How to Split Wood with Axes and Mauls Like a Pro: Hardwood, Softwood, Safety, Wedges

Thought I would make one massive video containing all the tips and tricks I have learned about splitting firewood efficiently. The axes and mauls used in this video are husqvarna A2400, Ochsenkopf spalt fix, Ochsenkopf bavarian splitting axe, Gransfors Bruk Maul and Muller Biber Splitting Axe
In depth video on how to swing and safety: • How to Split Wood with...

[@sooziewho]

A lot of good knowledge, well demonstrated and explained. Can see that you’ve done the hard hours and it now comes as second nature putting this knowledge into action. It’s very satisfying watching someone who is efficient and skilled in their work. Great video 👍

[@TorBoy9]

Thanks for the tutorial and sharing your tricks. You really are knowledgeable but also safety conscious. This is critical for those of us that rarely handle an axe.

[@jasonscott4525]

Awesome video. This is hands down the best splitting advice I’ve ever come across. Thanks for sharing the tips and tricks that you’ve acquired over time!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thank you

[@RickShort21]

I totally agree. This is THE most content-rich, time-efficient splitting education I’ve ever seen. Thank you!

[@sasquatchrosefarts]

​@@benscottwoodchopper these are hatchets. Use axes of full length and gravity does the work to generate speed on the axe head.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@sasquatchrosefarts you dont know what you are talking about nor the definitions of what the tools are.

[@michaellavery4899]

​@@sasquatchrosefarts A hatchet is roughly the length of half an arm with a light, thinner head. What size of axes do you use?

[@bastionhead]

Excellent as always. Though I admit I do drive one maul with another on occasion!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I have too when a wedge hasn't been handy but its bad practice to do too often

[@akashasausuke5249]

To watch the axe hit the boot sent chills up my spine. Thank you Ben for always explaining things. There will always be people like me who really benefit from your knowledge 👍thanks brother!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thank you, all the best from the uk

[@atticbrowser9698]

Really helpful thanks

[@thijs199]

Also I kinda throw my axe up sideways with one hand close to the axe head, and then while its circling I slide the hand over the axe handle and make that all one fluent motion. It requires practice and sometimes it fails but it saves energy

[@brettbrown9814]

First!

[@Fogyt121]

the hair stole the show

[@bugs825]

I couldn't unsee the upside-down bar

[@tomalophicon]

Bono's long lost lumberjack twin

[@tomalophicon]

​@Ridgeback825 what are you on about? Bars are multidirectional.

[@illnaturedsaws]

Fuck how to split what shampoo are you using. 😂

[@kurts64]

Great vid Ben, spot-on advice, demonstrations, and well put together too. Cool that you still recommend the Husky, after using a few of the smaller ones I picked up the 2400 a while back, in part because of your reviews of it. Your worksite looks like a timbermans heaven too, good stuff. Big effort in this vid man!👍👍

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thank you, husqy a2400 is a tool that pays for itself in short order

[@maxw-h]

'I prefer to break axes and not my back'. Such a good perspective.

[@kurts64]

Fifth!

[@leebennett3672]

Great vid and you are clearly in good shape .Maybe think about a kinetic splitter to at least break the rounds for you mate just to take some of the strain off your body in years to come ....it does catch up with you in time 🙂.Thanks for posting.

[@bluegrassoutdoors]

Sycamore is one that splits much easier when it’s seasoned. I believe it depends on the species of wood but also agree that most wood splits easier green.

[@longshanks5531]

I agree, the sugar pine, pine and redwood We have here in the sierra Nevada mountains, splits beautifully when dry. On the other hand, the oak we have here, when dry is really difficult to split, much better when green.

[@ethicalaxe]

Great video. Very comprehensive. That axe with the red collar has such a wonderful wedge profile. I split with vintage axes because there's so much variety and value regionally. I do realize not everyone has a handtool market locally though. I'm lucky. Like you're demonstrating I think it's best to use a range of techniques. The flick is so much easier doing it the way you explained. I also wonder if it's less strain on your body to do it that way. That's how I learned to do it, after seeing a friend swinging like that. I wasn't understanding the buckin' billy ray way. I use it all the time because I rarely use a chopping block.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thank you, i do occasionally use vintage axes for splitting. I struggled with the flick till i figured out it doiesnt matterig if you hold the axe at 45° throughout the swing

[@communicate17]

Excellent video Do you use a pickaroon?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yes, very handy tool

[@Adamt1235]

Husqvarna must sponsor this man! You should all be giving this man a standing ovation. the best product review videos on the Internet are when seasoned veterans immerse the viewers within an in-depth safety, instructional video. It amplifies the product miles above, compared to somebody, using the entirety of their product review video trying to verbally convince the viewers to buy a product.

[@sethmoking]

Where do you get those metal cages do dry firewood? What are they called?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Ibc cages

[@philcowdall9399]

That is an absolutely brilliant video Ben, full of great footage and great wisdom and experience. Great slo-mo's of the famous Flick method too! Thanks!

[@marcleblanc1994]

I enjoyed seeing the two axe méthode I use it on wood that just sucks in the axe instead of wrestling one axe out

[@pk512279]

I've watched several videos on splitting wood so decided today was a good day to start, it wasn't going as planned so fixed my car instead. Came in for a beer & YT, your vid came up in the stream. Can I be bothered to watch another splitting vid? & it's 38 mins long...go on then. Saved to favorites so I can watch again tomorrow before practicing what I've learnt.

[@johndarcey]

HI Ben, are you using the 1600 or 2800 Husqvana Universal or Splitting Axe? Best technique ive seen out here in KZbin land. Legend status. Thanks mate.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Im using the A2400 universal which i like as a general purpose chainsaw axe but for purely splitting the s2800 is nicer

[@1990Co]

Dude you are a fukn machine, and still the best channel on anything axes I've found

[@blakebiagiotti5596]

Hey man this was a great video, as someone whos been struggling with extremely knotted live oak and fir i definitely got some great tips from this. Also has me rethinking the axes ill be using.

[@husqvarna-pit9044]

Nice Axes Greetings from Germany Peter

[@kokkinias]

you are amazing

[@peterhendriks1972]

very good info.... at 35.06 min... super tip

[@KevinsDisobedience]

Great video, Ben. My experience is the same with green wood. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything I’d rather split dry than green. Maybe certain species of maple.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Some of the soft spongy ones like chestnut do better a bit drier but all the good firewoods dont seem to

[@jesseherbert2585]

Nice work! Talent for sure. I've been spitting firewood here in the Northeast US for about 20 yrs (using mauls) and have come to a number of similar conclusions. I do at times use an alternating cyclic swing and "body spin" technique to vary movements/avoid overly repetitive motion, but your method clearly works beautifully as well... A few yrs ago I was splitting cordwood at our ski club. We were amazed that just myself splitting and two ladies bringing more and carting split wood away were able to out stack TWO teams of men using large horsepower gas splitters (3 men per team). We avoided gnarly pieces of course. I was not trying to hurry, in fact I was mostly focused on being calm and aware of those around me, not swinging in an arc that might endanger anyone if my head flew off (hasn't happened yet but theoretically possible) or it slipped from my grip (also never observed). Many folks were remarking how elegant it looked. I attribute it to what you said: minimal effort/movement helps ensure efficient splitting, sustained for hours without exhaustion. Glad you're sharing professional insights. This is satisfying work somehow. Zen like...

[@rjwatkins63]

Really excellent. I only occasionally cut wood, usually just trees from our own land that we've had to have felled for one reason or another, but this has been absolutely invaluable, and I expect it would be useful for more expert viewers too. I will keep coming back to this, as it contains more useful and clearly explained information than the other 30 or so videos I must have watched!

[@michaelsinclair8279]

Ah, so thats how you do the Flick Technique! And thats a wee cheat mode to learn it too, braw!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Cheers, makes it 10 times easier

[@tangle70]

When I was a kid we burned wood and had to split it. Dad would say, boy this will make a man out of you. Did not like it back then, love it now. My body hate me for it. I use a section of log to split on. I rarely split it directly on the ground.

[@_pant0ne]

Been axe-spliting wood for years in our household, but didn't pay too much attention to my technique until saw this video. This was very helpful and informative for me. No doubt this will make my work easier and safer. Great and honest video. Thank you.

[@brettbrown9814]

Heaps of great info in this one Ben! Thanks for putting it all together.

[@williammorris7895]

Excellent video mate! Don't need a gym membership when you do this for a living lol.

[@preppingforlife264]

Excellent advice greatly appreciated I split a ton of elm it sucks🤣

[@jaredtansley3236]

The best wood splitting Hints and tips I've seen on KZbin matey well done.

[@tonyjones4054]

Thanks Ben, my first thought on stumbling across this video is theres nothing a young whippersnapper can teach me about spliting logs etc, every day is a school day!

[@daweed4255]

Thanks for that video, I learned a thing or two. Got two questions.... are those fine english gentleman steel toes or normal full leather boots? :D and why are you using the A2400 instead of the "real splittingaxe" S2800?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Steel toes from rufflander/william lennon boots. The s2800 is better a2400 has been a good companion all these years though

[@federicopiscitello3866]

I've bought S2800 afterwards... Awesome!

[@DiegoAndrade]

Thnak you Ben this is soooo useful and makes much more sense now thank you again.

[@Ve-suvius]

So, if one doesn't care for looks. Get the Husqvarna/Gardena with synthetic handle and a couple of wedges and you're done.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yup pretty much. Nice to have a couple different weights though

[@Ve-suvius]

@@benscottwoodchopper Yes a few of difference sizes helps .

[@426superbee4]

I love to take my maul hit the log dead center and it split wide open. That so addicting LOVE IT

[@gdfggggg]

I split a load of wood from an apple tree I felled. I was utterly knackered after that. I think all the knots made it much harder.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yeah apple wood is quite hard to split

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@tjlee9901 yeah here most stoves are too small for that size. Most people buying wood want 10-12" maximuim length and 4 to 6" max diameter. Modern stoves are a lot more efficient and dont need large logs

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@tjlee9901 use your grey matter and realise nobody would buy your wood commercially, but you do you 🧐

[@BadHorsie1]

I like the advice around 21 mins about splitting horizontally. Saves any chainsaw work

[@robinscott3210]

Great video !

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Cheers!

[@steveburt1824]

Great video. So glad I found your channel.

[@realx09]

Hi, Ben. I noticed that pants you’re wearing are STIHL, could you share which model are they? Thank you much, Enjoying your videos, learning a lot about axe safety and started hanging my own axes, thinning handles, plus sharpening. All the best, mate.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

cheers! they are these ones but tbh id probably go with arbortec. i got given them www.stihl.co.uk/en/ap/advance-x-treem-trousers-design-a-47919

[@MikeSidler-yq3gt]

Log splitter might be coming for your job, watch out!

[@Liam_Nielsen]

Great information. Thank you for sharing.

[@philipprivett9537]

Just discovered your channel, and it's a fab resource. Keep up the good work! For someone who's new to splitting wood, and is looking at Husqvarna axes for splitting 300-400mm green oak logs, would you recommend the A2400 or S2800?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Id go for the a2400

[@michaelkearney5562]

Ben, You're very knowledgeable about this type of work, but can I throw in some constructive comment if I may. The wooden handle of the 'Biber' axe is showing signs of wear, which you pointed out yourself. When you try splitting the far side of the block, it, inevitably, results in the handle coming in contact with the wood, which is never good. A protective cover on the handle would help greatly, and striking the near side of the block would reduce the likelihood of damage. Otherwise, you give a thumbs up performance

[@clivejohnson580]

Sorts the boys out from the men.

[@joshhodge5540]

Is that a hello spaltax in the softwood knots section?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

no its a muller spaltaxt

[@roncar1761]

Hi from Portland Oregon Hey Ben, can you swing by and split some Maple wood for me? I could only split three of the eight rounds with my axe. I tried using my maul and wedges with no luck. If ammo was not so expensive I would pull my AR15 💥🔫 to make room for a wedge! 🙁

[@benscottwoodchopper]

if a maul and wedges ain't getting the job done then only a ten tonne hydraulic splitter will

[@jukeseyable]

Nice to see you using the inverted head technique, seriously ups the splitting power for little energy expenditure

[@philgoogle1535]

Thanks Ben. I should watch this again with a notepad. When you're hot, sweaty and frustrated choppong firewood, it's good to have principles like these to keep you safe.

[@GrizzlyGroundswell]

great vid! Plenty of great tips.

[@edwardrichard2561]

Fiskers maul/axe is a great tool for splitting seasoned wood. The best I’ve used.

[@jackstone4291]

Awesome hair Awesome video Useful for the amateur and the pro ? Gettting in any Fiskars X27 splitting axes and Fiskars XL Splitting mauls ? Highly recommend them ! And guaranteed for life !

[@copper927]

Wow! I wish my father and I knew some of this stuff when we sold firewood for a living. I had the option of a 8 lbs. maul or a 6 lbs. maul as a kid/teenager paired with his homemade 40 horse volkwagon powered hydrolic spitter. One tip for you, my father figured out that I haven't see on youtube yet, he welded a spike on the back of his favorate maul as a picaroon. He has a bad back and is over weight so bending over was done as little as possable. With a sharp hook on the end of your tool you can manipulate the wood on the ground or stick it into the wood and pick it up and put it anywhere you want it, spin heavy rounds, roll big stuff all while never letting your tool leave your hands. The more you use it the better you get with it. Think of a thin narrow chisle that came to a point but still is flat with a chisle grind and about 3 inches long. Or think of it as a witches finger for scratchin, hooking and pulling. I don't share this little gem with anyone but you have shown me so much solid information that I had to give something back. Thanks for the video!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Some German companies make splitting axes with pickaroon already attached, pretty handy idea however when working around other people you have to be super mindful where why put double sided dangerous tools because you cant make the tool safe by sticking it in a stump and tripping and falling on it can be pretty nasty. Definitely useful though but has its upsides and downsides

[@daniellanier9090]

Very good advice about safety, axes and splitting.

[@PeterEndelt]

👍👍👍 Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰

[@afdave7]

I see your rounds are about 40-60 centimeters. Do you have a preference for thickness? I've got a fresh cut pine tree thats huge and I cut the rounds too tall and I'm having trouble. Thinking I might have to use the chainsaw to halve them shorter? They're also very knotted and it's frustrating. But a good workout. Thanks for the info and I hope someone replies. Cheers

[@benscottwoodchopper]

If they will fit in your stove at the length they are at carry on with a couple of wedges

[@nigeldonaldson1647]

Can you tell me if it's possible to chop wood ACROSS it or against the grain with an axe (when the wood is say...15" diameter/thick)

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yes its absolutely possible, just takes a lot of skill and hard work kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXfYaWqbZ8eZp6c

[@maxwellmortimermontoure7274]

You are a friggen beautiful specimen.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yeah

[@fabiomerlin8820]

Simply the most comprehensive video ever about this subject! Thanks.

[@hotpoker4212]

Best results,is to have rounds,at just between your waist and knee height,you get more use out of your swing energy, love your videos,🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Really i think closer to the ground gets far more power but it depends what you are doing whether a block is worth it

[@hotpoker4212]

That's true, I put my rounds,inside a truck tyre with the inner walls removed, stacked 3 tyres high, saves d back,

[@scottishcottagerenovation]

Really excited for this video :)

[@somatder]

funny, I have developed the same strategy as you by first splitting medium or large rounds into long, narrow strips across with a larger axe or maul on the ground and finish splitting on a chopping block with a medium sized axe used in one hand. I sell firewood and strive to offer a premium product so with this method I can get these great looking, uniformly sized square pieces chopped really effectively. Thanks, for the comprehensive guide. I agree with pretty much it all. This is a very good guide for beginners or people needing to learn more effective and safe means of making firewood

[@benscottwoodchopper]

thank you, the square pieces are so much easier to stack too!

[@broadriverforge]

you need a splittin stohler

[@LexLuthor1234]

Hello Ben. and thanks for another great video ! 🙂 Just a quick practical question, - if i'm to pick up a couple of aluminium wedges for splitting some pretty tough rounds, which size/weight should they be? And should be of the same weight or is it better if one is slightly bigger than the other ? Cheers from Denmark! :)

[@benscottwoodchopper]

i think mine are a medium size but the larger the wedges are the better they work in larger wood. id just get 2 the same

[@LexLuthor1234]

@@benscottwoodchopper Thanks Ben :)

[@jeffreyrubish347]

Very thorough explanation of splitting. I recently had some elm rounds and was having to use three wedges and a 12# sledge. Out came the trusty Husqvarna chainsaw.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Elm is the hardest wood to split by far

[@phoephoe795]

I have a small (1x2ft) sheet of 1/2" chipboard to split on- saves a lot on my axe since the log pile was dumped on a concrete floor.

[@namelessxyz5218]

Very cool Video Ben! Great advice and great work! Regards from Bavaria 👍🏻

[@benscottwoodchopper]

danke schöne!

[@m783w]

Best Axe video to be found. Proper axe man!

[@MrDunk66]

Very helpful Ben. Type of video I would watch before I infrequently chop wood as it is a fantastic safe technique tutorial 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@richevy5224]

Nice instructional video. Great points made.

[@Joey-L]

Never thought of that between the legs ground splitting. Gonna give it a try next time out.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Its fine for easy splitting wood

[@thefellingfella9886]

Very good tips and advive Ben! I totally agree with your opinion on different techniques, that none of them are universal. I still have “some” locust to split and it’s a pain without a proper splitting axe, not to mention that I use a tuned up hardware store one to get the job done, so I might buy a splitting axe. Do you have any recommendation for hard ass knotty woods?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Stihl pro cleaving axe/ochsenkopf spalf fix works great

[@thefellingfella9886]

@@benscottwoodchopper Thanks

[@Fun4me75]

At 11:28 of the video, you demonstrate really well for the Oak, I may have missed it but is this a season log or fresh cut? I have post oak and live oak to split, they’re about 1 month fresh cut sitting on the ground. Thank you for an excellent video👏🤙🏽

[@benscottwoodchopper]

i just split all woods asap so they dry asap. some woods split better a little seasoned but most i find easier green

[@Fun4me75]

@@benscottwoodchopper thank you Ben 🤙🏼

[@joeoutdoors2299]

Fantastic video, lots of great info. I wish i'd watched your videos before buying my axe but looks like I got the wrong tool for the job! still going to enjoy putting it to work!

[@turbowarp]

Based on recommendations, i bought the Fiskars X27. Its 36" long, I see the Hus A2400 is only 27". IMO, its not the panacea, as advertised. Any comments or comparisons?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Its the same as the x25 in length so better length for a higher chopping block. It can split most woods great, can chop off limbs and has a hardened poll allowing you to drive wedges when felling trees or splitting wedges for big rounds. As a dedicated splitter x27 is arguably better but it cant drive wedges, if your poll is marked they void the lifetime waranty. Overall i think the husqvarnas have a more robust design. If i could only have one axe it would be the husqvarna. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2Okm4VobraDiJYsi=DSdtqfPIMa68tLIY

[@turbowarp]

@@benscottwoodchopper Thank you. As I am older, but still heat with wood, I need every advantage I can get. I will try to practice your swing and posture techniques to benefit my efficiency and safety. I do have a Fiskars 8lb maul, that I've done most of my splitting with until I got the X27, last week. I'll see if I can order the Husky. Just found and really appreciate your videos. 🪵🔥

[@pasjooter1039]

Very informatieve vid, keep up the good work. No fiskars splitting axe, or you have no good experience with them ?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Fiskars are good just prefer 80cm long axes

[@pasjooter1039]

Not sure if my Info is correct but it seems the A2400 is only 70 cm the Fiskars X25 XL has the same weight and is slightly longer 72,2 cm. Fiskars does not have the hammer function.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@pasjooter1039 exactly, i find the A2400 would literally be the perfect axe if it was 10cm longer but I prefer that to 90cm of the X27. as it is I often use the hammer more than the edge so the A2400 is a must own tool for me but when i split a lot I have longer wood handles at 80cm

[@grekiely6245]

Ben, Mate magic Vid, as an old Bloke now, lots of knowledge I could have used 40 years back. :)

[@toddbacon3262]

WOW thanks, you taught me a lot and I’m way older than you, thank you so much. Old dogs can learn new tricks lol

[@dcvariousvids8082]

Great stuff. Especially the splitting fresh into 1/4s, to chainsaw to size later. Less handling on what is often not the most level ground and so less backwork. Also the part cutting the logs to required firewood lengths, then splitting off pieces while the lengths are lying horizontally on the ground. Easier firewood splitting, with a shield from the axe head from the un-chainsawed side of the log. You can then load the thinner lengths and chainsaw into firewood later. And the not every axe will do everything insight. Plus the positioning a round horizontally but being behind the heels/legs. I know from hedging, to safely point stakes etc., to have the striking zone behind the leg. But I’d never thought of it for splitting firewood. Best splitting info I’ve seen, from someone who evidently splits not just conifer. Thank you.

[@rollypollyguy3976]

I have the same mindset as you. I prefer to split most green. Split it as soon as it's been bucked up, stack it and leave it breath till winter. I like your channel man.

[@constantineperatos3676]

Excellent video very helpful, i like the way you explained to stand where the axe cannot deflect and hit your leg and feet

[@naturundhund]

Nice Work....

[@gumboot65]

Excellent vid! I actually learned some things. Which is a big compliment. I've been splitting wood since 1969.

[@mikenormandy9250]

This is now the video I have saved to show all my friends and family how-to when it comes to wood splitting/chopping! Thanks dude!

[@longshanks5531]

Thanks for the time and energy you put into these videos, Ben, it really helps me, cheers! on a sidenote, I’ve had that same Husqvarna, S 2800 for about two weeks now, and it is an absolute banger of a splitter

[@Woodchucker.kaleb.w]

Nice work

[@jeffreylucas3421]

I wish I found this sooner I have been processing two red oak trees into fire wood. Its been a chore yet rewarding to see what progress can be made. Your tips wil help be process some rounds that have narley knots in them. Thanks you for the instructional video fine job.

[@fonz-ys6xu]

You look like Patrick Swayze, if he were a lumberjack.

[@scherramv5767]

I appreciate the attitude towards axes that you have. Your videos are seriously helpful. Thanks for taking the time out of busy life to share your advice from real world work

[@evangorman2]

Hands down, this is excellent advice. Your experience is liquid gold! Thanks for sharing.

[@randallhall4767]

Best video I've seen on splitting wood. Good technique & saftey advise.

[@PO4TI_MONSTR]

Приветствую. Не люблю колоть двумя руками: kzbin.infoCbc-JmHJvrI?si=HMCCBWFg7HJrU-1X 🇷🇺🤝✊