Makin' kin'lin

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Highbeam said:
Regular axe like everyone should have. Just hold onto the handle way up by the bit and use it like a really heavy hatchet to split kindling. As my wood quality has gone up, my kindling size also has gone up. I only use four pieces now instead of 9 and then straight to full sized splits. No super cedars either, they work great but I'm just too cheap.
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You pretty much describe what I do except that I do use a 1/4 of a Super Cedar. The frugal side of me ordered them in the 100ct volume for the lowest price and I pestered Thomas for a further discount. 400 easy fire starts is good value for the money IMHO. If it were easy to use a full one and forgo kin'lin altogether, I'd be in there like a dirty shirt.

A regular axe generally has a fairly blunt angle to it and as such better suited to being swung. Specialty carving axes and hatchets tend to have a thinner edge of the wedge and are easier to "set" and control.

My problem is worsening with age. There was a time I could hit the same spot dead on with my swing. Now I'm lucky to hit the round. Someone watching me made the comment "Wow, you're like lightning". "That fast and powerful eh?" I asked with pride. "No" he said, "never hits the same place twice".
 
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LLigetfa said:
My problem is worsening with age. There was a time I could hit the same spot dead on with my swing. Now I'm lucky to hit the round. Someone watching me made the comment "Wow, you're like lightning". "That fast and powerful eh?" I asked with pride. "No" he said, "never hits the same place twice".
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That's so funny but unfortunately true.... :(
 
Also a nice part about the Froe. Set it where you want and giver a tap and a pry it it pops apart. You only swing a mallet or small round like I do and you other hand is no wherer near the blade.
 
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DTrain said:
Just made a whack of kindling yesterday. Peavey mfg. Froe. As easy as it gets. A nice tool to add to the collection anyway. I also think it takes less effort to use, less force than an axe or hatchet. Less chance of whacking yourself .
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I guess I missed that one due to their choice of spelling (froe/frow/fro). That thing looks huge. Maybe even bigger than the Lee Valley one I found. I suppose one could take a grinder to it and shorten it some.
 
LLigetfa said:
I guess I missed that one due to their choice of spelling (froe/frow/fro). That thing looks huge. Maybe even bigger than the Lee Valley one I found. I suppose one could take a grinder to it and shorten it some.
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15". It's what you want if you have something a little tough. Once you bury the blade in the top of the round you may need to whack it again. So you need some hanging out either side to smack. 6" round with 4.5" of land to hit on either side
 
Scols said:
I use a small wedge and a lump hammer. It safe and works pretty well.
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I use a lump hammer with my stone chisel and forever keep whacking my hand despite the guard. I don't want my hand to be in the line of fire.
(broken image removed)
Did I mention my aim has gotten real bad? It's the primary reason I use my hydraulic log splitter to split everything. I mentioned to the wife that I think I may be showing early signs on MS but she dismissed me.
 
LLigetfa said:
I use a lump hammer with my stone chisel and forever keep whacking my hand despite the guard. I don't want my hand to be in the line of fire.

Did I mention my aim has gotten real bad? It's the primary reason I use my hydraulic log splitter to split everything. I mentioned to the wife that I think I may be showing early signs on MS but she dismissed me.
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Why not use it to do the kin'lin too? ;) I've done that in the past, very fast & easy as it gets.

FWIW Lig, Most of my fires start off with a 1/4 of a super cedar, no kin'lin. It's a sure bet if you place the chunk of SC near the ends of the splits.
 
MasterMech said:
Why not use it to do the kin'lin too? ;) I've done that in the past, very fast & easy as it gets.

FWIW Lig, Most of my fires start off with a 1/4 of a super cedar, no kin'lin. It's a sure bet if you place the chunk of SC near the ends of the splits.
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I'm not bragging. I split all of my est.wh. cedar by hand and it is cheaper and faster than a splitter overall by about three to four times being conservative and I have a ridiculously fast splitter. Mind you that I only get knotty stuff when relatives show up saying that they found these blocks bucked up out in tha woods, and I tell them that I left those behind for that reason.
 
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Got the X7 for Christmas. It is a nice hatchet, although I expected something a little heavier. I think a few more ounces would be beneficial. The X7 is very sharp like the X25 and X27 and cuts well. Does a good job at producing kindling, although an X25 choked up also does a fine job. The X7 is an upgrade from the hatchet I ordinarily use, but it is not a "fantastic" tool like the X25 or X27. If don't have a hatchet and are deciding to buy one, I recommend it. If you are choosing to upgrade to your current hatchet, I also make a positive recommendation, but only if you are unhappy with your current tool.
 
Yeah, I just use a cheap hatchet I bought from Home Depot and a 5 pound hammer. Hold the wood up with the hatchet and give the hatchet a wack. I might try the hydraulic splitter this summer, but it really is easy to make a week's worth of kindling with the hatchet and hammer.
 
X7 works for what I need. I break down skids at work all year , bring them home. If I need the pieces smaller the x7 does well. I use a round on the deck, and split away. I keep my hands away by starting the hatchet in the wood, lift with the wood stuck on the hatchet, and swing toward the round and it splits nice. I cut halfway into my thumb nail, and all, and that's the last time I'll ever keep my hand near.
 
Inverted atv tire on a stump , maul/axe,hatchet.
[Hearth.com] Makin' kin'lin
 
I have kindling all through my woodpile. When we do a tree job, I save almost everything over 2" diameter. I put that stuff randomly (sometimes in bundles) throughout the stacks. That way, there's always a horde of good kindling in the stacks. I use that smaller stuff on start-ups and re-lights......
 
I just collect up all the scrap that hits the ground when using the TimberWolf.
 
fabsroman said:
Yeah, I just use a cheap hatchet I bought from Home Depot and a 5 pound hammer. Hold the wood up with the hatchet and give the hatchet a wack.
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I tried that with my cheap hatchet and the lump hammer left quite an imprint in the poll of the hatchet. Obviously not heat treated so I switched to beating on the poll with my large rubber mallet.

I think the Fiskars would stand up to that sort of abuse.
 
Just ran across this:
(broken link removed to http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/Kindling-Froe-by-Mora-of-Sweden/productinfo/109%2D1980/)
 
mtnhome said:
Just ran across this:
(broken link removed to http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/Kindling-Froe-by-Mora-of-Sweden/productinfo/109%2D1980/)
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Neat. Seems like you'd need to be making kindling from stuff that's pretty small already, and have straight grain. I think that be great when I break up 2x4 leftovers. I find the Froe with the 90 handle gives plenty of leverage to pry or pop that peice off. But I'd certainly add that to the arsenal.
 
LLigetfa said:
I tried that with my cheap hatchet and the lump hammer left quite an imprint in the poll of the hatchet. Obviously not heat treated so I switched to beating on the poll with my large rubber mallet.

I think the Fiskars would stand up to that sort of abuse.
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Yeah, I wouldn't really want to beat a Fiskars like this, and I think the hatchet is made to mushroom on the back end when struck. The hammer is not getting a single mark on it. If the hatchet lasts me 10 years with the beating, it will have paid for itself and I will break out another $10. Just split over a month's worth of kindling the other day via this method.
 
LLigetfa said:
Why not? I think it would not deform like a cheap hatchet will.
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Because I do not know the answer to that matter and I would rather use the Fiskars for cutting crap while splitting stuff on the hydraulic splitter versus making kindling. Might just make kindling with the splitter instead of whacking it with hand tools. We shall see.
 
I like my little Estwing hatchet .
1 1/2 lb. 14" handle. A glove on the left hand
and chip away!
 
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