Hults Bruk Sponsors the Underhand Block Chop competition at the 57th Annual Lumberjack World Championships
Every year since 1960, small-town Hayward, Wisconsin hosts the Lumberjack World Championships. Also known as the Olympics of the Forest, thousands of spectators watch more than 100 contestants from around the world compete in 21 events ranging from logrolling, chopping, throwing and climbing 90-foot poles.
These skills have passed from basic survival and a booming forestry industry in the 1800s, to a pastime, and onward as an organized sport. Regardless of the setting, lumberjacking is intrinsically dangerous and risky. Professional lumberjacks face injury from fast moving edges, rolling logs and falls from heights over 60 ft. To compete, professional lumberjacks needs equal parts mettle and might.
photo credit: Darlene Prois
Hults Bruk respects the skills and traditions of lumberjacking, and we’re proud to show our support in 2016 by sponsoring the Underhanded Block Chop. The Underhanded Block Chop is one of the fastest and most dangerous of the lumberjack events due to the nature of overhead swings. During the event competitors stand on top a log 14-inches in diameter and 26-inches long while swinging a razor sharp, five-pound single-bit axe at extremely high speeds in close proximity towards their feet.
Competitors must wear steel socks, kind of like a chain mail, to prevent injury like chopping one’s feet in half! Not only does the competitor face striking toes and feet with a razor sharp axe, they must balance to stay on top the log while cutting it in half and holding a 5 lb. axe.
