Hello All:

I know some folks out there do not use axes, but my group prefers to have a fire so splitting wood is a necessity. We have a standard hand axe but it really makes the job tough. What other options do you all use. thanks

Hudson Bay Trail Ax

baton with a decent knive

You should be able to split wood with a hatchet. Just don't get any tree thicker than 6-8" and cut shorter pieces say 12-14'length. You do have a saw also?

You can buy a little ax/hatchet at Home Depot. I like the Gerber/Fiskers one. If you buy the Gerber one, it is twice as expensive but still says Fiskers on it.

We split 10-12" ceder trees last week with it. I like to baton the hatchet with another piece of wood. You can split nearly anything like that.

We use a small axe (drawing a blank on the right name for it), smaller than an axe but bigger than a hatchet, works for what we need and we cook all meals over a fire. We would be totally lost if we went in during a fire ban.

The big thing when using a hand axe or hatchet is to watch out so you don't sink it into your leg when swinging it. To prevent it get down on your knees when chopping or splitting wood.

quote OldFingers57: "The big thing when using a hand axe or hatchet is to watch out so you don't sink it into your leg when swinging it. To prevent it get down on your knees when chopping or splitting wood. "

And keep your offhand out of the way. Eventually you won't be fast enough or something will distract you at the wrong moment.

I use a gransfors small forest axe. Roughly a 3/4 size axe. 19"ish handle. Small Forest Axe

lots of opinions on this board about axes/hatchets.

I'm in the 'no hatchet' camp. IMO they are too much of a risk and weigh too much. A very basic bushcraft style knife can be had from amazon for about $30 which will weigh less and can also be used for other purposes. Batoning is easier to youtube than read about so do that.

coupled with a cheap (or not) folding saw, and you'll have tools to harvest enough firewood cheaply and safely.

We came up with a "safe" method last year. Use two hatchets or a hatchet and a camp axe. I have a Fiskars X7 and X11. They are both extremely sharp and easy to maintain and have a very nice blade guard. Also the way that they are designed, the head where the handle comes through is a little wider than the mallet end so it acts like a wedge. It's hard to explain so you will need to look at a picture to see what I mean. It reduces contact and friction.

Set the log that would want to split on end and place the cutting edge of one hatchet where you want to split it. Using the other hatchet or axe, drive the first one in like a wedge. We split a lot of dried wood in no time. Both of my tools are extremely sharp. Be aware of your surroundings and of others. It's much safer to give it many soft blows than a few hard ones. As a rule we held one hatchet with one hand, and the other hatchet with the other hand. If you start to get winded or can't carry on a normal conversation, you are hitting to hard. It was actually a fun task instead of a chore. Keep your fingers AWAY from the cutting edge! And as someone mentioned earlier, get on your knees, it's much safer. This year I bought an trauma kit that is basically multiple different types of blood cutting supplies just in case. The kit weighs a few ounces.

Small axe and saw user here. Do your chopping/splitting on top of another log, not directly on the ground. If your blade finds dirt, it will find a rock just below it. Such a terrible thing to do to a nice sharp blade.

I'm in the camp of a hatchet not cutting it and potentially being dangerous trying to muscle it into working, and the short handle keeps it too close to the body.

I use a small axe. The Cold Steel Trail Boss has a 26 inch handle and is big enough to get the job done and only weighs 2.7lbs. $20 off Amazon, without a sheath. Stays sharp, hickory handle.

Has anyone tried using an old fashioned shingle froe? A froe is basically a straight blade with a perpendicular handle for leverage and you pound the blade through the wood. Would seem to be very light, and you could use a spare log as a mallet. I suppose its similar to batoning, but with a leverage point.

https://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/tag/froe/

quote Oisinirish: "

quote OldFingers57: "The big thing when using a hand axe or hatchet is to watch out so you don't sink it into your leg when swinging it. To prevent it get down on your knees when chopping or splitting wood. "

And keep your offhand out of the way. Eventually you won't be fast enough or something will distract you at the wrong moment.


I use a gransfors small forest axe. Roughly a 3/4 size axe. 19"ish handle. Small Forest Axe "

I use the same one. Splits wood nice and is lightweight.

T

quote Oisinirish: "I use a gransfors small forest axe. Roughly a 3/4 size axe. 19"ish handle. Small Forest Axe "

+2. If your group truly values fires, get them to invest in one of these. Gransfors Bruks is probably the finest made axe out there right now; great steel, razor sharp, light weight, great handle. I got the Scandanavian Forest axe (24 inch handle) for winter camping and it's awesome. For warmer times I'd love to get a Small Forest axe (19 inch handle).

I usually bring a little hatchet and strike it with a small log while kneeling down and have gone so far as covering my knees with a PDF if feeling extra cautious because I am always solo.

But other times I bring a composite felling wedge and strike it with a log. It works well on small pieces and is light. I learned about this method from BWCA.com member jb_in_the_wild.

Not only does the DVD "Forgotten Skills" demonstrate the best (with all due respect etc. etc,) way to rig a tarp, Cliff Jacobson also goes into the safest way to process fire wood. As evidence of that boast he has led Scout troops into canoe country on a yearly basis for many years without a mishap.

A saw and good sharp hatchet are the tools. Cut your 12" lengths of dried wood with the saw having one length at 16" or so. Stand your lengths upright and place the hatchet on top. Using the longer length of wood as a hammer of sorts and split according to desired thickness.

I personally think it is a bit of an unnecessary risk to swing axes and hatchets and many bad things can, and have, happened.

I use a Gransforth hatchet as per Cliffs recommendations and couldn't be happier with it. Coming in at 1lb it is not a bother to carry. Coupled with a silky saw and I can process wood rather quickly and safely.

I'm another user of the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe, along with the Irwin saw with sheath. That axe is the perfect size and weight for my purposes. For wood, I recommend cruising the lake shore and pick up beaver wood.

quote unshavenman: "I'm another user of the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe, along with the Irwin saw with sheath. That axe is the perfect size and weight for my purposes. For wood, I recommend cruising the lake shore and pick up beaver wood."

Same axe and saw here as well. Tap split the wood, and the beaver wood is so dry it often flies across the campsite when you split it! Makes great wood for cooking over.

I use a saw and a Becker BK2. It's a pry bar of a knife but like any other cutting tool safety is always my first priority.

I use the same method as MT advocates from Cliff.

T

quote gymcoachdon: "

quote unshavenman: "I'm another user of the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe, along with the Irwin saw with sheath. That axe is the perfect size and weight for my purposes. For wood, I recommend cruising the lake shore and pick up beaver wood."

Same axe and saw here as well. Tap split the wood, and the beaver wood is so dry it often flies across the campsite when you split it! Makes great wood for cooking over."

+3 RE: Irwin saw and GB Small Forest Axe. If I was doing a solo I would go with a smaller/lighter saw and big knife but I usually go with a group of four and we enjoy our evening fires so the weight is well worth it.

I have a Estwing axe that works well with a saw to process firewood. Keep the logs short and makes quick work of it. But safety first. Always watch for the unexpected.

I see a lot of good recommendations on brands/styles so I'm not going to make any suggestions on that, with respect to saws/hatchets. I'm just going to present the 'factors' that I see as important when determining what/how much gear to bring.

Here are the wood cutting tools that we bring on our trips. Note that we are normally a group of 4 to 6 fit guys in our early 30s and we usually paddle about 6 to 8 miles in and base camp: HATCHET, HAND SAW, FULL TANG KNIVES (hammer with wood).

First and foremost, the best camp tool investment anyone can make is a solid, full-tang bush craft knife. I find the Condor Bushlore to be a sturdy, well-priced knife for camp chores (i.e. wood splitting). It was/is my first bush craft knife and I am more than happy with it. Since it's made of high carbon steel, it is not an ideal 'fishing' knife as high carbon rusts easier than stainless, so I also bring fishing pliers with snips and/or a Gerber/Swiss multi-tool (stainless steel). Your wallet will dictate how 'big you can go', but a good knife will last many, many years so a well thought out purchase is, in fact, an investment.

Back to the wood splitting application...In addition to other camp chores, you should be able to split wood with a solid bush craft knife. Simply place the blade on part of the wood where you want to make a split, and hammer the back end with a log - should be the same result as a hatchet. In a scenario where you are trying to minimize weight as much as humanly possible, this is the approach I would take. That being said...

When it comes to cutting tools to bring on a back country trip, I factor 3 things:

- trip length
- group size (carrying capacity)
- time of year

*My comments apply to each of these topics 'in a vacuum'

TRIP LENGTH
If I were going on a long trip (distance) that involved a lot of portaging, I would forego the hatchet and only bring a bush craft knife and a saw. The hatchet is the heaviest of the three tools and its function can be replicated by the knife & hammer method.

If I were going on a long trip (time) that did not involve a lot of portaging, I would probably bring all three tools as the hatchet is worth its weight, if you're not going to be carrying it that far, and it is more efficient than the knife & hammer method.

GROUP SIZE
The bigger the group, the more group gear/tools that can be brought to make the trip comfortable. If I'm soloing, I only bring the bush craft knife. If I were in a group of 8, I would leave the kitchen sink at home, but I would definitely bring all three cutting tools.

TIME OF YEAR
Every time I've done a trip early in the year, there has always been an abundance of deadfall firewood close to camp so having all the tools wasn't of extreme importance. As the close firewood gets used up through the season, it can become necessary to make 'firewood runs' in the canoe. Over the years, I've found that it is handy to have a saw on these runs, as it allows me to cut wood to size (I'm going to have to cut it anyways) before putting in the canoe. This also allows me to fit more wood (stably) in the canoe.

If you have a group of 5 or more this time of year onward, I see the value in bringing all three. One year we decided to go as light as possible and did not bring an axe or saw. It was a 5 night trip over Memorial Day weekend and we paddled about 12 miles in. We made due and it was a great trip but I do regret not bringing the saw. Again, we go up to base camp/fish and I freaking love tools so this is not objective advice...just my opinion on one factor that allows me to spend more time fishing.

I have a tiny piece of shrapnel permanently embedded in my abdomen from striking a hatchet with another tool while splitting wood. Wasn't even hitting that hard, just had the right angle I Guess

Not a big deal- I wasn't injured... but I learned my lesson. Hitting a hatchet regardless of how hard with another tool is a bad idea. Hit it with a small log if anything.

quote Grizzlyman: "I have a tiny piece of shrapnel permanently embedded in my abdomen from striking a hatchet with another tool while splitting wood. Wasn't even hitting that hard, just had the right angle I Guess


Not a big deal- I wasn't injured... but I learned my lesson. Hitting a hatchet regardless of how hard with another tool is a bad idea. Hit it with a small log if anything. "

Or a brass headed hammer. You know. Since weight's not an issue. Lol

My buddy likes to go no axe as he thinks it just increases the risk factor with little to no payout. Usually we just end up being more picky about what wood we can gather. This means branches and small trees leaving the trunks of decent size trees behind. People with axes might like coming in after us because we leave the split-able wood behind. the point is that even without an axe or using a knife to baton the log, you can still have a cookable campfire. Just save the nice sized pieces for when you have the food on and everything else for enjoying the fire.

I just got back. It rained nearly every day. One day, it rained HARD for 12 straight hours.

We still had nice campfires most days. We just sawed down dead cedar trees, cut them to length, and split them into very nice pieces. Without a saw and axe, fires would have been very difficult.

I personally vote for a Silky saw and a Gransfors Bruks hatchet.
I'm not sure how a hatchet is much more dangerous than a knife as long as you use common sense (Something that seems to get more endangered every year). You just need to land the hatchet into the wood then pound it with a big log. My trip last October would have been cold and miserable without the hatchet and saw we had rain and snow and a good fire really helped. In summer it is less important because a campfire is for beauty. In the spring and fall your life can depend on it especially if you get wet out on the lake.
I also have a Council Velvicut with a 19" handle that works pretty well but the Gransfors holds an edge better. It really depends on the trip and terrain as to which I prefer.

Gotten away from axes, now mostly baton.
My preferred tool, instead of banging a knife, is Sheffield Footprint Hacking Knife
Things I use and have used, sheaths are homemade Kydex.



butthead

quote butthead: "Gotten away from axes, now mostly baton.
My preferred tool, instead of banging a knife, is Sheffield Footprint Hacking Knife
Things I use and have used, sheaths are homemade Kydex.





butthead"

Kind of reminds me of a froe. Old school but very effective.

Sven saw and full tang knife for batoning the logs into pieces. Works great!

quote Mad_Angler: "I just got back. It rained nearly every day. One day, it rained HARD for 12 straight hours.


We still had nice campfires most days. We just sawed down dead cedar trees, cut them to length, and split them into very nice pieces. Without a saw and axe, fires would have been very difficult.

"

Mad_Angler,

I am sure you meant..."We just sawed cedar trees that were dead and down..." :)

quote JimmyJustice: "...

Mad_Angler,
I am sure you meant..."We just sawed cedar trees that were dead and down..." :)"

Thanks. That is what I meant...

quote mastertangler: "Not only does the DVD "Forgotten Skills" demonstrate the best (with all due respect etc. etc,) way to rig a tarp, Cliff Jacobson also goes into the safest way to process fire wood. As evidence of that boast he has led Scout troops into canoe country on a yearly basis for many years without a mishap.


A saw and good sharp hatchet are the tools. Cut your 12" lengths of dried wood with the saw having one length at 16" or so. Stand your lengths upright and place the hatchet on top. Using the longer length of wood as a hammer of sorts and split according to desired thickness.


I personally think it is a bit of an unnecessary risk to swing axes and hatchets and many bad things can, and have, happened.


I use a Gransforth hatchet as per Cliffs recommendations and couldn't be happier with it. Coming in at 1lb it is not a bother to carry. Coupled with a silky saw and I can process wood rather quickly and safely. "

Same method I use.

What do you do with this? jk

quote WhiteWolf: " What do you do with this? jk


"

Rent one of these.