The only aspect of my tecqnique that I describe as Nordic is the two man scoreing, once common to the nordic countries and discussed and pictured in Phelps' book on logcrafting, two men work either side of the score notch simultaneously on the verticle face. (far easier and not nearly as dangerous as it sounds) We then go on to juggle within an 1/8th of the line with felling axes from both the ground and atop the log, then hew from there. I'm lefty and am most always partnered with a righty which is convenient as we work from either end and meet in the middle.

Handles about the same length and as far as safty equipment goes, I always make it a point to wear shoes !