WE’RE ON FIRE

Soapstoned Secret Tools

The well-kept secrets of seasoned stovers

Author’s favorite wood stove tools. Picture by the Author.

There are special tools that improve your life with a woodburning stove.

Cultivator

One of my favorites is a little cultivator tool that I bought to use in the garden. Three tines on a handle, it can be dragged though the coals to separate them from the ashes below. Charcoal burns a little better when it’s not smothered with ash.

Scoop

Second in line is the metal scoop with the wooden handle removed. The handle made it too long to be used inside the stove. This is really great for removing ashes from the stove and putting them in the ash bucket.

Gloves

Fireplace gloves, or welding gloves are very helpful. Wearing the protective gloves, a person can actually handle red-hot burning pieces of wood, and rearrange the stack inside the stove. These work better than tongs for working inside the firebox.

Since I removed the wooden handle from the scoop, the gloves are necessary sometimes when scooping hot coals.

Ash bucket

A metal ash bucket with a metal lid to keep out air is a great place to put hot ashes as they come out of the stove. It also works for cold ashes. Never use plastic.

Wood shed

After digging through six feet of snow to retrieve soggy firewood from UNDER the snow, bringing in dry wood from the shed is a HUGE improvement. Build it as close to the house as is prudent.

Snow shovel

Necessary for those remaining snowy days while we wait on global warming. There will still be some days when snow needs to be moved out of the path to the woodshed — and other places.