Chopping- how tough must you be?

M

munk

Joined
Mar 22, 2002
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I just a read an aside from a forumite- 'but then, I'm no giant;" referring to prolonged trail clearing with an 18" AK. He thought the weight would get tiring. It does.

And not only am I not a giant, I'm not as strong as many of you, nor do I practise martial arts.

No matter how good a shape I'm in- and we are talking about the days when I hiked more and rode the mt bike frequently, the arm work, upper body, and lower back strain from chopping always takes a toll the first few times of a season. I recall winters when after several 'sessions' it was no longer a big deal. But it does take some work up.

Right now, I can go out there and chomp a single tree, cut it in half and drag a half off. That's all I want to do. My arms by that time hurt, and are getting pretty weak. I stop in the middle of a major chop several times. IN a few moments, I resume.

IF I'm limbing, I can go a long ways. Wack wack wack. It's fun.

As always, when I've been away from it, or when I'm using a khuk that hasn't been wrung out in awhile, I start the learning curve over. I typically chop too hard. When I'm tired enough, technique takes hold. I wish I were smarter.

I realize many do not have access to the timber that Hollowdweller,for instance, and myself do. You don't have to be a he- man to do this.
Yangdu remembers chopping trees with her family. "A lot of hard work." She told me. But it's not the providence of the extremely strong. Average ability with a will gets you far. And don't despair if the first log seems slow and impossible. Go back. You'll be surprised how the next log, in a couple days, is much easier.

I use gloves sometimes when it's cold, or I've gathered some blisters. Blisters are usual when I begin a season of wood gathering. Once your hands adjust to the khuk and the work, life gets easier. And that happens fast.

I sometimes switch to my left hand. I had a mt bike accident years ago that severly damaged my left arm and atrophied my left side. A little work here helps me a lot. Why not allow the left hand some hard work? If your control is enough, and you feel comfortable.

I thought it might be good to demystify the 'art of the chop' to the newbies. If I can do it, anyone can.
And it helps the mind and soul a lot too.


munk
 
Wanting something that bad must be tiring.


munk

I hope later tonight to have pict of a much more modest project; a 8" diameter or so tree felled. Fall down go boom. Carter swears he can take the pict as it falls.
 
Aw Munk! Whatcha have to go say that stuff for? I'm trying to tell the good wife that wielding the mighty Khuk will helpl develop arms as thick as tree trunks. A chiseled midsection from the subtle twist involved in 1-armed chopping ... shoulders to rival Mr. Olympia. In fact, one shouldn't dare to pick one up without a goodly number of hours spent in the gym, in hard training.

I mean, even a quick look at your average Nepalese should show their massive ... um, I mean their imposing physi ...

.....oh, never mind. They're in much better shape than me anyhow.:D
 
i carry 10 lbs rocks in each hand everywhere i go. rawr, hulk smash.

actually, i know people that carry 5lb free weights around on all their walks/etc. some rock climbers advocate carrying an egg to tangerine sized rough pair of rocks around - one for each hand. roughens the skin, you squeeze them, you get used to them. then the hands get tougher - old chinese secret :)

you get used to what you do. if you don't chop a tree down every week, you're not really going to be used to that first one you hit every season, or the occasional monthly or more ...

so, get out their and practice. WARM UP first. stretch, do some "limbering up"... know when to rest, hydrate. don't die.

bladite
 
Yes; we here in HI land advise everyone to please not die.

..perhaps, eat a muffin instead. Go on a walk....




munk
 
My muscles are not my weak spot...it's the tendons I blew out in the past doing stuff I shouldn't have been doing. If I avoid quick intentional stops (yeah...like pulling punches), I can chop much longer before they start to wear out.

If I let the khukuri do the work (gravity) and sink each one deeply, I am comfortable for a long time.
 
That's it, Nasty.

Funny you mention tendons. My knees have something wrong with the tendons, and that's caused trouble in the middle of hikes. No matter how much I prepare the legs, the tendons will always have their own voice. Took me eight hours to climb down San Gorgonio once because of it, and I ran out of water.

munk
 
In my door-kickin' prime I was 6'5" and 260, and prided myself on taking down steel doors and frames...Door won't come out of frame??...No Problem; take door and frame out of wall! Seriously, I used to step in thru the wreckage, snortin' and blowing, to see folks on the inside turned away, shielding heads with arms raised from flying splinters.....fast forward thirty years and four heart attacks later (with 5 bypasses and cancer to boot). I am now 6'4" and 380 lbs, and out of breath going up steps. Strangely I can still bend a good recurve bow, and use a khuk!!! The secret is exactly what was stated above, pick the khuk that fits, AND LET THE WEIGHT OF THE KNIFE DO THE WORK. You need not be fast, but coordinated enough to hit your mark. Frequent rests don't hurt, just pace your efforts to YOUR level of fitness (mine is now pretty poor, so any reader probably can keep up!) Let the khukri speak to you, several large and small didn't particularly care for me and said so, even trying to bounce out and bite me. FOR ME, nothing quite fits like an 18" Ang Kola...the other experiments have made excellent gifts :D
Oh, and one 18" WWII that ALWAYS rides behind the seat of my pickup!
 
Yep. Good technique and the right knife can make up for a lack of brute strength. This explains how my skinny little arms can make the chips fly fairly well with a good khukuri.
 
i find that when i get tired, i just switch to my largest kukhri & it just seems to fly thru that wood:
saw.jpg
 
I don't know why the rear view mirror is on that kukri-chainsaw, but it sure belongs there.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Shoes. How you stand is important when you are holding either a khuk or a chainsaw. Today I made the mistake of wearing cheap tennis shoes, and on the steep slope they flopped and rolled. It's not good to chop while standing on the sides of your shoes. Good shoes are common sense and add stability and safety.



munk
 
Drdan said:
Why do you need a rear view mirror on your khukuri, kronckew? :confused: :)
Click to expand...

Just to make sure there are no Zombies asneakin up on my por' unsuspecting soul. as you may note, it even has a 'cho', ain't a kukhri widdout a 'cho'

p.s. - i'm with munk, they make steel toed shoes for a reason, and it ain't fashion.
 
Wearing eye protection if you are felling a tree, or delimbing is important too. I wear glasses so I don't think about it. When you chop a tree down, bits of dust and anything else can come from above. Same with delimbing. There have been times when the glasses saved me from a branch end or other peice heading my way.

Always watch out when you are chopping a dead standing tree. The branches from above that may break off can kill you.

There's a story in my brain from the local auto mechanic. He was out with a chainsaw by himself. We all do it. Still a bad idea. He cut himself pretty deep, and was able to drive himself in. But what if he'd not been? I think about things like that when I'm chopping with the khuks or using any dangerous tool. These days I almost always have company when working.

Familiarity and comfort with chopping procedure led to my two recent small mistakes; too much sun one day, and lousy shoes another. These mistakes can lead to a bad cut.


munk
 
Kronc... that pic rocks.
 
Kronckew, that pic should be your new avatar. If you don't want to, can I use it? :cool: :rolleyes:

On a more serous note, along with all the good advice so far, remember to be mindful of where the blade is going when you swing and where it could go if it (or your hand) slips. I gave my older son a 12" siru for Christmas. After showing him how to use it (safely) I thought he was ready to fly solo. Unfortunately, he forgot the above rule and got a little 'bite' from the siru just to remind him to mind his swing and keep his other hand out of the way. Fortunately, I hadn't given the blade a good sharpening yet so no serious damage done; it did get him 3 stitches on the top of his left index finger. At least it wasn't the bottom side, so no tendon damage.
 
M. Taylor said:
Kronckew, that pic should be your new avatar. If you don't want to, can I use it? :cool: :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

feel free, i am allowed to retain an avatar on the forum due to a grandfather clause in the rules (they tool my signature away tho) but do not have perms to actually change it any more. might try it over on the other waterin' hole.....

p.s. - tried shrinking it down to avatar size, don't look quite so good, i'll stick with me dane axe here & my gunung on the other place.
 
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