Make a blood circle before you use a knife or hatchet: hold the closed tool at arm's length and turn in a full circle. If you can touch anyone or anything, move. Keep others outside that circle.
Camp and wildlife · Camp and wildlife course
Knife, hatchet and splitting wood safely
A knife and a hatchethatchet A small, short-handled axe used with one hand, for splitting and trimming small wood. turn the woods into firewood, kindlingkindling Pencil-thin dead twigs that catch from tinder and build the fire up. They should snap, not bend. and shelter polespoles Dead, straight sticks about as thick as your wrist and 2 to 3 meters long. Dead standing wood is best: dry, and it snaps clean., but they also cause most camp injuries. The safe way is also the faster way: a clear swing zone, the right stance, sharp edges, and letting the tool do the work.
Why this matters
Most camp injuries come from blades and axes, not wild animals. A slip with a hatchet can cut a leg to the bone far from help.
Doing it safely is also faster: a sharp tool, a solid block and a straight swing split more wood with less effort.
What you need
- A strong fixed-blade knife, a hatchet or small axe with a sheath, a sharpening stone, gloves, eye protection and sturdy boots.
- A chopping block: a wide, flat stump or round of wood.
A few minutes to set up a safe spot; an evening's firewood takes 20 to 40 minutes.
Step by step
Cut away from your body, your legs and your other hand, always. Sit with elbows on your knees so the blade moves in front of your knees, not between your legs where the big leg arteriesartery A blood vessel that carries blood from the heart under high pressure. A cut artery spurts bright red blood. are.
A sharp tool is a safe tool. A dull edge glances off the wood and into you. Keep edges sharp, and close or sheath the knife whenever you stop using it, even for a moment.
Batoningbatoning Splitting small wood by setting a knife edge on top and tapping the back of the blade with a second stick. splits small wood with a knife: stand the stick on a solid log, rest the knife edge across the top, and tap the back of the blade with a second stick. Use a strong fixed-blade knife, never a folding one, and keep your hand off the top of the blade.
Splitting with a hatchet or axe: set the log upright on a chopping block or a big round, not on the ground. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and swing straight down so a miss hits the block, not your shin. Start in an existing crack.
Wear sturdy boots, eye protection and gloves when you split. Hold small pieces with a stick, not your fingers. Never hold a log steady for someone else.
If the blade sticks, do not yank it sideways or kick it. Lift the log and tool together and tap them down on the block, or tap the handle end with your palm.
Carry a hatchet sheathed, edge down, beside you, never on your shoulder. If you trip, throw it clear. Set it down flat with the edge against a log, never leaning with the edge out.
Tips from survival instructors
- Split wood with the grain and start at cracks already in the end of the log; it opens far more easily.
- Most of your fire needs small wood. Collect dead branches you can break by hand before you reach for an axe.
Common mistakes
- Chopping on the ground. The fix: always use a block so a miss hits wood.
- Holding the wood with your hand while you swing. The fix: use a stick or split from the side.
- Using a folding knife to baton. The fix: only a strong fixed blade.
- Leaving a hatchet lying open. The fix: sheath it or lay it flat with the edge against a log.
Practice it safely
With an adult or a trained friend, practice batoning small, dry sticks into kindling in the backyard. Then practice splitting short rounds with a hatchet on a block, working slowly and checking the blood circle every time.
Quick check
Why is a dull blade more dangerous than a sharp one?
- It is not
- It glances off the wood and into you
- It weighs more
Show the answer
It glances off the wood and into you
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