A Man's Perspective

Hello all you Swings and Arrows readers/followers.  My name is Brian and I have been graciously invited by the wonderful, intelligent, and beautiful women of S and A to give a weekly man’s perspective on art, style, and living.  Hopefully my posts can attract male readers to the blog as well as show the female fans that, although the minds of men are simple, we can still be interesting. 

I had several ideas for my first post but after a short yet enlightening talk with my wife I realized there was only one acceptable subject.  Grace asked me, “What is your passion in life?” After thinking for roughly 10 seconds I answered: ”splitting logs.”  I then attempted to clarify by saying I am passionate about anything having to do with logging and building fires, thinking that would somehow make it seem less ridiculous.  But it was settled.

In a future post I hope to discuss the ways of properly cutting, splitting, stacking, seasoning, and burning wood, but since it could make for quite a lengthy first post I will stick to examining the raw beauty of axes as well as logging and building fires.

The axe is an ancient tool, one that has been used in war and everyday survival for thousands of years.  It gives “man” the ability to both create and destroy and is an item that every man person should own.  The basic design of the axe is beautiful and hasn’t changed much over the years, but there are proper ways to make them and here are some companies that just know how to do it best:

Best Made Co. (My axe, Jedidiah, was forged in their US workshop.)

Gränsfors Bruk

Snow & Nealley

A good axe can be pricey, but if cared for it will last a lifetime and be an item you cherish.

Best Made Co.

Snow & Neally

Gränsfors Bruk

Once you have purchased and broken in your new axe, you can start to appreciate how splitting logs or (if you are lucky) felling a tree can be tremendously therapeutic, strength-building, and absolutely satisfying.  Once you have split, stacked, and seasoned your wood, you can appreciate the raw, natural joy of building your own fire and watching it burn.

Whether you are in the woods, around a fire pit, or sitting in front of your fireplace, watching a burning crackling fire will always make you feel calm and at ease.  There is really nothing like sitting in front of a roaring fire; it stimulates every sense in a gentle soothing way and there aren’t many things that do this all at once. 

Here is a short film (made by the guys at Best Made Co.) that helps one understand the beauty and art of both logging as well as fire-building. It is well shot and makes me jealous.

-Brian