quoted from Bill Coperthwaite's book A Handmade Life.
"Those who live without working are either beggars or thieves".... Proudhon
"No order of society can last in which one man says to another"you work and toil, and earn bread, and I will eat it".... Abraham Lincoln
I belong to a church where there are neither harmoniums nor pews, but this law; Only those belong who work for a living" ..... Pierre Ceresole
Some of those are interesting.
Love your video, subbed. Don't sweat the haters. I grew up in this life style, Western Woodsman do it yourself. The satisfaction must come from your actions in your heart, and the scoffers be damned. You did an awesome job.
Thanks Redwolf Woodsman. I've had a blast doing the challenge so far. I've got a lot of other stuff to do now that spring is approaching so we've got to slow down with the wood chopping a bit, but I'm 2/3rds of a cord away from the second cord at this point so we should get there by June with no problem
It's not stupid and I understand your frustration. I've been chopping wood for the first time this year and I've never done anything so masculine! Good on you, there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned hard work.
Just don't tell people next time! 👍👍👍
Aww your ix is so cute!
I'll show you how cute it is. Put your hand here on this block
Congrats! Fucking awesome job.
FULLY IMPRESSED! You had me at the first swing! Hats off & Sub'd!
Thanks Griffin Benchmark! You should consider joining the challenge. I couldn't tell from your Montana Sky video if you had access to trees there, but it sure is beautiful country. I imagine it would be mostly spruce and maybe Doug fir there in Montana? I grew up in Colorado, I love it here out east but I do miss those big skies sometimes.
Oh, I would love to take the challenge if I could. Much has changed in my life since my Montana Sky video. We now live in S.E. Idaho All I can do right now is be envious for the time being! Thank you for your response! I'm excited to watch your channel!
Oxbow Farm I guess I didn't really address your tree questions. On the property we lived on, we had no trees but they were all around us and we definitely would have had to cut wood for the winter months had we stayed. We had birch, fir, cedar, aspen, white pine, ponderosa & other varieties all around our property. Wish we could have stayed. Long story though. Perhaps it will make good video fodder at some point in the future? 🤔
Good job! You make it look easy. As for those who criticize, this country has really taken a turn in the assbackyards direction. Unfortunately I think it's going to take some horrible circumstances to get those people to pull their heads out of their asses.
Thanks Mark, It has been a really fun process.
They hopefully will do
that before they die.
But I doubt it.
So many people need to perform that DIY operation very delicate very sensitive but very effective is;
Auto cranial rectal defilade extraction
So you do a video on your Axe and your knowledge about them if using an OxeñKampf or other high dollar axe...or plan to get one...
Big ups for being the first to complete the cordwood challenge! I definitely agree with what you're saying, too. Skidding with an ox is super cool by the way, I bet many smaller scale beef producers could get a lot of work done with animals they're raising anyway.
Yeah, and the meat would be healthier! Put that food to work!
Great job! 👌
Thanks!
There are haters for everything, but there are more of us that love your videos so keep on trucking bro. The haters are all the fat lazy people that can't do what you do, or they are kids that don't understand doing things with their hands other then pushing buttons. Great videos keep it up man
Congratulations on your accomplishment! I wish I had access to enough good trees to be able to attempt something like what you did (nevermind the awesome ox!). I have a vintage True American double blade and a Kelly Works Dynamic that I would love to put to the test. Someday perhaps...
Good luck David. I don't really like using double bits myself, just not my style. Buckin' Billy Ray does some amazing work with his though, and you can do the flick split with a double bit much more easily than with a poll axe.
don't worry about the others, we get it and understand personal growth and why we do things, while I will probably never have the time to do this challenge I do enjoy splitting most of my wood by hand and yes I have a gas splitter that people like to remind me
I want that style of axe. I have a few Collins being I live in ct and a sweet unnamed Dayton from the early 1900s. Amazing cheeks on that axe. I got it professionally sharpened. I have an American style hatchet from Germany from the 1800s. My great grandfather brought it over. A knife maker offered me two hundred for it.
Jersey patterns aren't too hard to find, Council still makes them. They don't make high centerline cheeks though, but you can still find jersey pattern Kelly Woodslashers on ebay quite reasonably, and they are still pretty common at garage sales here in my area. I'm not really a collector, but I buy nice axes when I see them at a garage sale. If I find something with high collector value like a Norlund Hudson Bay or something I pretty much always sell it and keep the solid old stock users.
Good job & good rant!
Well done
Great Job!!! Especially digging the ox and arch.
The people you mention are the ones who buy their personae at the mall, not create it as a byproduct of their existence.
Think about tattoos - they used to be fringe (Sailors, Marines, bikers, etc.) but now they are very mainstream. Exercises used to be only part of the regimen to improve one's abilities in sports or combat, now it is a goal unto itself (or looking good in that oil and Speedo (snicker)). Lumber-sexuals? Lawyers riding Harleys? Collecting movie prop replicas? It is all about what one looks like, not the content of their character; all about looking interesting rather than BEING interesting. Be true unto yourself and screw them if they think it is their right to be critical of that.
Dave H, thanks for the comment. I'm not even really trying to mock folks who spend large amounts of time at the gym. I can totally respect intensely pursuing an activity (even an activity I have no interest in) if it gives your life some kind of meaning. I was more trying to call out people who react with hostility to the idea of the challenge, which is a significant but minority reaction. Why is this activity less valid than working out at a gym or doing tons of yoga, or pick your activity. Many people find deep meaning from strength training or yoga etc, I find deep satisfaction from cutting my firewood with an axe. I'm just trying to put it in perspective, but I realize I may have come off as dismissive of another pursuit.
Good job!
great work! amd spot on rant!
That is some very nice hardwood firewood man, did you cut all of that in one day? Anyone that thinks this is stupid doesn't understand that a chainsaw actually uses more calories in total energy (between the gasoline and you handling the chainsaw) than an axe to cut a cord of wood. I can't totally agree with what you said about lifting weights though, axe work and strength training change your body in completely different ways. I do both, and they both synergistically help each other get better. The strength training makes me have more control over the weight of my axe and how hard I can strike(the heavier I deadlift the harder I strike), and the axe work gives me a bit of cardio, focus(beats out the monkey mind), and finesse which is actually useful in compound movements. I don't lift weights to get my body fat down though, I don't even care about body fat it is the strength that matters and aids me in my daily activities. A garage gym is a wonderful investment my friend.
Complete Bagel, no it took me a little over a month of on and off chopping. It really isn't seasoned yet, it needs quite a bit of time in the rick before I would call it seasoned. I'm not trying to say all fitness training is foolish, just contrasting the societal acceptability of the two activities.
Perhaps the naysayers are simply echoing something that's driven into our head daily thru advertising, which is 'buy our product to save work', and what people who like to use hand tools does then flies in the face of that. Never mind that we actually have to work (often at some so-so job) to get the $ to buy the product! I'd rather be in the woods any day working quietly, unless it's windy.
Well, I have the tendency to do that myself, so I understand it. I just was surprised by the hostility.
People now a days are way to lazy, to put it bluntly. They spend hundreds of dollars at the gym while all they could do is look around and see what nature has to offer to get a good workout. There's always something you can do. I laugh each time when I see people running on that treadmill behind glass, with their headphones plugged in or on their ears looking like they are in some zombie trance or something. I mean, seriously, take that shit outside, go to a park or drive to a nearby forest for all I care, and enjoy nature at least one hour a day, ffs. Heck, bring the kids along if you want too, kids themselves provide you with a good work out too, physically AND mentally, and they'll be better off than sitting their lazy asses in the couch in front of a screen, playing video games or watching movies.
I myself don't go to the gym. I hate those places with a passion. They are ridiculous. Instead I look for things around me that could offer me a good free workout, like chopping wood for myself or for a friend. Or landscaping, or painting a ched. Anything goes for me, as long as it keeps me busy while having fun AND a workout, even if it's not that much. I'm about the split about 7 cords of wood as we speak. Green live big chunks of wood, different species, not the small seasoned ones. Those cords were dragged in and out my car by myself, and stacked by myself in a period of 4 days (you gotta know your physical limits at my age). And let me tell you, there's no better work out than working WITH nature IN nature, the pain in my muscles each time confirms this. LOL
Cheers.
Ps: well done with using nothing but the axe to get that cord done!
I do understand why folks go to gyms, and I don't necessarily look down on them for it. Many people live sedentary lives, and exercise is necessary for health. But my lifestyle and situation are different, and it makes much more practical sense to do activities such as this, than travel long distances to a gym. I am more frustrated that people can't make the same leap and accept that this is a worthwhile activity for me to be doing for a variety of reasons, without judgement.