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.)
A good axe can be pricey, but
if cared for it will last a lifetime and be an item you cherish.
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| Best Made Co. |
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| Snow & Neally |
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| 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.
