Congratulations on having the nerve to take those first few steps away from the protected life. Most people never do.

I remember well how limiting apartment style life can be, how frustrating it was to run across seemingly simple instructions like "with a piece of scrap wood...". Yeah, right. Like I keep that around a place that doesn't even have room for my clothes.

Please do be aware that dry pine is about the easiest wood you're likely to run across to split this way, and may not be all that common where you find yourself in the wilderness. With different kinds of wood, or green wood, it can be much more challenging. Having seen three sledgehammered steel splitting wedges disappear into modest-sized a tulip poplar log without noticeable effect, I can testify to that. <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />