Discussing Axe Safety when Chopping Logs. Pros and Cons of 3 Methods

there are 3 main methods i have seen for chopping wood when bucking on the ground with an axe. here is my analysis on safety and efficiency. there are occasions where you need to use them all
A detailed video about how I chop logs • Fundamentals of Axeman...

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Here is what i consider the best way to chop logs, with excellent safety and efficiency kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXnOcmahZ66Vobc

[@PuReBlOoD3478]

My kids wanted to chop wood. I told them to look up axe wounds on google. They changed their minds real quick. Great content Mr. Scott 👍

[@russelldold4827]

My late father worked as a medical practitioner for 7 years in a mining town in rural Southern Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe. One of the most common injuries he dealt with among the African population was amputation of toes while chopping wood. Your safety advice is spot-on.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I imagine a lot of machete injuries too. Always love to hear stories from people who lived in africa

[@greekveteran2715]

That was the only comment, that I shouldn't have read, while I'm looking to get an axe..! How often did you say he saw amputated toes? lol!!! I'll watch ten Ben Scott's videos in a row, to forget this comment! Stay safe mate!

[@Joey-L]

Thinking about chopping wood when chopping wood is brilliant advice. So simple but so true.

[@brettbrown9814]

Very well presented! Thanks for putting it together. Going to make a cup of tea and watch it again!

[@Codi_Clapper]

Agreed! Great video, Ben👍. I’d say two takeaways would be 1. You can never be too safe, and 2. with enough time, complacency will almost certainly lead you to trouble.

[@KevinsDisobedience]

You seem to have access to woodlands again, no? Can we expect to see regular chopping vids again? I’m digging that axe. Good info here. I think the best advice was, “When you’re chopping wood, you have to be thinking about chopping wood.” I’m not sure folks realize how much is going on inside our heads when we’re picking a tree apart. Great vid, Ben.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yes, i think a lot of people assume were thinking about the great mysteries of the universe such as why glue doesnt stick to the inside of the container while randomly hacking away oblivious to the fact the tool cuts toes easier than wood. Hmmm

[@kurts64]

Kevin well said, 100%.

[@kurts64]

@@benscottwoodchopper 😆

[@MDR-hn2yz]

It’s definitely spring time where you are. Everything turning green, birds chirping, chips flying. 👍

[@Ve-suvius]

Good tips on the safest way. 16:32 this is the most important one. Always think about where your legs are safest, and people around you as well .. etc. 13:46 The camera went down. I saw it 😁.

[@greekveteran2715]

Do you like axes too?!! Which ones do you like or use more?

[@Ve-suvius]

@@greekveteran2715 Nah, I used to work sometimes with an axe.. But it was mostly the chainsaw we used. Axe was more some now and then. I like Fiskars . No rehandling. No loose heads. Extreme tough handles, though they can break . Some have it happen as Scott has a video on it. The bits of Fiskars are not as thing as can be seen in the Müller axes or Rinaldi. They bite deep in harder wood. I like these video's of Scott. He shows many, and has lots of info on them. And you?

[@Ve-suvius]

@@greekveteran2715 But in reality I have no use for an axe. I would rather see more trees being planted. They are good for people. Especially the big old trees with the large wide crown.. Good for mental well being. And the big older ones are better at that than the younger ones. There's already too much concrete and tin cans on four wheels.

[@Ve-suvius]

@@greekveteran2715 As Aragorn/Strider said so well in The Fellowship of Ring: "Do not disturb the water". Same for the trees.

[@greekveteran2715]

@@Ve-suvius Well, msot people around here use woodstoves in the winter, for both heat and cooking. Our firewood is wood from old Olive trees, or from Olive trees, that people want to get rid of, to start another plantation like Vineyards. we also cut dead old trees, which are useless, and we use the wood, depending on our needs. We also use chainsaws more, but personaly, I split with axes. Generally ,there are some jobs, that the chainsaw can't do. As also ,we prepare for war, it's official as of today morning, we all get a warning from the goverment, to build local groups, and prepare for hard situations, like war.

[@44musher]

As always, good content, and a heck of a good tool, being from Maine the "Pine Tree state" I've got to stick with my Snow and Nealley tools which have served well through many years. Hope everyone is well ! Let the chips fly !

[@jeffreyrubish347]

The primary rule for me is to stop or take a break when I get tired, so I don't become careless or clumsy. I use a wide stance and a shorter handle.

[@44musher]

Was discussing that very important point you raised here to my two choppers 14 and 12, I watch them closely and when the chops get sloppy it's time for a break.

[@paulhomsy2751]

Sound advice Jeffrey, not rubbish at all.

[@vinniesdayoff3968]

Excellent safety advice Ben. Thank you.

[@SkillCult]

Great video Ben. I get that dummy rule, safest possible way to do everything crap from people all the time. It's part of the whole dummy rule complex. The irony is that an attitude of deferring everything to a set of simple rules that are supposed too take care of everything for you, is inherently unsafe, because it is disengaged from the coonstant assessment, learning and attention that is required to build an understanding of all the many things that can go wrong in the multitude of situations we can find ourselves in in the real world.

[@bushleague3472]

Absolute truth there. I've spent my whole life doing industrial work, and the move towards trying to replace common sense and training with policy has been steady. In the last 4-5 years I've seen more injury's than ever, despite policy and regulation being the strictest they've ever been. Two weeks ago we had the first fatality I've personally seen since the late 90's, basically because people are relying on stupid rules rather than common sense to keep them safe.

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Lovely to cut Willow. Looks like that Biber is doing very well

[@44musher]

I agree it was taking some good chomps.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yes its fast becoming a favourite

[@kurts64]

Awesome stuff Ben, 100% agree with this one. That technique at around the 5 min mark with the twisted back/off to one side, if anything I'd consider more of an experienced technique, because of that reliance on instinctive accuracy. Also, chopping straight-on from the top just sucks. Shortens the swing, double the work and risks both axe and leg on the break through. That Muller certainly does the job 👍

[@chuckthebull]

Thanks for these safety tips.. That new axe is really cutting beautifully deep,,it makes it even more dangerous I would think, but I like how nice it cuts.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Sharp axe is less likely to glance off a surface, so especially when felling you want the axe to be cutting very well

[@chuckthebull]

@@benscottwoodchopper personally I like my tools good and sharp so I have more control Even though some of them scare me a bit..ha My kitchen slicer me and my wife both talk about it out to get us...

[@peterfletcher8411]

Excellent content.🙂

[@johngibbons6155]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@sebkent6691]

Hi There I've got a question for you as I need a bit of a hand with my axe skills. The problem I have is that I seem to keep pulling the axe handle loose from the head. Initially I thought it was just a bad hang on an axe. However I've had the same problem on a Council Tools axe a Muller Hand Forged Beaver Felling (flared bit you referred to as a beast for limbing) and a couple of others as well. If you have any hints or tips as to how to avoid working the head use and also how to resecure the head, Am I looking at rehanging all of the aexs I've done that to? I'd be very grateful. My axes get used for bucking 8 inch to 12 inch trunks, coniferous and deciduous ,to car friendly size lengths and then I use a 3.5lb Jersey pattern Council tools axe for splitting. Any advice welcome

[@benscottwoodchopper]

To me it sounds like the handles are drying out in the eye more than anything else. Where do you store your axes when not in use?

[@sebkent6691]

@@benscottwoodchopper Thank very much for the reply. The axes get stored mainly in the house. Hung vertically by the head on a rack. After a video of yours in which you took a tour through your axes I tried to put together a reasonable crate but space got in the way so hanging racks it is instead. One rack is upstairs in my office the office by the front door. If you've any suggestions I'll gladly take them

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@sebkent6691 the trouble is axes are made in factories with likely higher humidity than most homes meaning shrinkage occurs. Storing in a shed outside or more cool humid part of the home might help prevent but the ones that are already loose will need rewedged or metal wedges added

[@Hl_custom_knives]

First

[@KevinsDisobedience]

Damn, ya beat me.

[@44musher]

@@KevinsDisobedience nice handle, you sound like trouble !

[@LabiaLicker]

I've had a number of occasion chopping old seasoned Australian hardwood where I've actually the axe bounce of the wood and come flying back at me. Not very fun.