It is quite a great conversation starter to talk about woods for people who have a deep appreciation for woodworks and other construction activities. Most of these wood makers have been procuring their wood naturally through the woods themselves and does the hard labor of splitting the woods. It is interesting to learn about the ways of the people having this different but productive lifestyle. Learning how to split wood with a hatchet is a great start because it is one of the preparations needed to produce kindle and other woods needed for construction. With this said, it is noticeable that people may have been doing the whole thing wrong, so it would be great to educate people on their proper use and more. Let us now get into more of this hatchet action and learn of its proper use.
How to Properly Split Wood with a Hatchet
Before we start learning how to split wood with a hatchet, it is important first to establish what a hatchet is. A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side and a hammerhead on the other side, which serves multiple purposes for use. This is a tool designed to be like an ax but would not require a lot of strength for it to be used. It is a lighter version of the ax, which is more compact, and you could carry around. Now that we are done with what a hatchet is, let us now go with the proper steps to split a block of wood using a hatchet.
As we have discussed, a hatchet could be compared to a knife with an ax area that adds to its weight. This weight or mass is the important aspect of this tool because it pushes for more force to be exerted on the wood when splitting it, causing a multiplied force to act upon contact. Many people who used a hatchet without fully knowing its proper handling uses a baton to help the hatchet push through the wood, which is ridiculous and wrong. There is no possible reason for this action because the weight of the hatchet itself is what you needed for it to hack through the wood, and using a baton to act as a hammer to your hatchet is like mistaking a hatchet for a nail. It is important to use the hatchet properly and accurately to make use of its potential and ability. For this, you must practice your aim and accuracy when splitting wood.
The weight of the ax or the head part of the hatchet makes it an effective mini ax to use and so using a baton is redundant and useless. Do not ever do this when using a hatchet and remember that a hatchet is a single-handed tool. Hold the wood properly in place, and be sure not to hack your fingers. Aim properly to avoid accidents and do a precise swing to split the wood. If you want to split the wood into finer pieces, you might want to adjust your grip and place it closer to the neck towards the head for better control.
The other things that you might need to learn are knowing how to split wood with a hatchet and tire and how to split kindling with a hatchet.
How to Split Wood with a Hatchet and a Tire
Since you probably had an idea of how to split the wood with a hatchet properly, you must keep this in mind and repeatedly practice to hone your aim and handle the wood for best results. However, this is not all the things you need to learn about splitting woods with the hatchet because there are still other ways to improve your splitting work and make things easier. This is where learning how to split wood with a hatchet and tire takes precedence and could help you.
The first thing that might come into your mind is, “What would a tire do to help me improve my work?” Well, it is quite simple. You could use a tire to hold the wood together inside of it. This will ensure that the wood is perfectly secured and in place. Splitting wood could be harder when the pieces that you have split are scattered all over the place. For this, you need to walk around and collect the pieces and interrupt your swinging momentum. With the tire in place, the work you will be doing will decrease, and it will secure the pieces without you needing to gather it around. Also, this is a great tip for those with bad aim. They could go around the tire and hack the areas needed to be split.
The Easiest and Safest Way to Split Wood
Some people might find it hard to use the hatchet because, for one, it requires considerable one arm strength and the accuracy and precision of aiming for the right parts. Practice does indeed make a great change for this, but it might take a long time, and if you do not have one, it will cause you more trouble than you think. However, did you know that there is a safer and easier way to using a hatchet? You will know this when learning how to split kindling with a hatchet.
The method starts with you laying the wood parallel to the surface. You should then embed your hatchet to the top part of the wood that you will be splitting. Make sure to properly embed it into the wood and then raise the wood with the hatchet. Hold the wood with both hands on the lower side while also holding the handle of the hatchet. Then slam it to the edge of the surface of your splitting area and see how it easily splits with less force required and minimal caution to be observed. This is great for beginners and those not confident with their aims yet. Still, it would be great to learn the hatchet’s proper use because it is a single-handed tool after all, and this method would not work on thick and larger wood. Know more about on splitting wood.
Conclusion
Learning how to split wood with a hatchet, as you could see, is not as bad as you think. Sure, it might not be more useful in your city life, but it could be an alternative skill you can practice when you have time. It could also aid you when you try to live in a forest covered place and live a crude but humble life in the woods. Knowing more is not a bad thing, and it is interesting to explore many things that are out of your field of knowledge. Also, at least now you know how to use a hatchet and will not use it for other things that could embarrass you at the end.