Hi Colin
Fir hews pretty nicely when it's freshly felled. I'd say this is one of the biggest differences between hewing fir and other species...you've really got to get on it right away. If it sits around and loses it's free-water, then it becomes brittle and even hewing with really sharp tools will suffer some crossgrain tear-out. Another thing I've noticed is that the younger, 3rd-growth stuff is waaaaay easier to hew than the more mature fibre...mostly because there's so much more juicy sapwood I think. Happy chopping!
