Chopping firewood with an axe may seem easy, but care must be taken. There are several tricks to do it quickly, easily and with minimal effort.
The first thing is precisely the choice of the axe. You have to choose an axe of the size that’s right for you, make sure it is sharp and make sure that the head is securely locked and that the handle has no damage such as cracks or splits. Among the different types of axe that are present, the best one for cutting firewood is the maul, that is the type of axe with a very heavy head. It is an axe made on purpose to concentrate all the force in the blade and cut more easily.
The choice of wood is also important. Seasoned wood is usually the best and easiest to cut, but fresh wood can also be used. Do not choose wood logs with nails, it is dangerous to remove them and you could ruin the axe. Do this only if forced or if the nails can be removed very easily. If there are knots in the wood, especially if it is not seasoned, it will be very difficult to split it. Try to follow the lines through the center of the trunk, i.e. its natural splits (easy to find in dry wood) so as to split it more easily.
The position you have to put yourself in is just as important. The best is to have your feet one foot apart, not one forward and one back, and stand in front of the trunk at a distance that the blow will drop on the log with your arms fully extended. In this way, leaning slightly forward, the axe will lower on the wood with all its strength.
Now, the main point, how do you chop a firewood with an axe a log?
Stay relaxed, place the dominant hand under the head of the ax, so as to better control it and also increase its strength, and the other hand at the base of the handle. You must aim towards the center of the trunk in the case of smaller logs of wood or towards the outside in the case of larger trunks. In the event that the axe gets stuck, you can remove it and try again in the case of large trunks or, in the case of small logs of wood, hold the axe with the small trunk stuck and make them collide against a tree, a hammer or the base you use to cut fire logs.
A trick that makes it easier and cut more deeply is to hit the firewood first with the bottom of the blade, so that the momentum and weight of the axe can easily do the rest of the work.