Chopping Wood Safely

[outdoorsy]

My dad taught me when I was a teenager and I taught my daughter and son when they were teenagers. I think everyone that likes to camp should know how to use an ax. Hey we all have to chop wood at some point when camping.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by outdoorsy

Hey we all have to chop wood at some point when camping.

Not those of us that prefer saws. (;

[ChadTower]

Originally Posted by Michael

Not those of us that prefer saws. (;

Takes an relatively awful long time to saw through a thick piece of hardwood.... and then do it again 25 times.

[JollyRogers]

Use a knife!

Seriously, all you really need is some kind of saw (I have a favorite lightweight bow saw from Fiskars), and a good camp knife.

I am pretty handy with a hatchet, so yes, I do hold wood with 1 hand while splitting into tinder/kindling. However, using a good camp knife is much safer.

Cut logs with the bow saw and split them with the knife. One of my most used knives, although also my heaviest is and old Gerber Bowie knife given to me by a friend about 18 years ago. Big heavy blade with a good grip and full length tang.

Stand the log on end.
Place the blade against the end of the log and hammer the back side of the blade with another stick or log.
Very safe and it keeps both hands out of the way. After the first split, it is easy to use the knife to split it into smaller pieces. Just hold the log towards the bottom and use the knife to split. You are much less likely to miss the log with the long blade of the knife compared to the short head of a hatchet. Also the first split is the most dangerous as it requires the most force. So having both hands out of the way is a good idea. After the first split you hardly need to swing the blade to cut into the log. And again you can still use another stick/log as a baton to continue splitting smaller.