The Secret to Splitting Wood With an Axe Safely

Choosing an axe

The right axe for you is the one you feel most comfortable with. A good starting point for the size of your axe starts with the handle. Ideally you want the length of the handle to go from the ground to your hip. Choose the weight of the axe based on your personal strength. Try different lengths and weights to determine which one feels the best and and the safest to control and use.

Keep in mind:

• The bigger the log the longer the handle needed to create more force in the downward strike.
• Use an axe for smaller logs, smaller wood pieces, and for precise cuts.
• Use a splitting maul for larger, tougher logs. A maul is heavier than an axe with a thick, wedge-shaped head that looks like a combination of an axe and a sledgehammer. Mauls split through wood using more weight and force rather than just sharpness. They’re also useful for driving splitting wedges into stubborn logs.

Before you begin splitting, ensure your axe blade is sharp – it should bite into wood easily on contact without bouncing. If your axe bounces off wood or requires excessive force, the axe needs sharpening with a file or stone, or you can have it professionally sharpened at many hardware stores.

Positioning the wood

Where you place the wood when you are going to strike will go a long way toward providing safety. Use a large log, in an open area, as a chopping block to set the log you are going to split. Placing the log on the farther side of the chopping block. This will make sure the axe blade has a place to land and avoid hitting you in the shins or feet should your swing miss the mark.

Before placing the log, examine the grain pattern and look for natural splits or checks in the wood. Position the log so you’ll be splitting along the grain direction, not across it. Avoid splitting logs where knots are visible – the different orientation of the grain where the knot is located will prevent it from splitting easily. Also, avoid freshly cut or “green” wood, as high moisture content makes it harder to split.

Holding the axe

Holding the axe properly will ensure a solid strike. The dominant arm’s hand should be positioned near the end of the axe handle, but closest to the ax head and will do most of the work to lift, drop and control the weight of the axe. Your other arm, the non-dominant hand, grips below that, closer to the end of the handle and serves as a support and fulcrum/pivot point for the axe.

Splitting wood isn’t only about force or strength; it’s about landing the strike in the optimal place to split the wood.

Aim

When deciding where you want the axe to contact the log, aim a little bit above the pith and use any existing split in the pith of the wood to your advantage. The pith is where the growth rings converge to form a tight center. This is usually where the log will naturally split as it dries out and moisture escapes. This split in the log is where the tension in the wood is already pulling apart the fibers, making your job easier.

Swing and strike

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart in a stable, balanced stance. Avoid straining your body by keeping the heavy part of the axe close to your body while lifting overhead for the swing. As you strike down, slide the dominant hand down to meet your non-dominant hand, bringing both hands together to end the swing.
Let the weight of the axe follow through – your hands are guiding it, not forcing it. As you get comfortable with your swing, try flicking the blade as you follow through to help the log split.

If the axe gets stuck in the wood, don’t try to wrench it out forcefully. Instead, lift the log with the axe still embedded and strike it down onto your chopping block to drive it through.

FAQ

Is it best to split wood wet or dry?

If possible, split wood 6 to 12 months after it has been cut. The logs will split more easily and burn faster if you split dry firewood.  Wood is never fully dry, but observing a split in the pith, the center of the wood, is a sign that much of the moisture found in a recently cut log (often referred to as green) is no longer contained within the log.

Is it better to split wood with an axe or maul?

Whether to use an axe or a maul when splitting wood depends a great deal on the size of the log being split.  A maul is usually used in conjunction with a splitting wedge – making it easier to force the wedge into a larger log. An axe works well for smaller logs and precise cuts.

Can you burn fresh split wood?

If the wood has recently been cut, it has a high moisture content and will not burn well. If the wood to be burned was split 6 to 12 months earlier, it is more likely to burn well. Wood with a high moisture content is referred to as green and wood dried out for some time is referred to a seasoned.

How sharp should an axe be to split wood?

It may sound counterintuitive, but you don’t want a razor-sharp axe when splitting wood. You want your axe to be “Scraper sharp” – sharp enough to penetrate the wood grain and deep enough to create a split.