When I was dong a bit of hand splitting I used a gnarly piece of elm for a chopping block. Still have it someplace in the pole barn.
It's an ankle/toe/shin stop... for those wicked rare, hardly ever happens, sideways clankin' axe swingin' "misses", that have come waaaaay too close... ... very rare... hardly evah happens...
Chinese elm from my backyard that utility company cut and left. Crud that thing is/was heavy. I use it when I get help in the wood yard. Kids on the hydro having fun with knots and whatnot. I hand select what I split with the axe.
I've got a couple of good sized oak blocks that i use, actually use them more for splitting kindling than actual wood splitting.. By using it, i don't have to stoop over so much, except when i pick up the kindling. Seems like i should have a 180 degree ''shield'' around my other block, i'll take the side off of a chunk of wood, and , boy, if it ever hit the dog, it would kill him, or if i parked the pickup to close, it without a doubt would put a big dent in it. When i split wood, i give the axe a little ''flick'' which to me is a slight angle to my left, it really helps with the splitting. Cuts down on the ''fliers'', lol.
Ok, went out and took a pic of mine, I painted the end of it to keep it from cracking like the other one did. It must have helped. And I debarked the sides most of the way
Yikes! Had a slice worse than that in a pair of Redwings. Sewed it up with a sail repair needle and palm with waxed dental floss. Worked great!
My blocks. You can tell we have been getting a lot of rain. Both are Fir. The right one is a knotty upper round and the left a burly twisted butt round.
