Splitting Choice Axe Handle Blanks From An Oak Log & Shaping Wooden Wedges

Splitting an oak log into billets, staves or "rails" for axe handles, bowstaves, and other projects. Traditional and Green woodworking often starts with splitting wood for further processing rather than sawing it. It is possible to split most logs with one axe and disposable wooden wedges.

Link for the Council tool boy's axe, the red one in this video: https://amzn.to/2WMy6ta. The black headed axe that I use the most in this video is the forest service version of the council tool boy's axe, available only from Omaha Knife. There is another new model out now and 4 versions on the market in total. The red one is the cheapest and when you get a good one they are good axes but there are occasional quality control issues with the tempering resulting in soft edges. I think they are all pretty similar in the long run.

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible: https://amzn.to/2GhFDut

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Standard gear I recommend. I either use or have used all of it.

Council Tool Boys Axe: https://amzn.to/3z0muqI
Bahco Farmer's File: https://amzn.to/3Hbdhij
King two sided sharpening stone: https://amzn.to/32EX1XC
Silky f180 saw: https://amzn.to/3yZzM71
ARS 10 foot long reach pruner: https://amzn.to/3esETmM
Victorinox grafting/floral knife: https://amzn.to/3Jki1E9
Wiebe 12” fleshing tool: https://amzn.to/3sB0qSl
Atlas Elbow Gloves: https://amzn.to/3FwB5g6

BOOKS:
The Axe Book, by Dudley Cook: https://amzn.to/32kx7sN
Bushcraft, by Mors Kochanski: https://amzn.to/32q2rpT

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Splitting logs with wedges is generally easy, but a few things to know will help quite a bit. First assess the grain by looking at the bark. The bark lines will usually reveal the general run of the grain beneath and will show some buried knots as well. Wood can sometimes be split contrary to the grain to an extent, but generally the grain is followed. One problem though is that they split will not always follow the grain when you want it to. It is safest to split wood into equal parts, so splitting a 1/4 of a lot into 8ths is easier than splitting it three ways into 12ths. Some types of wood split much more easily and reliably along the grain than others. For logs prone to grain runout in splitting, you can still sometimes split smaller staves off of larger pieces by approaching the split gradually and moving the wedges frequently.