They say that they used to determine what kind of man would be home-like, by the way he goes hunting, he chopped wood and eats. There’s no hunting now (they scared the whole game of half a half). As for food - for sure: don’t feed our peasant with bread, just let me eat it. But to chop wood - from the hunt, from the table and from the stove you can’t get through. Unless the stove needs to be heated with something. Pokryahtit dissatisfied, and for the first time will go to get acquainted with an ax. Further - as in verses: "One-two on a log, three-four on a knee". There was a house - it became an emergency station.
And who knows where fate will throw you. Well, freeze alive, or what? Nothing! Man has been waving an ax since the time he invented it. Come on, sweetheart, and you wave - and you will warm yourself, and bring it to others for heating and for cooking. Only how and where to wave - you need to know, and the skill will come over time.
To chop wood, you need to dress accordingly and put on shoes. Boots need good, tight, so that the ax does not hurt the legs, if it bounces. Hands in gloves, which is not a pity, put on a few pairs so that the force of the blow to the fingers is not transmitted, otherwise it will not be unbent later. Yes,
goggles - suddenly the chips bounce, eyes are more expensive.
The ax for firewood should first of all be serviceable, and sit on the ax like a glove, and not hang out. It should be weighty, but not heavy, with a short handle. On the eve of chopping, it is advised to lower it into the water so that the ax swells and holds the ax firmly. Although, if you have to resort to this tool, it is better to think about replacing the ax. Those who have never before chopped wood, it is better to wave them idle, get used to the move, to heaviness, find a place on the handle so that your fingers completely grab it.
One ax, however, is not enough - the cleaver is still needed, heavy, with a long handle. He can easily cope with big chocks, and you can pierce them with a simple ax.
No special sharpening is required for either an ax or a cleaver. And in general, they do not need to be sharpened in practice. All salt is not in how to chop, but in how to chop wood.
Put the block on the block. Take the cleaver with both hands, closer to the bottom of the ax to provide more leverage. Spread your legs wider than your shoulders - more stability, less likely to get injured. Chop sharply and quickly, with all your strength. After the impact, the block will either split or not. If the stuck cleaver forms a gap in the block, it can be expanded with a sledgehammer. If there is no gap, repeat the blow. Discard chocks and wood chips under your feet so that they do not interfere.
The more knots in a block of wood, the more difficult it is to split it. Do not waste time and effort. If there are more than three large knots from different sides in the block, simply drop it to the side. There will be time - return to it.
Grasp the ax, hold the log correctly - with the base of the thumb, and not with your finger. At the same time, remove all other fingers from the log.
To prepare the best firewood that does not burn too quickly, the logs should be 7-10 cm thick. To get them, split the block into two blocks, then into fours, eights and so on, until you get the right size.
It’s easiest to chop dry or frozen wood. There is no need for splitting - let the prepared log blocks dry up for now.
Finally, a tip. Do not dream much while chopping wood. There, the hero of Celentano waved an ax when he was drawn to a woman - and what came of it ?!