Best way to make kindling
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I have no use for kindling. Most of my reloads are on a bed of coals. If I am starting a new fire I just load in the splits and put 1 or 2 of the rutland firestarting squares in and the fire takes off. Only place I use kindling is in the chimnea.
Sawset
Minister of Fire
Dry wood and egg carton starters here. If I do get into something hard to start, either due to weather conditions or because some of the wood got damp, or because the variety is difficult (locust), then usually (rarely) it's sticks from the wood shop that are used to help it along. Refuse from the splitter gets thrown in a wheelbarrow and put on the outside burnpile. When I was hand splitting, trying to keep kindling on hand didn't seem to work. Too much effort, never enough, always ended up on an as needed basis, when it's cold and I wanted a fire instead.
therealdbeau
Burning Hunk
I just gather small sticks from the wood line surrounding my house. It's a constant battle cleaning that crap up anyway living on a mostly wooded lot. I don't stockpile the sticks though so if it rains or snows that strategy is out the window. Oh and I have a wood shop at work that saves me the odds and ends of the solid wood lumber they cut up. That stuff burns real good.
Jan Pijpelink
Minister of Fire
My splitter makes plenty of kindling.
i just pick up the sticks from the trees... or broccoli. Yeah, definitely broccoli
EODMSgt
Feeling the Heat
X3.
Toss the splitter bits in three dedicated 33-gallon trash cans that I installed vents on. Plenty of kindling for a season.
Mainly just use a couple pieces of fatwood but it's always nice to have some kindling on hand. Also, since I'm in the middle of the woods, there is never a shortage of downed branches from the wind.
I bring home small clear pine skids from work, cut them into small boards and split them up. Jotul skids are my favorite!
I store and dry my splitter scraps in garbage and 55 gallon barrels. Got tons of it.
This last year I didn't us any kindling. Just a good cold starting technique. I load the floor with 2 oak splits and a few criss crossed on top. A firestarter and a paper tube between the splits. Starts quickly every time.
Kindling Cracker XL, 3 lb sledge and my 11 year old son!
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bfitz3
Feeling the Heat
When splitting, I watch for rounds that pop apart with the splitter only going into them a couple of inches. I split those into 1 inch thick slabs and set them aside. When I need kindling, it’s really quick/easy work to split off a handful of 1/2 inch or smaller strips. Works great, and it takes very little space, comparatively to store the future kindling.
When desperate, I'd place a hatchet on the end of short 2x4 pieces (resting on some other dimensional lumber to save the hatchet blade) and whack the hatchet with a small sledge hammer. Hatchets scare me so I want to keep my fingers as far way as possible. I have been gifted a kindling cracker, so I may test that out when I run out of bits that were picked up off the ground after splitting wood this summer.
I use either cedar roof shakes or get a section of old cedar fence off Craigslist, cut the boards to length and stack next to my wood pile.
Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
I remodeled my house, and after the demo came up with a big pile of cedar shingles. I cut them 8 inches long with the circular saw and split them up small with the axe. Great kindling. Also use pine kindling on top of the cedar.
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
It’s pricey but I like my “kindling cracker”. Very portable . Can make kindling in basement or garage if need be.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Picking up sticks, twigs, and branches that fall from the trees onto my lawn. I need to pick them up anyway. Makes great kindling. I usually end up with about two 30 gallon trash bins of them.
barnaclebob
Feeling the Heat
I've also got a regular sized kindling cracker and it works great. Its best to use nice clear splits that resplit easily. I can fill a 10 gal trash can in a few minutes which lasts me a few weeks, I have to restart a fire every day practically. Watch out for chinese knock offs on amazon of these.
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I work in insurance. After a claim, no one ever wants to put plaster back up. Always drywall. Maybe I should start grabbing the lath
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