Carving a wedge from Dogwood is not only simple but also yields a remarkably resilient tool. I’ve chamfered the top to prevent the wood from bradding, and brought the 2” long taper down to a 1/16" thickness. To split wood, saw a 1/4" deep kerf into the endgrain, snugly fit the wedge into it, and then power through it with a sturdy baton. Yep, today's demonstration is being performed with the same wood, a Dogwood baton beating a Dogwood wedge through 3 pieces of Dogwood. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button and follow the links below for more exciting content! My New Dogwood Baton Thinks He’s A Club! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jcmBdMVl2amlo2g.html Making A Black Cherry Baton And Trying It Out kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e9F-m8dltLCXep8.html

He’ll be finished in two or three years disposing of that dogwood unless someone invents a battery powered reciprocating saw, steel wedges and a burn barrel. But that is just science fiction at this point. A realist would stick to the plan that he already has and is proven to work.

Back when I was 9 or 10 my Poppy said that I was old enough to have a sling shot. We went for a trek in the woods looking for dogwood trees. Poppy said that the best sling shots were made of dogwood. It took some time but we finally found the branch with the perfect “Y” and he carefully cut off the branch with his hatchet. We took the branch back to his workshop where he created the slingshot. It appeared to me that you destroyed several potential slingshots in making your wedges.

The birds love you. They're giving you the only gift they can.

I just saw the concept of wood splitting wedges this year. Great idea. I wish I would have thought about that when chopping some 2 foot rounds a decade ago. I got multiple axes stuck because I didn’t have a splitting wedge or maul.

👍👍👍 .. the humble wooden wedge. All too often overlooked 😊.

In Germany we call this plant "Hartriegel" where hart means hard and riegel in this contecxt means "latch lock". People used to lock doors with dogwood latch locks because it is so sturdy. Nice work, @David. Thank you.

I was watching a video of some people in Eastern Europe using a large wooden mallet to pound stakes in for a hay rack. It looked like they were drying hay on these lines, similar to clothes hanging out to dry. It's amazing what we humans can do with very little resources when pressed! Keep up the creative/elegant solutions that may one day help us if/when the sun bursts our electricity bubble 😅

Of course I enjoy all the different videos you make, but the parts I enjoy the most are the longer shots of just watching the fire burn at the end. I love when you feature longer real time hobo stove burns at the end of your videos.

Thanks David for the tutorial. I do use a wooden wedge if my knife gets stuck in a log while batoning. Sometimes if I have a real knotty and twisted log will start with a knife then finish with the wedge.

I have a few of those saws and they are great for small jobs!

Hi David, nice to meet you. Sometimes you can't split wood properly with a knife or axe. I will try your wedge method. Thanks for sharing.

I always wondered if the pine hurt your hands you always made it look easy and you never complained. I wasn’t getting any notifications of your videos for awhile I investigated and found somehow I had turned off the notifications I must have big fingered it somehow but I’m back great video brother god bless

If only someone could invent a chain saw and a hand ax.

I never thought of using dogwood for anything. I will have to try this, I am wondering about axe, shovel,hammer, & handles. Thanks for the vid.

We have had similar problems with our vehicle side mirrors. One case involved a blue Jay, and another involved a very aggressive cardinal. When we covered the mirrors as you did, the cardinal began attacking his reflection in every window of our residence. Virtually every window and glass sliding door now has an ample supply of cardinal spit, and small boots of cardinal chest down.

It would be awesome if you would make a video of using some of these wedges to split a large piece of wood

Cardinals will do that too sometimes . Don’t ask how I know, Thanks and pretty good video 👌

Good video David, thanks for sharing YAH bless !

One of the few channels I hit "like" before I watch the video ..

in the past we've made wooden wedges out of a vine maple and maple broadleaf maple but we would take Vine Maple and cut it off and droll holes and it make mallets We didn't have to do a lot they wouldn't split and they would quite good for doing a lot of different pounding activities even for auto work body work some even had wedges put into the into the mallet itself which we can hold in place when trying to split or bend something additionally was involved in splitting a 6 ft diameter cedar log using 4 ft maple wedges cedar splits real clean and you can split it and make a whole cabin out of one single log squidding it into a very square logs and beams for a construction

How do you recognize dogwood? ….by the bark!

Would make sum great knife handle or pistol grips!!! The BTU s on it is very high None will grew big enuff to ever be crucified on again!!! But sooo beautiful when in bloom. Thanks for the video😊

Hi Mr West! I live in Washington state and I’m having a hard time finding fat wood from pine, however, I have found resin in the Douglas firs and it works, but, it creates black smoke with strong aroma! Is it possible, the further north..? That the pine in Washington state may be harder to produce? The pine trees that I have come across are not as red as the ones I have seen in the south. I’m no tree expert and the internet isn’t helping. Can you help me? Or maybe point me in the right direction? Thank you in advance. By the way, I’m really loving your channel and content, you’re a genius!! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️

Nice ! You should make a few whimmy diddles since you are doing a little whittling. Plenty of stock left. 😂👍

Outstanding as always 💯👍🏆

"Eliminate" the problem... I get what you did there.. Love it.! Looks like you might need to find a new parking spot...?!

Nunca vi uma serra tão ruim na minha vida. Que demora para cortar esse gravetinho. ❤

Hey David, great video like always... I love the strenght of dogwood, I use it for splitting mauls and batons if I can ever find a dead piece that isn't cracked. On your bird challenge - my vote is for Eastern Cardinal - they are very territorial and hate other males in their space - even a reflection! Don't tell us if you find him though - it's like a 20k fine. Ugh! Cheers!

😂dogwood is really hard to split after it seasons out so I always try to split it green but it also makes some of the best and hottest cook wood.after it seasons makes really good coals to

In SC the dogwood is the hardest indigenous wood.

I cut down a dogwood years ago for firewood. Tried splitting it with a maul. A true lesson in futility. Toughest, stringiest wood in the world!!

The owl decoys sold at Walmart stop all bird problems on cars, just put it on the roof and when you leave put it in the passenger seat, repeat.

Holly also makes good wedges, though almost ant hardwood will do at a pinch. A lot easier and quicker making another wood wedge than grinding out dings from an axe head, or gouges in steel wedges trying to 'mate' in a log

If your Corona gets too dull, you can sharpen it using Dremel cutoff wheels. There are two types. Use the fiberglass reinforced type. The other type is brittle, and you have to be careful when using side pressure. Those Corona blades are induction hardened, mine are anyway, and files won't get it done. I've cut Locust wedges to "try" to get trees to fall in the right direction and they probably would have lasted longer if I'd tempered'em in a fire first, but they did OK. 👍🍺

Its time for a new saw

That's a male Cardinal around that mirror I'll bet. We've had that issue here. Holly makes dandy wedges, actually called gluts.

Bonjour et merci pour cette vidéo instructive. Bravo pour cette utilisation de coin en cornouiller. C’est une excellente idée, vu. La dureté de cet arbre. Merci du partage. Utilisez-vous aussi le réchaud à pyrolyse ? Michèle

Kousa Dogwood is so hard a good piece of it will ring like a bell when struck. I think you could make a xylophone out of it.

It's a robin- they sit on my mirrors and relieve themselves while perched also.

When my sister and I were young and somewhat mischievous when I did or didn't do something my mom would tell my sister go get me a dogwood switch and it better be a good one or I will use it on you then send you after another one. She never had to get another one. Dogwood branches are like a car antenna with a knob on the end . She used them as mental punishment more than physical. It's tough love.

Think you've got bird probs, a few years ago I cut down a Silver Maple that was diseased, rotten, insect and grub infested and this Robin was loving it. Since this time its been bird stalking me, I get up in the mornin look out the window and its on the wire, go down stairs to make coffee it out the kitchen window, go take a squirt and its out there on the fence, in the yard its never far off. Crazy bird!

Perhaps a mouse type glue board in front of that passenger side mirror would help eliminate the problem

I had a bird find the reflective underside of a stainless steel table outside. They would spend hours jumping up and smacking their beak on the underside of the table. I can’t imagine that bird was cognitively the same after 2 months of that. It was actually hilarious to watch.

It's possible that it's a woodpecker attacking your mirror. I read an article once where a single bird broke numerous mirrors in a neighborhood.

We have lost most all of our dogwoods here in northeast Florida over the last few years to some sort of contagious blight. I am wondering where you are located and are your dogwoods also being killed by this same plague?

The bird messing on your car is most likely a Cardinal. my mom had one fighting his reflection and was knocking the crap out of himself and pooping all over the side of her car. finally a cat made a meal of of him and it all stopped.

What is the purpose of the burning? Is this for a hibachi or grill?

I had the same problem with a crazy red bird, I figured out our van was parked closed to a nest in a bush next to the house, that crazy red bird ( Male ) thought another ( Male ) was moving in on his territory he literally was leaving feathers, poop, and a gosh awful slim on the side of the van and mirror, I really did hate to but I had to do the obvious.

The bird is likely a male Cardinal. This behavior is well known in the North Central states.

I agree, that bird needs to go. Very cool, making a splitting wedge from wood. Well done yet again!

What is the purpose of the fire?

Hi David! Happy Independence Day! So, the crazy bird is back for more. I don't blame you one bit. That bird needs a hit put out on it.

My money is on a blackbird. They see their reflection and fight and protest accordingly....

I’m speculating that Digital Dave of the Crazy 4 Cryptos channel may literally be your son. Same name, similar looks, similar speaking voice and accent. 🤔

Good educational video. Thank you, David. 😊

In Italy, when a bird messes the car, it's considered a sign of good luck. A hawk decoy or other predatory bird decoy should discourage that behavior, but that's just my opinion.

Great video !! Love your channel. Hope you had a great 4th of July

Watched & scared away a female Towhee doing that on my pickup several times during May & June. Put the plastic bags on the mirror when I could remember to do it.

Betcha it's a Bluebird.

I have the same problem with my red Nissan Rogue. Turns out it is a female Cardinal. My car is the same color as a male Cardinal.

I think that plant next to your table is mullein, did you know you can smoke the leaves like tabacco? Happy 4th of July

I bought That Corona saw several years ago. It's one of the best tree saws. Sharp as hell.

He's just protecting his territory😂😂😂😂😂😂👍❤🇨🇱

A blight is killing the dogwood in south Alabama

Find it's nest, climb the tree with some toilet paper and see how he likes it 😆

The bird that is doing this is probably a mocking bird.

stihl 170..

Wouldn’t be easier with a hatchet and cigarette lighter?.. I’m sure it would be cheaper than that folding saw, knife, and little sparkler tool

Geez dude …buy a file

why is the US flag across the street upside down?

The Lizzie Borden school of pruning shown by a graduate....How to kill a tree with a saw and brute strength.

ELIMENATE = MOUSE TRAP

Ur suppose to use side with teeth

Its a shame about the tree it had a great shape

A hatchet would have been a batter choice. What a wasted 18 min I’ll never get back.🙄