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Chopping Techniques

Posted By: VoxHog

Chopping Techniques - 05/13/09 07:46 PM

I'm curious as to chopping styles. I'm talking knife chopping here, not axe.

Here's how I chop:
- Choke way back on the handle for additional leverage.
- Keep my thumb and index finger (also middle finger) tight around the handle. This is a pivot point of the knife during the "snap".
- Keep my ring finger and pinky relaxed.
- Snap the blade with my wrist at the end of the chop. This causes a rotation around the pivot point and increases contact velocity.
- I use a forward-hole safely lanyard to help keep things stable and safe.
- I usually try to make a nice "V" shape alternating left and right 45 degree angle strikes.

Is this pretty much what you guys do?
Posted By: imaginefj

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/13/09 08:17 PM

Pretty much, sometimes getting my whole hand in whatever spot is most comfortable even if that doesn't mean getting a little extra length works better for me.
Posted By: MRpink

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/13/09 08:22 PM

Yeah I do the same thing, but one thing I've been working on is my hips/torso and arm coordination. Most your power in a chop isn't produce from your arms, it's all in the hips/torso. So when my knife is raised in the air, I twist my hips/torso (like swinging a baseball bat) and then come down with my arms. You generate a lot more speed and power that way.
Posted By: Steel Fan

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/13/09 09:23 PM

Unless I am using a small knife like a SAR4 or similar where I hold the knife towards the rear of the grip to maximise leverage...I just hold the knife normally by the grip...so on a NMFBM or DFLE or FBMLE size knife the grip is a standard one.

The thing I try and do which makes chopping far more effective is I start chopping a "v" at the distance appart as the limb or log is deep. This gives, technique wise, a lot more ability to use less strokes and take big deep chips out of the wood. I also try and go for "aim" rather than power because following up a cut in the same "path" as the first is infinitely quicker than missing and starting another cut at the "outside" starting point.

Other points are "footwork" and "positioning"...I try to ensure any follow through or even a missed swing will pass safely by...and from experience the things to be careful of are using your foot/boots to anchor a log if leaning it up against something to get it "off the ground" for chopping. I was testing the SAR4 LE on chopping and a glancing cut had a resulting cut in the rubber sole of my boots! Lesser shoes on and I would have had a bad injury....

For this reason I am not a big fan of using a small end chopping knife...the lack of weight and power tends to have you compensating with an attempt at fast multiple strikes....which are "uncontrolled" after a while and hence accidents can happen. A large knife like a NMFBM is safer in my view because it works so well and you can use the "earth" more as a safety cushion "zone" to stop a follow through swing by using the length of the blade to maximum effect.

It is not just "body" position but also "log" position....Mr P has at Ban's place a table specially done for anchoring wood and chopping at that height has a maximum ability to bring in hips and upper body for strength.

Chopping in the Woods is a different matter but if felling a tree I cut a "V" into the stump to wedge other limbs into it for chopping logs....this helps if the stump is kept at waist height.
Posted By: Dumpster Dan

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/16/09 01:45 AM

Quote
Yeah I do the same thing, but one thing I've been working on is my hips/torso and arm coordination. Most your power in a chop isn't produce from your arms, it's all in the hips/torso. So when my knife is raised in the air, I twist my hips/torso (like swinging a baseball bat) and then come down with my arms. You generate a lot more speed and power that way.

The speed of the blade is accelerated if you can get the hip, leg, torso, and arms sync'd. In a way it like golf. You can hit the ball with all arm and shoulder motion but its the complete, entire smooth movement of the body that will go the farthest or in this case the deepest.

Dan
Posted By: banana-clip

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/16/09 04:44 PM

I do pretty much the same thing..I try to put my weight into it too.
Posted By: fireballxl5

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/24/09 10:22 AM

My technique is fairly similar, with as far as I can tell one variation at the end.

I got my basic technique from a Battlin' Blades column, which used to be written by Bill Bagwell and published in Soldier of Fortune, back in the day. The article was probably published in the late 80s.


Any way in this technique like yours you don't really grip the knife hard to start with, you hold it loosely between your thumb and your first finger and it pivots between those digits.
However you do grip the knife far up the handle enough so that if you did close your hand your pinky would be on the handle of the knife.
I.e. you choke back if there is enough handle, but not all the way.
You need to be able to end up with a full grip (thumb and 4 fingers) on the handle.
Like your starting position the pinky is relaxed, but either just sitting loosely on the rear of the handle, or maybe slightly raised, but in a position where it can (and will) end up on the rear of the grip.
The start position is with the arm raised so that the upper arm(elbow to shoulder)/elbow is at least parallel to the ground, but maybe depending on your anatomy pointing up.
The lower arm (elbow to wrist) is pointing back, with the wrist cocked back.
In this position the knife is probably over your shoulder pointing at the ground behind you.
You start your swing by bringing your upper arm down, at the shoulder.
Then as your arm comes down your elbow will start to straighten, but you don't actually consciously straighten your elbow until your upper arm is maybe down say around 45 degrees.
You straighten your elbow until your arm is straight.
At or maybe just before this point your wrist will start straightening.
As your wrist straightens that relaxed pinky is used to sort of flick the rear of the grip up, pushing the tip if the blade down.
This pinky flick starts before the knife is fully straight but after the wrist has started straightening.
This last little flick with the pinky imparts a further explosive acceleration to the arc described by the point of the blade.
The effect is that the pinky, and probably middle and ring fingers do end up gripping the handle, but not until the very end of the stroke.
If you do this through air instead of into a target, you'll end up with your wrist actually pointing down a little.
Over all you start of with a curve of your arm, elbow, wrise and knife and end up with a near stright line, except perhaps that the wrist and knife might be pointing down.
The knife is accelerating the whole way thought and gets its final burst of acceleration with that pinky flick/tightening.
Or course your swing changes if you are chopping sideways, e.g. standing wood, but the idea of the pivot between fore finger and thumb, the last almost explosive flick of power delivered with the closing flick of he pinky and the idea of an ever accelerating, ever straightening arc remain.
I believe that last flick with he closing pinky adds quite a bit of power to the stroke.

The last thing is that I try to chop as far forward on the blade as possible, so I'll be trying to strike the target, just to the rear of the belly of the blade, in order to increase leverage as much as possible.
Posted By: mhawg

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/24/09 04:30 PM

Hit it real hard and don't let go. Repeat.
Posted By: Horn Dog

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/24/09 04:35 PM

Quote
Hit it real hard and don't let go. Repeat.

Excellent! Did you help write the Harley-Davidson service manuals?
Posted By: Bushman5

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/25/09 03:19 AM

chopping technique:

fill Husky 390XP with pre-mix and top up the bar oil. Pull choke, pull starter cord a few times until it coughs, push choke in and pull once more. Let saw warm up a few minutes, put on the safety gear, pick up saw and dig the dogs into the wood. LET ER RIP BABY!!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7loWzjU4nk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iZjtav06cc
Posted By: snotpig

Re: Chopping Techniques - 05/25/09 03:24 AM

Quote
chopping technique:

fill Husky 390XP with pre-mix and top up the bar oil. Pull choke, pull starter cord a few times until it coughs, push choke in and pull once more. Let saw warm up a few minutes, put on the safety gear, pick up saw and dig the dogs into the wood. LET ER RIP BABY!!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7loWzjU4nk

I did a little of that today, btw. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: ScrapSquatch

Re: Chopping Techniques - 03/24/20 11:47 PM

I will often drop back on the handle where my pinky does not have a grip. Then wildly and ferociously flail my arms around like I am being attacked by a swarm of bees.
Posted By: Private Klink

Re: Chopping Techniques - 03/25/20 12:08 AM

I like Snotpig's idea! LOL smile
Posted By: Dumpster Dan

Re: Chopping Techniques - 03/25/20 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by ScrapSquatch
I will often drop back on the handle where my pinky does not have a grip. Then wildly and ferociously flail my arms around like I am being attacked by a swarm of bees.

Okay...now I have a picture in my head that wont go away LOL

Dan
Posted By: SkunkHunter

Re: Chopping Techniques - 03/25/20 07:27 PM

Yeah, kinda like doing a weird Happy Dance.
Posted By: Private Klink

Re: Chopping Techniques - 03/25/20 09:21 PM

Doing the frug while chopping. smile
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