Woodchopping: Difference with Difficulty 

THIS IS my woodchopping journey.

Love your vids Nicole! Like others have said, I would be proud to have you as my daughter. You are very candid about yourself, and one day you will look back at this time, and realise that it was not so hard, and that you can be kinder to yourself. Thanks for making so many people happy 🪓🪵🪓😊

It never occurred to me that wood could need so long to dry out. I thought maybe a few days, but 6 months to two years is insane. Really have to get started early I guess

My coworkers also vary in density. I haven't yet determined which ones are harder to chop, but I'm getting close.

Love your "Okie Dokie", warm nature and that charming half smile. Also, I get to learn a lot of things! ♥️

No wet wood can stop our wood-spliting champion.🌟👍

Informative and entertaining. Thank you Nicole 😃👏🏻👏🏻

I don't chop wood, but I love learning about it. You make it fun! Your content is so wholesome. I love it

After a long and tiring day at work, it’s so nice to be greeted with Okie Dokie! A perfect way to end my day 😊

Not so long ago i discovered this channel, but I really like the way you create your content. And I really like woodchopping and being outside in the woods! That nature looks always amazing! Keep going

I love the echo/tone in the woods. I live in the suburbs and just chop in my back yard. It's not the same as when I go camping or something.

That echo of the chop in the trees. 😍😍😍 so serene. ❤

I always wondered about the importance of drying out the wood over time.

I'm FAR east and south of you, and my wood splitting has mostly been on some variety of Cherry, Ash, and some Elm and a little bit of a type of Chestnut. The Chestnut would almost split if I showed a maul to it. The Cherry, not so much. Ash is a satisfying wood to split, for certain--even if it's been bucked within the last month. I'm kinda sad that my current house doesn't have a wood-burning fireplace. My last house did, and one of my tasks (in the distribution of chores) was splitting firewood (my spouse was even more fond of having a fire in the fireplace than I). I have a firepit, but it's not as fun as having a fireplace in the house, and it doesn't get used as much as the fireplace did, so I don't get to split wood as much... Even so, okey dokey, I enjoy sharing your videos with friends.

Learned a lot here. I have a whole stack of wood out back from a fallen tree. I have been avoiding it. With this new knowledge I will give it a go.

Wow, my son discovered your channel, then I caught on. I grew up on a large in the fifties, Wood was our source of heat and hot water. I was given a double-bit axe at 4 years old. So I have some knowledge about splitting wood. You are truly an outstanding young woman with a great outlook on life. Very much enjoy your videos. God Bless

Thank you for being so positive and awesome. It's nice to see that since everyone is always so doom and gloom

Good job young lady as usual I like it because you know a whole lot about what you’re doing. Keep up the good work got you on my prayer list.

I just love talking about wood Nicole it's so interesting, it,s like my favourite thing to talk about!❤

I’m always impressed with your consistent aim. I like to cheat at splitting by just using the biggest maul I can find. That tends to make it probable I will split it but then I’m betrayed when I occasionally come down on the handle instead of the head and split the wrong piece of wood. In this video it’s worth mentioning that balsa wood is also a hardwood.

There is something so utterly satisfying about watching that axe land at damn-near the exact same place every time. But I am a man, I am used to aiming for stuff and hitting everything but the thing I was aiming for.

As a fellow lost human being I gotta say, you've inspired me. I'm applying to do another degree now, kinda want more out of life. I've also got a strange obsession with the Canadian wilderness now so that kinda sucks being stuck in Australia. Anyways good luck in your roaming, I know you'll find what you're looking for.

I hope you get to chop wood around the world!

It’s really noticeable when you do the comparison one after the other. That's awesome so thanks for that. And I can't with you... with you saying... moist 😶wood 😂 LOL! The sigh of inevitability 1:29 .

Nicole, you are one great wood splitter. Always enjoy your videos. 🍁

Perfect - breathtaking - in a sense magical!!! Nicole incorporates beauty, feminity, strength and very respectable muscularity!!!

Wow, vert accurate and powerful swings

Firewood is the only fuel that heats you thrice: First when you collect it; Next, when you chop it and Lastly, when you burn it. Love the "look" expressed at your double entendres... Cheers from an Ex-Pat Canuck, now in the Willamette Valley.

Your smile and cheer is contagious!

I got a load of birchwood from my neighbor last weekend. Sadly quite wet, even snow sticking to it as it has been lying on the ground for a few days. I got the chainsaw out and cut it, but now it's in the woodshed for a few months to dry. Need to get myself a good splitting axe, then in summer... :-) So far I have been lazy and bought the little fire wood split and ready for the oven, but it's time to take the challenge, after seeing your videos!

Yep, I'm nearly 70, and I split up and burned most of an old pecan tree trunk this past winter. Some pieces were 2 and 1/2 feet in diameter, and one was about 3 feet. But they were easier to split than most smaller ones with knots. I've got a piece of wood from one of those that I call "the jawbone of an ass". It came from around a knot. After a rain, the wood was really tough to split. But it gives you an excellent arm and shoulder workout. You should try changing arms and splitting lefthanded, too. I cannot do it the same way like that. I find myself pushing the axe with the right arm that way, but still with good results, sometimes better, depending on the angle I need. I bought a splitting maul for the first time about a couple of months ago, but I have yet to use one. I saw a video about using one but couldn't find one at a reasonable price until it was too late to use it this season. Oh, well, next year, I suppose. I always just used an axe, and if things got too tough, I'd switch to a wedge or two and a 12 lb. sledge hammer. I call it the sewage hammer, because if I have to resort to that, something is going to get the crap beat out of it. It's fun to crack jokes at your wood while you're splitting it and do Three Stooges routines like, "Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Or Jackie Gleason, "Alright, Wisenheimer!" Then, there was my mother's saying, "I'll bust you open!" And, then, there's me, threatening to beat my wedges with a hammer, if they don't get in there and split that wood. 😅

Your vids are a good natured breath of fresh air. Carry on!

When Nicole drops the double Okie Dokie, you know it's going to be a challenging one.

Really enjoy your vids as someone who has spent nearly thirty five years working in a Saw Mill (Lumber Mill) enjoy your take on types of wood love the smell of silver birch and moisture content we take green timber and from summer to winter is cutting speeds slow with the wetness of the logs we run down.

In the Carpathians, wet stumps are chopped with a blow along the edge, and dry ones in the middle are chopped. If even a small piece breaks off from a wet stump, then it will be much easier to chop it further.

Seeing the wood splitting is so satisfying

So funny that you posted this cause I was just talking about your videos with my husband saying that I thought that even he might have trouble splitting some of the pieces I’ve seen you split in your videos and he said it was all in the seasoning of the wood. The longer it’s been seasoned the easier it is to chop. Way to read your viewers minds! 🤣😵‍💫😁

that line you set on the wet moist green wood was nice. top chopping chops.😉

I se you are using the splitting maul ..... good choice ! good choice !

I love that you've started doing these! Can't wait till youto a sharpening video!

Just come across your channel and watched a few of your videos, you are a breath of fresh air amongst some of the rubbish on RU-vid. Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦.

I mostly chop birch,rowan and beech wood. Good to use. Happy chopping, greetings from Sweden

Birch is an exception. It's easier to chop when it's fresh, at least the sort that grows around here.

I'm new to this but I'm finding green oak way easier to split than the dry one... Thanks for sharing your wood knowledge!

*DEEP FROZEN WET WOOD* can be fun to chop - I had 4m3 of wet oak here in Bulgaria and it dropped to -25C - the water in the wood expanded so as you chopped it, it exploded...!!! It was such good fun, each half would fly off a good couple of meters.

Split wood dries quicker. Yep.👍

I have some wood I want to get rid of, and knowing how to store it properly until it goes in a fire would be really helpful! Thanks for teaching me something today. My day is off to a good start.

Love your sense of humour 😂❤ but tips is great thanks

Can drier wood ever be more difficult to split? I've heard some people say that Ash is easier to split when it's still "green".

In the novel I'm writing, I'm approaching the chapter that introduces a lumberjack girl as a major character, and I think this channel is exactly what I need to help! Thank you algorithm gods

My late father and I determined that the way to chop wet wood was chop it the same day you cut it or at least within 24 hours. The surface of a recently cut log is firm and allows the energy of the ax to be transmitted thought the wood. We found that after 24 hours the surface of the cut face softened and would absorb the energy of the ax.

You have the absolute best facial expressions!😁

Thanks for educating us!

Chopping wood is so satisfying. Storing and stacking-I’m ready! 🙌🏼🪵

Hi Nicole. Your Oke Dodie is Contagious. I keep repeating it all the time. I’m a old guy take grew up with older sayings. Thank Nicole n

Thanks for the information, always nice to learn something new 👍

Good job Sandy!

When Nicole starts talking about wood and does a funny about "Wet wood" YOU BETTER DAMN LAUGH. When Nicole gives you tips about regonizing the type of wood YOU BETTER DAMN SAY "yes ma'am".

Thank you for the positive and valuable video.

Green wood is easier to split in the winter, especially when temperatures stay below -10 degrees C.

Left eastern Ohio, foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and spent 40 years in the west. Lots of conifer firewood. There are over thirty species of tree in the foothills. Each wood has its own characteristics. Hickory, elm and Osage orange require several wedges and a sledge or a hydraulic splitter, to split. Ash splits easily with an axe and even burns when green. Oil content is what I heard. Lots of different forests and trees in this planet's biosphere. If you ever get a chance, visit the Appalachians.

Omg you are so cute!! And thanks for the information!! I'm slowly getting into woodwork.

I absolutely love all your vids Nicole. Very informative and my escape from living in London. I'm waiting for you to start a range of "Okie Dokie" T-Shirts etc. Stay happy and stay safe and keep enjoying your Wood. 😬😬😬 chopping.

A female with relatively small muscles popping wood ! Thus showing that it is the technique not the showboat swing you see in movies. I like to put a little righthand twisting flick at the end of the swing because it rotates the axe out of the wood after the impact. It's takes lots of practice. The more you split, the better you get. Great physicological therapy for stress. So get you a thermus of coffee, and some rock and roll music and go split for 12 hours straight! If your 15-40 years old ! I started splitting wood with a very narrow faced double bitted axe at the age of 5. Dad taught me the righthand twist pop after I broke a few handles getting the axe unstuck! PS I grew up in Michigan. Never ran into Southern Live Oak until I was in my 30s. Drying it for a year is criticle and it's still tough going.

Very good I enjoyed that. Keep up the good work.

You may not read these, but you are incredible

Thanks for all the information.

We always left wet wood to cure for a year before even trying. Most of what we cut was birch for the furnace. Did cut some cedar for kindling however.

Thanks for the lesson on wood

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

All of your videos make me enjoy life more. Why is that?

Dude! I love your videos. Keep going.

Fantastic video great thought in detail and you kept it interesting too😂 always a pleasure.

Sadly I don't expect to be woodchopping, but for some reason it sure does sound calm and relaxing.

Que bueno encontrar una mujer tan guerrera, eres unica

Okie Dokie... Lesson Learnt🤙 Thankyou🙏🙏

This is why it's best to split wet wood in the winter - because frozen wood splits even easier than dry wood. 🤠

Quirky, a bit weird, great, simple entertainment... and You sold me to the Okie Dokie thing. A bit weird in French, but hey they don't need to know...! Thank you!

My experience is that green wood is always easier to split than dry,

Good show, good advice. You are good.

Storing and stacking. Time to find the answer to the ultimate question: Bark side up, or bark side down?

Loved this although I don't have any wood to split. Yet very interesting informations!

Good information and entertaining at the same time. Thanks for this, you've more than earned a like. 👍🏾

The dull thud is always the last sound you ever want to hear

Try splitting Eucalyptus. It’s much easier to split while wet!

Her cuteness is like Judy Hopps from Zootopia

I've just started chopping wood yesterday and it is wetter than wet cherry wood. It literally oozes water when I hack into it and I need to hack through a half composed layer to get to the hard wood. 😅

I was finding freshly cut arbutus was splitting fairly easily. Surprising tbh. And some aged oak that I got from someone was like IMPOSSIBLE, lol! Maybe it's just some luck with the pieces and grain, etc. (PS I think I speak for everyone that "green" Is preferred over "moist", lol!)

we have pine oak and red cedar and the red cedar smells good when burned and i love me chopping and i ran out of red cedar and all i have left is alpine in the deep woods and the risk is brown recluse spiders and snakes

VERY AWESOME LADY

Some structured body building would send this channel to the stratosphere.

I tell you what I'm brilliant at back and arm massages for strained muscles I am the best!

sorki I was looking for you typing canadian wood barby.. It worked

Thanks for the information, always nice to learn something new 👍

Oh I am excited for the stacking and storing!! This might have sounded sarcastic in written form, I assure you I am dead serious 😬

As with any rule there are always some knotty exceptions 😊

Great information always fun 👍👍👍👍

Aloha. Great video, Mahalo for sharing.

Psyching yourself up for the wet wood chop. 😂

Nicole absolutley love your channel.. you are an inspiration..❤❤🇦🇺 Ive always been taught when you chop wood your going across the grain, but when you split wood its with the grain.. do you agree?