How To Easily Split Long Logs With No Struggle

Crazy Russian Hacker is one of our favorite channels on YouTube, and he’s back with another helpful video that could very well prove valuable to any of us at some point in the future, especially if you find yourself without power, maybe in the wake of a devastating hurricane. Basically, what we’re learning today is how to split a massive log using nothing but a hefty hammer and some splitting wedges. It’s pretty basic physics, but there is a little bit of technique required to waste as little energy as possible, especially if you’re in the midst of an actual natural disaster and need to conserve your strength as much as possible.

You want to start near one end and drive a wedge into the log. As the wedge penetrates deeper into the wood, a crack should eventually form running toward the other end of the log. Keep driving a little father, then place another wedge into the crack a few inches farther down the log. As you drive it in, the crack should widen and extend toward the other end of the log. Repeat the steps, proceeding down the log a few inches at a time. You should notice the crack getting deeper as you go, and easier to expand the farther you go down the log.

If you happen to have more log than you do wedges, go back and pull out the first wedge and use it again farther down, then the second and so on.

Eventually, the log should crack through to the center. When that happens, stick a wedge in the end of the log in the crack and use it to continue the penetration all the way to the other side. At that point, the log should be sufficiently split and ready for you to pull the halves apart. If you want, you can use the same method to split the halves into smaller, more manageable chunks. If your log is as big as this one, you’ll almost certainly have to do that to be able to move the pieces! Thanks, as always, to CRH for the video!