Hewing Sequence - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Often the bark will hold dirt and gravel if the log was skidded out of the woods, and so it is preferable to remove the bark before hewing, to save the edge of your axe. Historically, Oak bark was used in the tanning industry and so there was a good market for the bark that was removed from the log. Debarking the log also makes it slightly easier to see all the irregularities in the log when marking it out.