When splitting a round, position it on the far side of the chopping block so that, in the event of a mis-hit, the blade sinks into the block and not the ground or your foot. (Photo by Scott Linden)
January 30, 2025
By Scott Linden
That unmistakable crackle, comforting warmth and even a little smoke in my eyes all reminded me I was roughing it right. I stuck to the basics, stayed safe and turned a tree trunk into camaraderie and celebration.
Once the fire leapt to life, I capped my day in style by pouring a smoky, malty glass of good cheer and settling into a camp chair. No gasoline or store-bought bundle necessary. A fire wrought entirely from nature by our own capable hands is a touchstone of our primal origins. Heat, light, protection from saber-toothed cats.
And like a memorable meal, the right ingredients for such a fire are crucial. Good wood is the essential component for an enthralling campfire story, especially if you plan to embellish the size of the fish you caught.
BASICS AND A BASE Dry wood rounds, cut in 12- to 18-inch lengths, are the ideal starting place. Longer lengths won’t fit most campsite fire rings safely, let alone a wood stove in your cabin. It’s also problematic for even the most robust downstroke of a splitting maul.
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Choose the biggest round—or better yet, a massive, stump-like block—for your chopping surface. Without a stable base, you run the risk of dulling your maul’s blade on the ground or, perish the thought, making contact with a foot.
Position your chopping block on level ground, away from anything a swinging hatchet or maul might hit, including any overhead branches.
Swap your splitting maul for a hatchet when it’s time to reduce quarter rounds into slivers of kindling. (Photo by Scott Linden) TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES After you’ve donned your safety glasses and gloves, set your first round on the chopping block. I’ve found that placing the round a little beyond the midpoint of the block away from me is safest. A miss puts the maul in the block instead of careening toward the ground and my toes.
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As for the right tool for the job, a bona fide splitting maul of 7 pounds with a keen blade should do the trick. Heavier ones are available, but a good, clean split is more about accuracy and velocity, less about mass. An axe is usable in a pinch, but the narrower head is designed for cutting, not splitting.
Campfire bliss is achieved by reducing tree trunks to smaller wedges and slivers. There are a lot of wrong ways to do this and a few right ways. Here’s one of the latter.
Position your round upright on the chopping block with any cracks facing you. That way you’ve got a head start on the “split.” Keep your feet well back from the chopping block. If you’re right-handed, put your “lead” (left) foot a few inches ahead of your “off” (right) foot. Place your left hand near the bottom of the maul handle and right hand near the top. (Southpaws do the opposite.) Next, raise the whole assemblage of arms, hands and haft vertically above your head. Like shooting a flushing pheasant, now’s the time to focus completely on the target—the middle of the round.
Swing downward while sliding your upper hand toward your lower one. Rather than an arc, strive for a vertical, up-down stroke as it helps with accuracy and transfers energy downward, not toward you (and the aforementioned toes). With your top hand, keep driving the handle and maul head straight down and into the chopping block.
Do everything perfectly and you’ll break the round into two halves that fall neatly to the side. In my camp, the maul head usually becomes lodged halfway down the round. When that happens, simply raise the whole mess a couple feet and do the same thing again. Be assertive, adding appropriate commentary if you like.
Take a resulting half-round, find another crack, face the round side toward you and swing again to create two quarter-rounds. If necessary, split those again for even smaller wedges. But don’t get out the hot dogs just yet.
REDUCE AGAIN So far, your maul has turned a tree trunk into mid-sized wedges, then smaller wedges. But you’ll need pieces an inch thick to get from smolder to flicker long enough to start your small wedges blazing merrily. Remember, you’re not lowering yourself to artificial contrivances like crumpled newspaper or lumber from that abandoned deck-building project. Now you’re making kindling.
Swap your maul for a hatchet and pick up a small wedge of wood. Lay it so the flattest side contacts the chopping block and grip the end closest to you with your non-dominant hand. Position the wedge so that it is almost flat on the block. Place your hatchet blade at the top (far) end of your wedge. Bring both hands, the wood and the hatchet up a foot or so, then down hard. You should get a nice split and still have your fingers attached to your hand. Split off more slivers than you think you’ll need.
Next, assemble a really big wad of wild-gathered tinder, including dry leaves and grass, bark, needles and moss. Position four of your bigger wedges around it, top your tinder with the kindling, then add more wedges to the wedge walls to create a log cabin-style fire lay.
Rub two sticks together until you have an ember, nestle it inside the tinder and nourish that into a blaze. Just kidding! If the marshmallows are already out, grab the nearest match or lighter to start your blaze.