The axe for limbing is a Forest Axe with a long handle. The bit of this axe is thin but more curved than the straight bit of, for example, a Carpenter’s Axe. You must have plenty of room in which to swing an axe. Check your clearance and remove any brush or hanging branches that might deflect the swinging axe. Stand on the side of the log opposite the branches you are going to limb so that you always have the log between you and your cuts. If the axe misses a branch, the blade will hit the log rather than your leg. Keep both hands around the handle – the risk of slipping will then diminish. Grasp one hand near the handle knob and the other hand closer to the axe head at the start of the stroke. Raise the axe, and then let the “head” hand slip down the handle towards the “knob” hand while the axe is swung downward.

Chop the branches from the root end to the top end of the log and chop into the underside of the limb, close to the log and the base of the branch. Thick branches may sometimes demand so-called “counterstroke” or a “sidestroke” to make chopping easier and prevent the branch from splitting.

Stand firmly on the ground and never balance on logs or branches.