Chop Wood

[siguy]

another repost of something i put up in the WSS subforum here, thought it applied here as well:

just wanted to put this together to help out anyone that is less experienced than me with an axe. it has taken me alot of experimenting, reading and watching chopping competitions on youtube to develop this technique, and i figured i would condense it and put it here.

this tutorial focuses on cutting large wood with a packable axe. this works the same way, but is easier, with a larger and heavier axe. i am lusting after an iltis felling axe that could probably get through the log shown in 1/4 the time...but for now i am just practicing with the little chopper...

my disclaimer, as with all tutorials, is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. this is the technique that i have developed, and it is certainly not the only one, but i am just putting it up here to help out anyone that it might, and also in case anyone wants to critique my form and point out better things i could do.

anyways, on to it!

i start with a log. this one is hemlock i think...

first i strip the bark and start two small notches a little farther apart than the diameter of the log. take note that these notches are a little too close.

take several swings all along the sides of each small notch into the middle. keep swinging until your first chip pops out.

keep going at the same angle, swinging along the same lines. keep popping out more chips.

keep going until your notch bottoms out. at this point you could widen the notch and keep going from this side, but it is easier to just roll the log over. if you are bucking up a whole tree like you probably would be in the woods, i would suggest you keep going from the same side or chop your notches on the sides of the log instead of the top. chopping on the side of the log is far more dangerous though, and it keeps you bent over the whole time, which hurts...

roll the log over and start the whole process over again...

 

[siguy]

(five characters)

eventually you will cut all the way through.

in a few minutes i will post a video showing a good rythm and also the actual striking angle. i had a video showing the whole process from start to finish but it didn't work for some reason, so you will have to make do with this one...

thanks for looking. hope this helps someone. also, any suggestions or questions are always welcome...

oh, and i was wearing flip flops

 

[siguy]

here is the video: chopping

 

[omniviking]

thanks for sharing Siguy.

shows what you can do with a small axe or hatchet.


If doing alot of work I would suggest a larger axe, but that one works:thumbup:


Pat

 

[siguy]

pat, i really want to get the iltis felling axe, i think that would go through this log in about 10 swings! but in the meantime i guess i can deal with this axe...

i also wanted to show what you can do with a more packable axe.

the technique is also almost the same for a bigger axe, it just takes one swing instead of two or three to cover the width of a chip...

thanks

 

[Daniel L]

Nice - it might sound "obvious" how to chop wood, but like a lot of things in life, it sure helps knowing some technique.

 

[shangchi108]

Nice. Thanks for posting.

 

[crossada]

so when it comes to actual chopping like that Siguy, how much difference would there be between a 20" axe and a 20" hawk?

i'm asking because i am on the hunt for my next hawk but i don't have a small axe yet so maybe i should get one first to try.

thanks.

 

[siguy]

crossada, i don't have a hawk so i can't say. as i understand it though, typically hawks are lighter and thinner at the bit, so they probably will have greater speed but less force of impact. i imagine an axe would be easier to chop with, but can't really say. i do look forward to checking out a basic hawk like a cold steel trail hawk though...