Ax: quick and easy way to cut small diameter wood for RMHs

Hi I found this video and thought that it shows a really quick and easy way to cut your small diameter wood to length. Perfect for burning in a RMH.





This guy's got lots of other cool videos that would be of interest to permaculturalists.

I am not sure I could live without my axe. It is probably the most versatile tool on my farm.

One thing my wife and I use an axe for is cutting the frozen outside layer on our big round haybales. I don't store them under cover and they get snow on them and freeze. e axe blows right through frozen hay, but no unfrozen hay underneath. That means it cuts only the yucky stuff off and we are down to good hay in seconds flat. It took me a long time to learn that trick.

Out in the woods I use a chainsaw, but in the toolbox of my bulldozer, I always have an axe. It has gotten me out of more binds. A lot of times instead of grabbing my saw to knock off a few missed limbs, I just grab the axe, run down to the limbs, knock them off and am going again without having to mess with a heavy saw.

Inside my house, wanting to have true hand hewn beams, but not having a broad axe, I hewed out 7 long 8 x 8 beams using an axe and it was surprisingly quick.

I am surprised he did not say anything about the handles. I know the old duffers around here scoffed at store bought handles, their axes were fitted with very thin, custom made handles so that had "spring to them". They were also made just for the logger. A man was once accused of killing another logger with an axe but he was acquitted because the axe in question did not fit him. As the man said, "that axe is not hung for me", the term they called custom fitting an axe.

I have often wondered if there would be any market for hand cut wood. I know a lot of woodworkers use only hand tools in making furniture, but at one point that wood was cut with chainsaw, skidder and sawmills. I always wondered if a niche market could be derived from 100% hand made wood. Felling the tree with an axe and cross cut saw, pulling the log out with a horse or ox, pit sawing the log into boards, and hand planing it. A lot of work for sure, but no one else is doing it.

I use a bow saw to cut firewood. I usually go for 2-6 inch thick logs, which is the ideal for our woodstove. It’s very easy to cut small wood such as shown in the video. Personally I would use that over an axe. It’s more ergonomic and much less dangerous. It only takes a few seconds to cut through a log of that size.

Glad to hear that Daphne, I love my camping axe, a bit of an heirloom. Firewood gathering is a primordial instinct, perhaps.  BUT i emphatically agree with you enjoying the humble, predictable bow saw.  In our barn are  hanging  four, keep very sharp blades in 2 of them.  It does help to have a remedy for roots and stump work, the older blades might be sacrificed but other blades remain clean and honed.   Travis, I agree. Everyone needs a fine axe, but it takes more practice to swing one accurately every time, gosh i have seen ample blood upon the snow, from poor axemanship  or icy terrain

Any cutting , splitting by hand is a chore
,  yet a gift that keeps on giving.  This keeps us connected to the cave dweller of old , searching and wood gathering