Batoning question

[John_B]

Question about batoning; in most videos, you see guys batoning with their knives using perfectly cut logs. Assuming you only have one knife on you (a capable chopper and batoner). How do you get those logs with a nice even cut on both ends so that they stand up on their own, allowing you to split them into small pieces? Do you cross baton first to get a nice even cut on both ends? I guess I could take a folding saw with me when backpacking but trying to avoid that if possible.

I’m trying to learn about bushcrafting but only see videos of guys chopping with a knife (which will give you two jagged ends that will not stand on its own). Or batoning with a perfectly cut log that stands up beautifully on its own. If you only have one knife on you, what’s your technique and steps you take to process wood, for say a fire? Thanks

Watch Advanced Knife Bro videos for batoning lessons.

 

[bikerector]

If you are out intentionally, you should be bringing the right tools with you.

How many tools do you suggest? One for every task?

I had to laugh a little at another thread about "what's with all this bushcraft stuff now?" as it relates a lot to the comments on this thread.

One big aim of bushcraft is "more knowledge, less tools/gear."

 

[bikerector]

Would it blow your mind to know you can split wood with a folding knife and not damage it? You can even use a baton if you want.

 

[Alone]

...And who says the knife has to be big and heavy?...

 

[not2sharp]

Does anyone just carry a chainsaw?

n2s

 

[GAGL]

Would it blow your mind to know you can split wood with a folding knife and not damage it? You can even use a baton if you want.

You don't need a knife at all...just use your saw.

First time i tried this 10 years ago, i smacked the branch against a rock..a bit too strong, as the break-off came flying at my head.

 

[Triton]

My wife and I went pig hunting at an Army Corps of Engineers area. We had not planned on having a fire. It rained, a lot, and was cold. The people in the camp next to us left, leaving their woodpile on the ground to get soaking wet. The wood was mostly round with a few splits, and not a stick of kindling or anything tinder-like to be found.

Now that said, I used the axe in my truck to split the wood down to kindling and my pocket knife to make a fuzz stick that I coated in hand sanitizer that I lit with the Bic lighter I keep in my truck. Not exactly bushcraft, but we had fire and got warm.

Okay fair enough, but would you say that was normal or some highly unusual corner case?

 

[Alone]

Wow.

You can try to lead some folks to the light, but they still feel the need to walk in darkness.


Go on with your bad self, Boomer!

 

[bikerector]

You don't need a knife at all...just use your saw.

First time i tried this 10 years ago, i smacked the branch against a rock..a bit too strong, as the break-off came flying at my head.

Neato. I've never seen that technique before.

Personally, I much prefer carrying knife and saw. I leave the axes and hatchets at home as they unnecessary. Knives are plenty to split anything I actually have the desire to split for fires around a campsite. If I want to cook on a fire, I bring a twig stove which is still much smaller than an axe to carry and most weight less too. The twig stoves use a lot less and smaller pieces of wood than an open fire.

Unless I'm building a shelter or staying in one spot for a long while in winter, axes are just extra gear for how I do things. Even winter, now that I tent stove, is still more than I often need instead of just packing a BK2, or similar, along.

 

[Jsega51]

I get what you are saying totally. Nor am I questioning your technique.

Why do you say that the knife was designed to do that?

The grind of this knife is two shallow hollow grinds so that it creates a slight medial ridge running down the center of the blade which inhibits it from sticking in the wood. The second picture shows it pretty well.

 

[Jsega51]

Can you think of a situation you have been in where there were no sticks or twigs or any other way to get kindling, but there were handy burnable logs lying about for you to split with a knife?

Did you see my example above? Another thing I failed to mention was that in some parks or national forest areas, picking up deadfall (sticks and twigs included) is prohibited, specifically portions of the Olympic National park where I stayed a few nights. Temperate Rainforest areas have these restrictions so it could be more common than you think.

 

[eveled]

The grind of this knife is two shallow hollow grinds so that it creates a slight medial ridge running down the center of the blade which inhibits it from sticking in the wood. The second picture shows it pretty well.

I am very familiar with that knife its grind and its history.

It was not designed specifically for batoning as you said in your first post.

Kephart never mentions batoning, that I am aware of. Kephart carried a small axe for those jobs. If it was designed for batoning it would not have a top swedge.

Baton with it all you want, but it was not specifically designed for it.

 

[not2sharp]

I just pried open a paint can with a screw driver. Was I wrong?

Knives are versatile tools that can and have been used for all kinds of work. They exist to help solve immediate real world problems for the user. You may damage a tool in the process, but that risk is the prerogative of its owner. If it breaks while performing a task that the owner expects to repeat, the owner can easily find a knife that is better suited for the type of work.

Somewhere in the collection is a very old antique cleaver that had been mercilessly pounded for decades. The spine had been mushroomed to span a width of almost 3 inches. The working edge was still straight and sharp. It may not have been used in an ideal manner, but it may have help to feed a community for 50 years. These are tools. We like to treat them like objects of art, but it is the quality of the output that matters. So if batoning works for you, then go for it. Just remember that tools sometimes fail and try to keep it safe.

n2s

 

[Jsega51]

I am very familiar with that knife its grind and its history.

It was not designed specifically for batoning as you said in your first post.

Kephart never mentions batoning, that I am aware of. Kephart carried a small axe for those jobs. If it was designed for batoning it would not have a top swedge.

Baton with it all you want, but it was not specifically designed for it.

Kephart didn’t make this knife…it says Carothers on it! If you were familiar with it, you wouldn’t have made this oversight haha. Nate made this knife to handle this task. Plus others.

 

[scdub]

I’m imagining my great-grandson debating in the about whether it’s appropriate to baton with a knife while floating in his hoverchair in 2099…

 

[NapalmCheese]

Okay fair enough, but would you say that was normal or some highly unusual corner case?

I would say it's not unusual at a camp ground. They are often denuded of easy firewood because of their popularity and high throughout of people.

Now it's not the "survival" situation most people seem to think of when they are talking about batoning, and obviously I chose to use an axe since the leftover firewood was all quite large and IMO batoning big pieces into little pieces is dumb. But I have been in campgrounds where I "had" to baton thumb sized pieces of wood into match size pieces so I could use the little wood burning stove I'd never used before to make a cup of coffee.

But no, I don't think it's a common occurrence outside of campgrounds and I never had to baton anything (or carry and axe for that matter) until I started camping in more popular places.

 

[Sibyrnes]

Does anyone just carry a chainsaw?

n2s

Yes! My friends and I have carried a small chain saw on multi day, early spring canoe trips.

 

[Arathol]

How many tools do you suggest? One for every task?

I had to laugh a little at another thread about "what's with all this bushcraft stuff now?" as it relates a lot to the comments on this thread.

One big aim of bushcraft is "more knowledge, less tools/gear."

It was good enough 100 years ago, its good enough now....

The object of this so-called bushcraft is to know how to do things when out in the woods.
Relying on one tool if you don't have to is not a good idea....you know, that thing about eggs and baskets and all....

 

[beeinak]

Does anyone just carry a chainsaw?

n2s

On trips to my remote cabin I generally carry 2 year round. Frequently have trees down on the trail from winds or dead spruce so I like to be prepared. Honestly, I carry way more stuff than I need but being alone most of the time I prefer to have it and not need it. Any road trips out of town I have chainsaw, axe, machete, etc in vehicle.

 

[eveled]

Kephart didn’t make this knife…it says Carothers on it! If you were familiar with it, you wouldn’t have made this oversight haha. Nate made this knife to handle this task. Plus others.

He didn’t design it. It was designed long before he was born, by Horace Kephart.