Kindling, also known as firewood, is necessary for lighting a fire, even if you’re out hunting or using a wood stove at the house. Those who are warming their home with a fireplace understand the challenge to get more kindling. Kindling is easily obtainable on the fire starter market. However, it can be pricy, particularly if you need it every day!
You have the choice of making your firewood by cutting a log into fragments. It’s reasonably simple, but the technique is to use appropriate wood and the best hatchets to produce a good stock of lighting wood that you can use to ignite a warm fire inside the home and for outdoor activities. Typically, all trees that quickly break up are ideal to be used as an onset.
The bark of most conifers, such as birch and oak, makes an excellent split kindling. It’s beneficial to understand how to chop kindling quickly and effectively if you’re going to light fires frequently. It’s a little tricky cutting the pieces as they keep on flying here and there. Here are some of the points that can ease the process of cutting kindling for you.
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Choosing a Perfect Log
The fire’s ideal lighting wood is beech branches, though hawthorn, elm, ash, and hazel are all appropriate to use as far as they are dry. You can pick pine sticks and cones as well.
Use softer woods, such as oak and timber, as its resinous structure makes it a lot easier to light fires. Kindling burns out reasonably quick, so it’s always better to pack a large bucket all at the same time, instead of just making a pile for just a single fire.
Although elm and beech sticks are great options for making kindling, they are a little tough to crack. Always pick a dry wood.
Just keep in mind the logs to be cut are thoroughly seasoned without any knot and seasonally grained. As a combination of lighting dimensions is ideal for lighting fires, pick logs from 5-8 inches with a maximum diameter of 9 inches or less as they are more convenient to handle.
Picking the Right Cutting Tool
Picking the right tool for a cutting task is just a matter of personal choice. Some individuals choose to use a hatchet, while others are more worried about safety. Or maybe you want your children to help but don’t feel safe and secure, allowing them to choose an ax.
Using a smaller ignition ax or chopper since you can have more flexibility when cutting small wood fragments. Wrench the ax into the wood and bring both of them up before reaching the chopping block. This will undoubtedly result in fewer chances of severe wounds.
Kindling axes available in the market are 14 to 20 inches long and convenient enough to grip and move with one hand. They consist of a sheath for proper protection and easy handling. The best axes in the market having sharp blades include Fiskars 375501 and Snow 11.
Strong Cutting Surface
Putting the kindling on a strong log that is firmly positioned on end lifts it. It also offers a challenging and strong surface; if you cut the kindling directly on the ground, you’ll end up running the tool into the soil that dampens the sharpness of the blade. Of course, the place where you cut the firewood should be free of obstructions.
Opting for the Right Technique
The easiest and fast way to make kindling is to cut dry, austere, and well-seasoned logging with smooth grains with the least knots. Tie it just below half, with a rope or a piece of cloth, and position it on a cutting block.
Then place the ax edge on the log and push it through a strong, wooden mallet. Flip the handle to cut the wood down the sides and repeat the same process to create pieces per inch. The rope ties the woods together so they will not blow out.
For a safe and smoother cutting process adopting contact, splitting is also a great technique as through this lighting, and wood is easily broken while reducing the swinging of the ax. Another advantage of this technique is you can get the required size within a short period.
Some Beneficial Tips
Cutting in the kneeling posture means that the hatchet will strike the ground if you skip the wood. If you are cutting in the standing position, a hatchet may drop on your leg, causing injuries.
Most people are fearful while cutting the kindling. Hence, there are higher chances of injuries. A simpler approach is to use a large ax with a short handle instead of a lightweight one. Small axes hit the wood at great speed to break it, while more massive tools provide the same splitting strength at a slower rate.
Dragging a hand tool or ax to a little block of wood that you’re carrying to make your kindling is clearly risky – your fingertips are too delicate! So, opt for one of the two smarter strategies. The wood section to be cut should be kept in place on the chopping surface along with a stick that’s barely long enough to keep your balanced hand out of the hand ax. Or take a hammer, ideally a full-sized one, but keep it close to the head so that you use the weight of the ax, not its speed, to break the log.
There is a great range of weak tree trunks, wood chips, and bark in every bundle of logs – hang on to them, as they will contribute to your home-made firewood.
Conclusion
When cutting wood, focus on making a range of sizes, mainly smaller pieces. The smaller the kindling fragment, the greater its surface area so that the fire can ignite more quickly. However, it is still necessary to add medium-sized woods. The size of the kindling will determine the intensity of your lighting