I just ordered 2 copies of your book, one for me and one as a gift. I enjoy your videos, they are very informative. I've had a wood stove off and on for almost 50 years and it is the best heat.
You are right and I don't think that it is mentioned enough. The heat from a stove is mostly radiant heat - like the sun - and it feels good! Then there is a bit of warm air convection as well. But I have never met anyone who sits watching their hot water radiator. I hope there is at least one thing you didn't know in the book - all best wishes. Vince
Vincent! Your book! I love every bit of it!! The way it feels, the embossed log on the cover, the size!, the substantial feel of the thick pages, the lovely photography and your personal sketches...I could go on and on! Your gentle tone is felt most of all and your love of wood and all it has to offer our world permeates the entire text. I'm new to this. Moved from Cali to NH and just bought some land. It's recently had a driveway cut in and with the felled trees calling me, I'm having visions of me living with wood in every way! With your book I feel more confident and it gives me a great place to start. Your delightful photo in the back made me look further into you. I will open my mouth about my experience with your book, give them as gifts, envision you thriving in your neck of the woods. In the meantime, I agree with you wholeheartedly, sitting by a fire with friends and nourishment is euphoric. Happy 🔥, Vincent. And thank you for putting your wood wisdom in print!
Hi Valerie, really good to read that you have a new home and wood fires will be central, and thank you for your kind thoughts on the book. I read once that a big part of happiness is believing that your future will be good, it sounds like yours will be - good luck and my very best wishes with it all. Vince
Couldn’t agree more about the book it’s a wholesome thing to have a friend on a journey! I spent a Christmas in nh, Walking into Manchester from my friends apartment along steep banks of snow. A fire would have been a perfect thing then. Fond memories.
Thank you for this education on chopping logs properly. I've learned so much from your videos and will put it into good use this winter while getting through my wood pile outside. I enjoy your calm sweet gentle spirit and good energy. You are a great teacher.
Hi Dee, Many thanks for your kind words - lovely people taught me and it is good to pass on what I've learned. Also this is only my opinion and what works for me - but I hope it helps, stay warm this winter! Vince
Thank you Vince. My lovely wood stove is burning like a champ this winter. Grateful for the radiant warmth (and the chopping tips), especially on these nights with freezing temps in a drafty rambling historical home.
Great video, thanks for sharing. There is something therapeutic about chopping wood. I just got into it recently as I purchased a home with a wood burning fireplace.
Greetings from the Emerald Isle of Ireland 🇮🇪. I use a truck tyre with the inner walls removed,on concrete, fill with rounds and split away,keeps all the wood together,brill for saving your back, fiskers no 1 for splitting wood 🇮🇪🇮🇪
I've seen people do that, or put a cord around the log. I will copy your setup one day and give it a try - it does look efficient not having to pick the split logs up off of the ground. Thanks, Vince
It's the biz, it's even quicker than a log splitter, I get 2 rows to one truck tyre,keeps wood in neatly for splitting,and doesn't damage your axe,I you hit the tyre, great job,I started with car tyres,and moved to truck tyre rims, for more output,👍🇮🇪🇮🇪
@@hotpoker4212 I will do. A lot of my logs are really knotty and I've always wanted to see the side of the log I'm splitting. But when I get a load of clean birch, pine or something, I'll set a tyre up. Best wishes, Vince
Thank you - I plan to, hopefully once I get this year's tree planting done and have some time. What aspect of wood fires would interest you most? Vince
The maul is hard work, only for the toughest logs. If you don't have a splitting axe yet, my current favourite is the Fiskars X27 - I hope you enjoy the rest of the book!
Fantastic, really enjoyed this and I am looking forward to buying your book. I saw it advertised in the local "Cirencester Life" so off I go to buy and enjoy, I have a barn full of 4 yrs of wood drying out so hopefully now I will actually put some knowledge to what Im doing!
I see that you recommend the Fiskars X27. Is that best suited for men? I am seeing a smaller version the X25 that perhaps would be better for an older female like myself.
For me the critical thing is that the handle is long enough that it does not bring the head into your leg if you miss-hit a log. Plus a long handle gives you a faster swing for the head - one of Newton's laws of motion "double the speed and quadruple the impact" or something like that! Some people feel a shorter handle makes it safer - I do not agree. Maybe see if you can borrow an X27 and see if you like the feel of it - as you say, it suits me very well on all but really tough logs. All best. Vince
I was given the book as a Christmas gift last year. I must say that it is fabulous. Although I do think it is some what seasonal reading for me, as I enjoy nothing more than reading it more when we have cold weather and have been out felling trees or splitting logs. I am relatively new to wood burning but am already hooked! Thank you Vincent - I will read another chapter before bed. P.S you voice sounds very familiar, it reminds me of Ralph McTell. Dave from South Wales
Thanks David, we have had wood fires for well over a million years, so liking wood fires must be wired into the very heart of us by now! Most of my fire-lighting boyhood was in South Wales - I loved it, and am pleased you like the book. best wishes, Vince
Hi Vince, can you recommend an axe for me to buy please, just had a log burner put in so am a novice at cutting logs. Thanks, really enjoying your channel.
Hi Steven, I have been using a Fiskars x27 for the last few years and really like it. It has a long handle which allows a good swing - and if you double the speed you quadruple the impact! Practise hitting an exact spot - speed and accuracy are important, and reading the log for knots and crotches. Mostly, enjoy it all! Good luck. Vince
That's my mistake... use a splitting maul for chopping wood rather than an axe. Can you tell me which make of maul you are using in this video and weight. Thanks for the excellent videos you have made. Happy days to you Vincent.
Hi, Fiskars now make a beautiful splitting axe, the X27 which is my first choice for all except the toughest logs. I still use that old yellow handled maul (about 8 lb I think) but it is hard work. I'd say try an X27 and get good with it - and have a good winter! Good luck.
Thanks for your reply Vince. It's good to get a recommendation and I will certainly hunt down an X27 as I'm struggling getting my axe out of a log if I don't get it split on the first strike. I then end up hitting the log(with axe still attached) onto the chopping block, but I know I'm making hard work of it. This is my first year with a wood stove and I've got a lot to learn. I'll also hunt down a copy of your book once I've finished reading Norwegian Wood. I really think I will get into this wood burning!
@@sweeball I think you are going to love the whole wood fire life-style. I believe that sustainably produced logs, local if possible, and burned efficiently is about the best of all renewable energy sources. And keeps you fit, and good mentally to have firelight evenings. I hope you enjoy both books - mine has a different cover now as it is out as a second edition - all best wishes.
@@WoodFiresWithVince Do you know Vince, I think you are absolutely right. Today I spent a couple of hours out in the garden chopping logs and enjoying the moment even while the toes were saying "go inside, I'm cold". Before, I had the stove(just installed this month) I thought that I might find it a chore, but not a bit of it. I've now got an extra reason to be outside; something that I've always liked. By the way, I was thinking this afternoon about the handle length of the Fiskars X27; I take it that the length allows more head speed to be generated, but might need some practice to achieve accuracy. I am 5ft 11 so would this be a good fit for me. I'm hoping so since it looks a nice piece of kit. Finally... fit, both physically and mentally, sounds good to me and since gas prices are going up I hoping for some savings this winter. Thanks again for your help. All the best. John S.
@@sweeball I am 6ft with my boots on - so the axe size should be fine. There is also the subtlety that with a long handle it is less likely you'll hit your own leg. And absolutely yes to speed and accuracy - really practice this, it is the key (along with reading the log) to success.
Hi Michael, the axe is a five and a half pound: William Gilpin of Wedges Mill. A friend gave it to me and even made me the ash handle for it. I should be embarrassed using it to split wood I guess! Best wishes, Vince
You’re lighthouse explanation ignores the other aspects of the alleged encounters, which occurred over several days/nights, with things that really can’t be explained away as a lighthouse. Why is it okay to push the lighthouse narrative as fact while ignoring the rest of the US servicemen’s accounts? If the alleged incident was limited to that one area in the forest on that singular night, I’d be inclined to take the lighthouse theory seriously. But considering that it is not the whole story as told by alleged witnesses, I don’t see how it can be seen as anything more than a theory. A weak one at that. It’s weaker than the theory that what they saw were aliens. I wonder what you think about the recent US navy ufo videos, and the admission of the existence of AATIP at the pentagon. I imagine you do not like having that brought up, because there’s no lighthouse for you to easily explain it all away.
