Home Burglar Alarms of the Future

The security industry is ever-changing, with new security solutions being constantly developed to combat intruders and to make your home as secure and protected as possible.

As technology becomes more and more advanced, home security has the opportunity to become even more sophisticated. While the systems we have in place right now seem comprehensive, robust and reliable, the future of home security looks to take things to another level, so take a peek into the future to see how your home burglary system might one day function.

Name and shame

Identification can be the trickiest part of any crime, but burglars may soon be forced to live with less anonymity. It is predicted that, by 2025, home burglar alarms will be able to identify intruders and address known criminals by their own name.

Thieves, especially opportunistic ones, aim to remain undetected and unidentifiable, but that is getting harder and harder to accomplish. Smart systems will be able to pick up on intruders and warn them verbally that they are being recorded and that authorities are on their way. This makes it much likelier that intruders will leave empty handed, and makes capture and identification more likely, as well.

Facial recognition

Known criminals and repeat offenders will find it tougher to carry out burglaries, with hidden cameras armed with facial recognition software to trigger an alarm when an intruder has been spotted. These cameras won’t just be limited to the home, either. With prevention being key to security, these cameras could be installed on the streets to catch a criminal’s presence before any crime has taken place. Soon, it won’t just be your home that’s protected, but the whole wider neighbourhood!

Chemical marking

With intruders having more reason to give up and flee during a burglary attempt, it’s important to have some way of identifying culprits so they can be caught and brought to justice before they try again elsewhere. Alarm systems of tomorrow may involve some form of chemical marking, where criminals are sprayed with an indelible chemical substance as they attempt a break-in.

These sprays could be hidden in the garden or on the property perimeter, and will spray the offender as they are trying to gain access to your property. These markers will be impossible to remove, making it much easier for the police – or passersby – to identify and apprehend suspects.

Drone assistance

Should an intruder manage to abscond with any of your belongings, that doesn’t mean they are home-free and clear of capture. Home security systems of the future could allow instant action through the use of roof-mounted drones.

These drones will become active when the alarm has sounded, and can be controlled remotely by your security company to give chase to the escaping criminal. These drones will help keep track of the thief, keeping them in sight until the police can take over, and may also be equipped with the same chemicals that we mentioned before. The pilot can spray the chemicals to keep the burglar marked, making it easier to find and identify later should they manage to evade.

While the drones will be low flying, they will be able to provide a more intimate view of the criminal’s escape route, allowing you to follow them into areas that may be much harder on foot. Keeping track of a suspect means being able to apprehend them quickly, and drones can keep criminals in sight in order to keep the police informed of the suspect’s whereabouts.

The future of deterrence

With home burglaries, prevention is always the best cure. Home security systems today act as effective deterrents, but this can only improve as future security systems are developed. The systems outlined in this article should make any home intrusion almost impossible to pull off successfully, and much of this will be down to the deterrence factor. Criminals will be aware of new technologies and techniques, and will definitely think twice before trying to gain access to any home protected by drones, marking spray and facial recognition.

Homes and neighbourhoods of the future will be more advanced and even more secure than they are today, and there’s even potential for home security systems to be linked, sharing information with each other in order to create a robust, linked system which can warn each other of potential threats, and share details of suspicious individuals to keep everyone informed and protected at all times.

The post Home Burglar Alarms of the Future appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/home-burglar-alarms-of-the-future/

An interview with… Christine Walkden

A campaign launched earlier this month is aiming to inspire people across the UK to become ‘Local Heroes’ by taking action to support community growing groups in their neighbourhoods, many of which face a struggle to make ends meet. One of the celebrity backers heading up this fine campaign is Christine Walkden, well-loved broadcaster, writer and champion of no-nonsense gardening. We sit down for a nice cup tea and talk potatoes, plums and prepping for winter.

Christine! Tell me a bit about the Local Heroes campaign, and why you wanted to get involved.
CW. Well, it really epitomises all that I strongly believe in, in relation to getting people growing and gardening and enjoying the outdoors. Most people think gardening and growing and all these sort of environmental things is difficult, it’s not – it’s just doing it and trying it, and if you do it and try it, you will realise you can do it. And there’s nothing like success to breed success. So the Local Heroes campaign for me is all about trying to engage people, and encouraging them to just go out and give it a go. And people think they need skills, they’ve got to come with something that they believe is import. It’s important that you flipping turn up! Just give it a try. Every single one of us has got skills that we don’t know, and that maybe just showing a youngster how to sow a seed, or show how to harvest a bit of fruit, it maybe just telling them what that flipping fruit is. That’s a skill. You may not think that it is, but that’s a skill. The old allotments where people came together and grew – they not only grew plants, but grew themselves.

I get plenty of advice from the old blokes down the allotment, who come wandering over and tell me what I’m doing wrong…
CW. And it’s not written in a book. And that personal advice and that personal contact… that’s where I got a lot of my stuff from as a kid. I had an allotment when I was ten. They just cultivated me. As much as I was cultivating the plants, they were growing me, and their advice, their help… coming over and saying “you don’t do it like that, try this!”

We’re not just talking about City farms are we? There’s community gardens, community orchards, school planting projects – all kinds of gardening schemes that people can get involved with…
CW. Absolutely! What is needed today is for people to just get back and get involved. I think a lot of people are getting isolated, just because of the speed of life and the way we function in life today. Barbara Streisand once sang “people who need people are the luckiest of people” It is true today as it was when it was first sung. And people forget that, and we can’t live in splendid isolation, we don’t function in society like that.

And what should I do if I wanted to get involved locally?
CW. You can go on to the Growing Together Local Heroes website You can look up local horticultural societies, look up your local council website for community projects. Search online for things like ‘community gardening’, ‘guerrilla gardening’, ‘gardening for people’, ‘city farms’. All of these searches will get you in touch with what you need to engage with.

We’re not talking just about the physical act of digging holes are we?
CW. No, no..it’s going and talking, it’s perhaps producing a poster, perhaps it’s going and showing somebody how to make something. How do you make a tied bouquet? There’s lots of people – WI ladies and all the other skilled flower arrangers that are out there and can show you how to make a tied bouquet in seconds. But, “oooh, a tied bouquet, what is that?” You know, you get a bunch of flowers, you wrap them together and hey presto you’ve got it. That’s a skill that can be passed on. We’ve all got skills to share – it can be taking along a camera and showing someone how they can take a better digital photograph. It doesn’t just have to be gardening, it’s society skills. It’s just chatting to somebody. An old person comes along and you chat to them and make them smile and they go away and they feel like they’ve benefited. It’s about growing people as much as growing plants.

OK, so in the spirit of sharing knowledge, I’ve got a top tip for you. I’ve got a banana tree in my back garden that has sprouted, creating a banana grove of trees. It’s aways a pain to protect it from frosts in the winter, but I’ve come up with this great trick. I’ve staked an old beach windbreak around it, and stuffed it with straw. No messing around with bean poles and chicken wire. Wrap it round, hammer in the stakes, cover with tarpaulin, job done!
CW.  Right… there you are. (sounding dubious )

You can have that one for free.
CW.  Thank you…

But… my dahlias. What do I do about my dahlias?
CW.  Once the frost has bitten them, cut the black stalk off, lift them, turn them upside down and allow the tubers to dry off. That normally takes around about two to three weeks, then I just put them up in trays and put some multi purpose compost around them. Keep them ticking over in a frost free greenhouse, then start them again in spring.

And what about bush salvia. Got any tips for those?
CW.  I actually cut the plants in half. I pot them up and put them in a cold frame that’s situated at the base of a south facing wall and they’ll survive all right.

Ah, right. That’s good to know. I’ll pass that on to my mum. That question came from her.

What kind of gardening do you prefer? Flowers or veg?
CW.  I’m both! If I was to be put up against a wall and someone said, veg or flowers, I would have to say veg because I like eating! It’ll have to be me veggies!

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been neglected the TTG  allotment, it has to be said. This is mostly down to the fact that the council stop their allotment inspections from November to March, so the pressure is off. I thought I’d put my feet up for a few weeks, without the threat of eviction. There are plenty of jobs I should be doing now though, aren’t there?
CW.  So there’s the general tidying up, the cutting down of raspberries, making sure the autumn digging, if you are on a heavy soil, needs to be done this time of year. PH testing is a good thing to be doing this time of year. In the flower garden it’s tidying it, cutting back all that stuff that’s likely to go manky, keeping stuff that’s got good seed heads on it so you’ve got good structure and you’ve got material there for your birds. Don’t clear everything away from under your hedges because you want your hedgehogs to be fine. There’s plenty of jobs. And if you are quick, there’s just enough time to plant some hardy annuals.

You’re from Lancashire, right? So Yorkshire has a rhubarb triangle… what have Lancashire got to offer? What can they bring to the table?
CW.  What? In terms of veggies? Potatoes. The Ormskirk area, historically, was big for growing potatoes.

So, how are Reggie’s plums*?
CW.  Sorry?

Reggies plums!
CW.  Ah! Unfortunately, Reggie’s plum tree is dead. As is Reg, sadly.

Apologies. What an unfortunate question to ask…
CW.  No no! Do you know, it’s not, because in many ways it’s a great tribute to him because it’s ten years since ‘Christine’s Garden‘ and people still ask me on a regular basis about Reg, and what a phenomenal tribute to him. It doesn’t bother me that people ask me about him because I think, how nice, and how kind.

How’s your diary looking next year? Are you nice and busy?
CW.  It’s fine, I’ve got loads of stuff on. I mean, touch wood, I get used and people like hearing me chat and going and doing things and the rest of it, so yes! I’m quite lucky! I’ve got about 40 dates booked for next year already.

If people wanted to go and see you at any events or talks or suchlike, they can check on your website?
CW.  Yes, they can go on there. It’s www.christinewalkden.com

Say you were on a desert island – a fertile desert island – what would be your three desert island veggies?
CW.  Oh, it’d have to be runner beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes.

Yep? What about blight? Wouldn’t you be worried about blight**?
CW.  Not on a desert island! Come on! It’s dry! Acquire your horticultural knowledge, sunshine! (Laughs)

And this is one of the reasons why I should be going to one of these garden groups, isn’t it?
CW.  (Still Laughing) Well, we all have things to learn…

And finally, after a hard days graft in the garden, what drink would you reach for?
CW.  Oh, whisky….yes.

Whisky? Any particular type?
CW.  MALT!

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To find out more about how to become a Local Hero, contact your local growing group, email localheroes@farmgarden.org.uk or visit www.growingtogether.community.

The campaign wants to inspire people to do something that benefits community growing projects by taking simple actions–such as buying produce or subscribing to a veg box scheme, taking their children to events or workshops, offering skills as a volunteer or getting local businesses involved through sponsorship, staff volunteer days or discounts on useful equipment.

You can visit Christine’s website here…
ChristineWalkden.com 

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*Reggie was Christine’s neighbour who frequently appeared on her 2012 BBC series, ‘Christine’s Garden’. He was a convivial old chap who used to pop round for chats and cups of tea.

** In my defence, I was imagining a tropical desert island – the type covered with mangrove swamps and snakes as thick as telegraph poles. I’d plant my veggie garden in the steamy interior, leaving any dry expanses of ground free to build a giant SOS sign out of bleached animal bones and conch shells.

The post An interview with… Christine Walkden appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/12/interview-christine-walkden/

Rejoice! It’s our digging and swigging Christmas Gift Guide 2016!

Bought the Christmas wrapping paper yet? Well done. And plenty of tape, we hope. You don’t want to run out again and resort to string from the shed, calling it a ‘vintage look’ to hide your blushes. We assume you’ve got plenty labels left over from last year. And you’ve booked an evening off from your busy drinking schedule to take care of wrapping duties? You’re all set then…

…what’s that you say?

You’ve not bought the presents?

Don’t panic because, yet again, we’ve scoured the globe in search of the finest gifts suitable for anyone who likes guzzling booze or pottering in the garden. Get your orders in and start wrapping…

The London No. 1 Gin

Price: £33.90
With gin currently being the coolest drink around, why not treat your pals to a celebrated London gin from the heart of the capital. Craft distilled in small batches its distinctive blue hue comes from the gardenia flower, while other botanicals in the mix include angelica, iris root and bergamot. We found this gin to have a crisp and light touch with delicate floral, peppery and orange blossom notes and is at its best served as a simple G&T.
Available from Ocado

Personalised Slate Door Sign

Price: £12.95
If Christmas is a time to get personal, then send a message written in stone. Slate, to be precise. These welcome signs add a touch of class to even the tattiest shed door and with room for two lines of copy you can comfortably include all but the poshest double-barrel names. (Note: we use our sign for events only. There’s no way we’re revealing the true identity of our brewing shed)
Available from Personalise.co.uk

Scapa Glansa Single Malt Whisky

Price: £44.95
Every year we like to recommend a bottle-shaped gift for the whisky lover in your life, and this time around our taste buds have decided that Scapa Glansa gets the tinsel-wrapped treatment. It’s a single malt from Orkney that has been finished in casks previously used for peat whisky, adding a subtle smokiness that drifts by as if the caramel and vanilla notes have been visited by a peaty ghost. Enough intrigue for the adventurous drinker but nothing to scare those that prefer their malts smoke-free.
Available from Master of Malt

The Bitter Truth Cocktail Bitters, Bar Pack

Price: £14.65
Cocktail enthusiasts should be familiar with The Bitter Truth and their high quality mixing bitters. For this pack, they’ve gone a bit off piste, conjuring up a flavour assortment that will open up a whole new line of cocktail sorcery. Just this one natty tin will allow you to mix and muddle with the concentrated essences of chocolate bitters, tonic bitters, olive bitters, cucumber bitters and our favourite, peach bitters. Release the liquid a few drops at a time and let the magic happen…
Available from The Drink Shop

Ginger Beard’s Preserves Fig & Sour Cherry Christmas Chutney

Price: £4.50
If you’re wondering how a jar of chutney managed to spread itself all over our boozy Christmas guide then it’s because THIS ONE HAS BEER IN IT. And not just any old supermarket grog but a barley wine that has been aged in whisky barrels and lovingly crafted by the fantastic Moor Brewing Co. It’s a superb stocking filler for any gastronome, particularly if you know they’ll be munching on strong cheeses during the festive break, with which it makes the perfect match.
Available from Ginger Beard’s Preserves

+++++

Don’t forget our book!

For the ultimate digging and swigging gift there’s our book, Brew it Yourself. Packed full with booze recipes, many of them using home grown ingredients, your grateful recipient will be fermenting, infusing and mixing boozy magic throughout 2017.

Available from Amazon

The post Rejoice! It’s our digging and swigging Christmas Gift Guide 2016! appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/12/digging-swigging-christmas-gift-guide-alcohol-gardening-2016/

How to find the best Christmas tree

Step 1.

The most crucial step is to determine the area at home where you want to keep your Christmas tree. You should measure the ceiling height in the room and the thickness to be sure to have enough space to work with. You should ensure that you have enough room for decorations and for the presents that will be kept under the tree.

Step 2.

The place where your Christmas tree is so crucial because there are some flammable areas, you should avoid in your house. Ensure you don not place the tree near heaters, in direct sunlight and fireplace.

Step 3.

When you calculate the amount of space you have, you can go ahead and buy the kind of tree that you like. Before you bring your Christmas tree home, there are a few important tests you must do to ensure that you will get a tree that is healthy. The first thing you should do is to shake the tree a little. When some brown leaves fall, then the tree is okay. When green leaves fall, it means the tree is dry, and you should select another one. You should ensure that needles feel a snap and flexible when bent at a sharp angle. When the needle has started to color and become stiff, you should select another tree.

Step 4.

After you choose the right tree, you should ensure that you have the right equipment to carry the tree from the shop to your house. You should make sure you have a pair of gloves that will help you not to stick yourself with the branches all over your fingers. You will probably want the personnel at the tree lot to net the tree before you tie it down with rope or string to the roof of your vehicle.

Step 5.

When your tree is finally at home and decorated, you should take care of it and make it is ever fresh. You should put the tree into the water immediately when you bring it home. You should use plain water without any additives. You should ensure that the water does not go below the base of the tree because sometimes the trees may can take in a lot of water.

The post How to find the best Christmas tree appeared first on Subline Wind Chime.

from Subline Wind Chime http://www.sublimewindchime.com/2016/12/05/find-best-christmas-tree/

Kit yourself out this winter with Scruffs workwear

A few months ago we were contacted by someone from clothing retailer Scruffs, a workwear company specialising in stylish togs for hard working tradesfolk. They wanted to know if we would be interested in reviewing some of their gear the next time we had some hard work to do in the garden. 

We’re not shy of a bit of heavy duty labour on the allotment, and we’re not frightened of fashion. So we each picked an item to review and got stuck in.

Fast forward two months. We’ve braved the plunging temperatures and the Scruffs gear has been put through its paces. We’ve dug, chopped and sweated, and are ready to deliver our verdict. Here’s our reveal-all conversation in full…

Nick: “What item did you plunder, Rich?”

Rich “I’ve got a Classic Thermo Parka. I wanted one in red but my wife said it would make me look like John Craven, so I heeded her better judgement and went for a black one instead”

Nick: “I would’ve gone for red as well. The colour of champions. But black looks smart. Looks warm, too – have you tried it out in this recent blast of Arctic weather.”

Rich “I took it out for a trial on Bonfire Night, as it happens. A rigorous test for the coats thermal properties as – if you recall – it was FREEZING that evening. I took my youngest to a fireworks display at the local rugby club. A twenty minute walk, followed by an hour wait in the cold whilst they presumably looked for the matches. Incidentally, if anyone from BANES council is reading this, the safety procedures at this event consisted of a bloke holding a pint of lager, shoo-ing kids off the pitch before they lit the fireworks.

“Happy to report that I stayed toasty for the duration. What I would say is that the hood is absolutely voluminous. To stop it from falling over your eyes, you’d really need to wear a baseball cap. Unless, of course, you’ve got a head like ET. I liked the plethora of pockets (nine external and two internal) and the knitted cuffs are a nice comfy touch. What did you wrestle from the Scruffs shop, Nick?”

Parka. Feel the heat.

Nick: “I didn’t go out on Bonfire Night. Spent the evening doing the same as the previous and subsequent ten evenings – helping the dogs hide from the firework noise.

“I opted for some tough ‘Cheviot’ boots. Wellies are good for most gardening activities but sometimes, particularly this time of year when the path gets icy and there are serious wood chopping activities to negotiate, something sturdier and grippier is required. And these looked comfortable enough to extend their remit to muddy dog walking, now the fireworks have ceased.”

Rich: “I hope the boots live up to their name. I know from experience that the Cheviots is a formidable, uncompromising landscape. I was once sucked into a peat bog just below Windy Gyle. Did I ever tell you about that?”

Nick: “There’s nothing more I need to know about your windy gyle.

“The boots are great. They’ve got a reassuringly hefty aluminium toe but overall they’re remarkably light and flexible. I’ve been marching around the garden in them and haven’t really noticed I’m wearing them. Previous big-boot experiences have felt like I’ve been carrying the potato harvest on my feet but not these. They’ve also got an ‘S3 safety rating’ which I think means they’re pretty tough all over so I’ll be confidently putting them through their paces this winter.

“My wife is a bit more fashion-fussy than me and suggests I don’t wear them out and about, but I’ve got a woodland ramble with the dogs tomorrow and the forecast is for hard frost, so I’m ignoring her ‘advice’ and will be wearing them in public. Besides, I quite like the orange and black livery. You wouldn’t be ashamed if I turned up at a cider pressing in the Cheviots, would you?”

Rich “Nope, you’ve worn worse things. That red fleece hat, for instance…

“I’m not sure I’d wear my coat to a cider pressing – I’d get too hot I think. I’ll lend it to you. You tend to do a bit more sitting around, watching other people working.”

Nick: “Outrageous lies. Just you remember whose new boots have the reinforced metal toe cap…”

Boots. Feel the strength.

Rich reviewed the Classic Thermo Parka, 100% polyester with a waterproof rating of 4,500mm and a detachable hood. Price £84.95

Nick review the Cheviot Boots with heat resistant sole, nubuck uppers and an S3 safety rating. Price £51.96

For the full range of Scruffs clothing visit scruffs.com

 

*Prices correct at time of publication

The post Kit yourself out this winter with Scruffs workwear appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/12/winter-clothes-review-scruffs-workwear-jacket-boots/

Beer of the week #100: Omnipollo, Noa Pecan Mud Cake, Double Barrel

Rejoice! We have reached our one hundredth beer of the week review. 100 beers studied, guzzled and written about without skipping a week (despite Rich’s best efforts at lateness*).

To celebrate this three-figure milestone we’ve popped open one of the most extraordinary beers on the planet – an imperial stout lovingly crafted by one of our favourite breweries, Sweden’s Omnipollo.

We started this series of features with another dark beer, Otley Porter, and have slurped and supped our way through numerous beers styles from old and new breweries all over the world. And each one of them has been great. Even the one we made ourselves from a kit, and even the one brewed by boffins.

Sometimes we’ve shared tasting duties with some of the beer industries most respected writers – such as Mark Dredge and Tim Hampson – and our mates Larry and Rory. We’ve opened bottles adorned with gun ostrichs, pipe smoking monkeys and apes wearing space suits.

We’ve found the best beers for Thai food, Japanese curries and plates of Belgian sausages, and we’ve tasted booze made with chillis, Scottish desserts and toast. And this week we’re drinking one that includes pecan nuts, has been aged in Islay and Cognac barrels and weighs in at a hair-curling 11%.

Thanks to this high alcohol content and luxurious texture, it tastes a bit like a beery cream liqueur. It’s thick and black, instantly producing a head of honeycomb which fizzes and slides around the surface before quickly departing to leave behind smoky, ghostly whisps.

From the first sip there’s a bust-up of flavours, with coffee, sweet cream, chocolate, toasted nuts and a burst of sour, stoned fruit being the main protagonists. It’s a boozy mash-up of stout, sherry, Belgian sour and whisky cream liqueur and, as a result, is sensationally unique.

You might think these descriptions make it sound like an unhinged mess. But it’s not. It’s a celebration of beer and the amazing diversity that contemporary brewers are able to achieve from a recipe starting point that is thousands of years old. As such, we think it makes and apt toast to the vast array of 100 beers we’ve described over the past few years. Cheers!

Whispy ghost-like head of beer

 

*Now that we’ve reached this century of beer reviews we’re going to change things a little. We will be less rigid about reviewing a beer ever week (much to Rich’s pleasure) and we’re going to add the occasional cider review to our repertoire (which we will call ‘cider of the week’ for obvious reasons)

Fact!

According to google analytics our most-read beer review is this Czech black lager

 

lowdown

Brewery: Omnipollo, Stockholm, Sweden
Beer name: Noa Pecan Mud Cake, Double Barrel
Strength: 11%

Treat yourself to a bottle of Noa Pecan Mud Stout Double Barrel by ordering one from our pals at Beer Gonzo

 

The post Beer of the week #100: Omnipollo, Noa Pecan Mud Cake, Double Barrel appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/12/beer-review-100-omnipollo-noa-pecan-mud-cake-double-barrel-stout/

How to chop wood with a mighty log splitting axe

The wood burning stove is up and running again, which means the Sunday morning peace is often shattered by the sounds of chopping wood. Although my fire wood is delivered as seasoned logs, the stove is small so most of them need to have their size reduced before being incinerated. Chopping wood is one of the more pleasurable outdoor winter chores – a bit of effort is required but it gets the blood circulating and produces a warm glow of satisfaction before any matches have been lit.

Providing you adopt a safety first policy it’s a fairly straightforward task, although there are a few simple rules worth following to make it as trouble free as possible. Here they are…

Choose your axe

There are many types of axe available for a variety of chopping tasks – from initial tree felling to precision carving. For domestic log splitting duties your best bet is a long-handled, log splitting axe.

We’ve got a competition to win such an item from Wilkinson Sword so, for this feature, I’ve been putting their splitting axe through its paces. The 90cm long handle is built of fiberglass and has a soft grip, which makes it easy to hold and prevents it slipping from your grasp, while also being suitably durable. The head is made of drop forged carbon steel, giving it a bit of muscle behind the sharp blade, designed to power through whatever type of wood that is destined for your log store.

Short handled chopping axes are also worth considering if your main chopping duties involve breaking off narrow pieces for kindling, but you’ll have to put much more effort in than you would with a longer handle if you need a full swing at a larger piece of wood.

If you’ve got especially wide pieces of wood, such as a slice of mature tree trunk, you might also want to invest in a grenade splitter or wedge. This is a pointed device that is placed in the centre of the log before being whacked with a mallet or the reverse of an axe (providing its suitable for the task) causing the wood to split along its weakest grain lines.

Lightweight with a hard head. If Thirsty Rich was an axe…

Position your log

The surface you place your log on is of vital importance: it needs to be sturdy and level, while also being able to take the follow through of an axe without breaking. But unflexible surfaces, like concrete, are a no-go – they’re likely to send a bone-dislodging jolt through your arm and knacker your blade. By far the best solution is a large piece of tree.

Ideally your tree piece, or equivalent chopping block, should rise so your logs reach around waist height, enabling you to swing comfortably while standing. I manage to chop onto a flatter disc of tree with more of a crouch, but my back doesn’t appreciate the technique.

Swing your blade

Give your knees a little flex then grip the handle with one hand towards the axe head and the other hand at the end of the handle. Some guides, and Rich, suggest the strongest hand should be near the head; other guides, and Nick, think it should be the weaker hand. However, as Nick is right handed but bats at cricket left handed, Rich is probably right. Adopt whatever arrangement feels most comfortable – which is probably the way you would bat at cricket.

Lift the axe above your head with straightish arms and ready yourself… then slide the hand near the axe head towards the other hand at the base of the handle while allowing gravity to send the axe towards the log. At the point of impact both hands should be together at the end of the handle. If your aim is true and the log is ready to succumb it’ll satisfyingly split in half. If not, give the axe a wiggle to remove it from the log and try again.

For those tougher and wider pieces, welcome the grenade, or wedge, to the swing session. Position it in the centre of the wood, tap to secure, then bash it with the back of the axe or mallet as if hammering a large nail into a massive fence. Eventually the wood will spring apart along the grain.

A grenade, or wedge, is used to break up larger and tougher bits of tree

Be safe

It goes without saying that axes are deadly beasts. Never swing wildly like a crazed axe murderer as you’re likely to miss the target or wobble mid air and give your leg a nasty shock. And you’ll also be out of breath before you’ve got an evening’s worth of wood to burn. Make sure you’re swinging in a clear area with pets and other family members well out of the way. Safety goggles are also advised and, if you must wear gloves, make sure they have a decent grip – those knitted mittens your gran sent for Christmas will cause the axe to make an airborn visit to the neighbours garden.

Visit the Wilkinson Sword website for more information on their range of axes

The long handled splitting axe and grenade

The post How to chop wood with a mighty log splitting axe appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/11/chop-wood-mighty-log-splitting-axe/