Headed up to the lot today to fell trees and split firewood with a couple of my new favorite tools.
I tried out a lot of saws, from generic Home Depot stuff to Shark saws from Japan. My favorite by far was this 24-inch Bahco bow saw with a greenwood blade. These Swedish saws are inexpensive (about $24) but they absolutely rip through foot-thick birch trees. Next up is the 36-inch Fiskars X27 splitting axe. Axe snobs (and yes that is seriously a thing!) thumb their noses at Fiskars, but I’ve found the X27 comfortable and super durable. They run around $60. Again, using hand tools is far from the most efficient way to clear a lot or process wood, I just find it personally relaxing and rewarding. If chain saws are your thing, by all means go for it.
There’s an ongoing debate about whether heating with wood is healthy, effective, or environmentally responsible. I’ll get into that in future posts, there’s a lot to unpack! But this wood was from my building site and it was either getting used for heating or hauled to a landfill, so in this case I’d say things are pretty cut and dry.
Photos taken May 12, 2019. Posted May 12, 2019.
