Master the Art of Axe Swing: Essential Techniques for Efficient and Safe Logging

I’ve got a soft spot for old-school ways of doing things, and Peter Buchanan-Smith is right up my alley. The guy’s a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to splitting wood – he’s all about the axe. “There’s something about the axe that demands more reverence,” he says, and I couldn’t agree more.

Buchanan-Smith is the author of “Buchanan-Smith’s Axe Handbook” and the founder of Best Made Co., a brand that’s all about selling axes with painted handles. But he didn’t learn his axe-wielding skills from a fancy teacher or anything. Nope, his first axe was the one he found on his family farm in Ontario, Canada, and he admits it was probably too big for him at the time.

“I just grabbed it one day and started chopping away with it,” he says, laughing. “For better or for worse, probably much more for worse.” Yeah, I can imagine. But it was during his time at a Northern Ontario summer camp that he really developed a respect for the tool. He learned how to handle and sharpen an axe, as well as how to stay safe while using it.

And let me tell you, when you’re on a 30-day canoe trip, a sharp and intact axe is your best friend. “By God, you respected that axe,” he says. “It was your lifeline.” Here, he shares some tips for beginners who are new to the world of axe-wielding.

[Image: A photo of an axe, with a caption that reads “Bucking is the process of cutting a tree into shorter segments that can then be processed into firewood.” The image is credited to Abrams Image.]