Batoning wood with knives/Nutnfancy

[NeoClassic]

I find both battoning wood and Nutnfancy tedious and mostly unnecessary.

 

[Ankerson]

Well I had thought about putting in my post, unless the steel can take it. Because I have seen some crazy INFI flex pictures.
This is a great one. I love how people on here tell others to spend their money though. If I buy a knife just to see how far I can flex it before it breaks. Who is anyone to say otherwise? From the pictures I saw, the knife below went back to true as well.

Yeah INFI is some crazy steel.

I did mine like that just to see if I could crack it or get a set in the blade, neither happened.

 

[Steel130]

Yeah INFI is some crazy steel.

I did mine like that just to see if I could crack it or get a set in the blade, neither happened.

Infi is some crazy stuff. I need to save back some pennies and get another infi blade again.

 

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

Infi is some crazy stuff. I need to save back some pennies and get another infi blade again.

INFI is ridiculous. Its dynamic edge stability is unreal to say the least. I have never sharpened my NMFBM and after at least 1000+ chops into hard wood, the splitting of around 60 or more logs, the clearing or brush, and even some fine work it STILL SHAVES. And that was the factory edge. At the rate its going the coating will be gone before it stops shaving. Ive never even stropped it.

 

[1234]

Here is a video that shows batoning is pretty much unnecessary.

[video=youtube;Es-nOMhMotw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es-nOMhMotw[/video]

Only thing I think he did "wrong" is letting it flame , if you put out the flames , the wood
lasts longer , the embers is enough to keep you toasty warm , and you´ll need less wood.

1234,,,,,

 

[kurodrago]

INFI is ridiculous. Its dynamic edge stability is unreal to say the least. I have never sharpened my NMFBM and after at least 1000+ chops into hard wood, the splitting of around 60 or more logs, the clearing or brush, and even some fine work it STILL SHAVES. And that was the factory edge. At the rate its going the coating will be gone before it stops shaving. Ive never even stropped it.

I'm not sure if Ankerson will agree with ya

 

[Mountain Lion]

Batonning seems to attract a lot of ire because of how trendy it is. Many people are rightly skeptical when any new fad emerges.

That said, I think it has its uses. I have begun using it on the rare occasions when I need to split wood while camping. As much as I love the good old hatchet, I find that the baton method is better suited to backpacking use because a large knife generally weighs less and packs easier than a good hatchet, and because the axe format loses a lot of practicality on uneven ground and without raised surfaces. Don't get me wrong, though. At home I'll take the axe any day.

Another reason to consider batonning is safety for children (or yourself, I suppose). I took my niece and nephew (10 and 12) car camping last year. I wanted to teach them to split firewood, but I wasn't about to have another person's children swinging an axe for the first time. Instead, I had one of them hold the handle of a RAT 7 while the other one beat on the blade with a log. Obviously, injury could still occur, but at least the blade is jammed into wood instead of flying through the air.

 

[FuriousPace]

I have learned a lot from this forum, which is the reason I joined, but the knife snobbery over batonning has lead to a lower opinion of this site. Every year I cut down a couple trees on my property for fire wood. I use a chain saw to cut the tree down, and to cut off limbs bigger than about 2". I then use a knife to strip off the branches from the limbs. I have tried several methods over the years for striping off branches from bigger limbs and I have yet to find an easier way than using a knife. I have won many beers showing my hatchet toting friends the ease of using a knife for that purpose. After using a chain saw to cut everything to length and letting the wood sit about a month I split the logs that are bigger than about 6" with an ax. When winter comes and its time to burn wood in the fire place I use a knife to split the smaller diameter logs I didn't split with the ax into kindling, which I guess is now called batonning. I don't know of an easier way of making kindling, and kindling is the easiest way I know to start a fire without having to use a gas burner, loads of paper, or some type of accelerant, which all smoke the house up.

So in short, I process wood every year to burn in my fire place, and I know without a doubt that processing that wood without a knife would be a lot more difficult and take a lot more time. I have bought knives for the specific purpose of processing wood, and its nice to see that many more companies are starting to sell those types of knives. If anyone knows of better ways please let me know, especially for stripping branches off limbs or making kindling.

 

[fmajor007]

Batoning is nothing new at all, I was batoning wood back in the late 70's myself.

Same here and it wasn't called batoning - it was just splitting small logs to get to the dry stuff inside...

I don't understand why batoning is so controversial. I Baton all the time because its the best way for me to make a fire when its wet out.

I have NEVER damaged a knife in any way and Ive probably batoned a few thousand pieces of wood. I don't think batoning is that hard on a knife. Just don't try to split a piece of thick oak with your mora and you'll be fine.

If you have a knife of decent thickness made out of a well HT steel you should be fine. Just baton within reason.... Unless you have a Busse, then go for Madness!

Seriously though, batoning is no harder on a knife than chopping. I don't see what the problem is?

Honestly for me, chopping down a tree with a knife is the more dubious activity. I understand limbing, but i've never *needed* to chop down a dead tree for firewood - though i suppose it may happen at some point.

It's like using any tool - if you aren't careful, the tool is going to break/deform. All the microscopic, sub-atomic vibration analysis we are able to examine while in our warm, comfortable chairs in front of computers while using the internet doesn't negate real world practicality/necessity and basic common-sense use of tools/knives.

At the end of the day, if someone with reasonable skill level uses an appropriately sized/shaped knife to split an appropriately sized piece of wood, what's the problem? Who cares if a gas-powered, hydraulic wood splitter works better - who is going to carry that in their backpack into the wilderness?

 

[Mike-The-Knife]

"If one does not have a hammer or axe, respectively, and your life is in jeopardy, yeah, go ahead."

Really ?................Maybe with YOUR knives but I pay for mine , so if I want to batton with it for ANY reason , thats what I'll do . I think alot of the people who are so against battoning are those who simply own knives that they fear would break if they batton them . Where as I have bought knives from companies that fully EXPECT their knives to be use for battoning , chopping , prying , hammering , digging and so they build them to withstand that sort of use or abuse if you wish to call it that . They build and TEST thier knives till they can back them with a lifetime warrantee on the KNIFE , no matter who owns or uses it . So I know I can use my knives hard and IF by some chance they ever did fail under any circumstance (which is highly unlikely) it would be covered by their warrantee .

Take a look at knifetests.com and look at the abuse many knives will take before failing . In most cases it so far beyond what anyone could even need to do that you can be sure your knife will not fail you in the field , IF you bought one of the higher rated ones . Say what you want about knifetests,com , that they break good knives for no reason or that they are extream , it's no different than the crash tests that are done on cars so that you can pick a car with a high safety rating . From knifetests.com you can pick a knife with a high toughness rating .


HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !

 

[unit]

Same here and it wasn't called batoning - it was just splitting small logs to get to the dry stuff inside...

I can see why they changed the term...it saves on syllables

 

[cbr6fs]

Here is a video that shows batoning is pretty much unnecessary.

Only thing I think he did "wrong" is letting it flame , if you put out the flames , the wood
lasts longer , the embers is enough to keep you toasty warm , and you´ll need less wood.

1234,,,,,

No idea about anyone else, but for me personally if i have a fire then batning is pretty much useless to me.

I split wood to get access to the drier wood in the middle of logs, i do this in very wet conditions as even if the wood has soaked you can usually get drier wood in the centre.

I split wood after i've tried a few times to get a fire going with various hanging dead wood.
If after a few attempts i feel the wood is to wet to get started THEN i will splt some logs.

Once the fire is going well i no longer bother splitting the logs i will just use various types of fires.


For those that are saying you should never baton wood i would love to see you hike 20+ miles a day for 5 days with a axe
I've tried taking a SFA with me and for smaller axes the weight isn't so much an issue as finding somewhere to keep it in my backpack.

A SFA can also be a bit of a nightmare to split some logs in some scenarios.

Also tried various saws but to be honest that's too much like hard work.

So to the folks that are saying "don't baton" with a knife, if you were out for the night, it was cold, all the wood was at best damp and worst soaked and you only had your knife.
Would you baton or would you stay cold and wet that night?

 

[NeoClassic]

... the knife snobbery over batonning has lead to a lower opinion of this site.

Your choice to view other people's opinions as "snobbery."

You could just as easily regard them as a different point of view and not feel offended by them.

 

[1234]

No idea about anyone else, but for me personally if i have a fire then batning is pretty much useless to me.

I split wood to get access to the drier wood in the middle of logs, i do this in very wet conditions as even if the wood has soaked you can usually get drier wood in the centre.

I split wood after i've tried a few times to get a fire going with various hanging dead wood.
If after a few attempts i feel the wood is to wet to get started THEN i will splt some logs.

Once the fire is going well i no longer bother splitting the logs i will just use various types of fires.


For those that are saying you should never baton wood i would love to see you hike 20+ miles a day for 5 days with a axe
I've tried taking a SFA with me and for smaller axes the weight isn't so much an issue as finding somewhere to keep it in my backpack.

A SFA can also be a bit of a nightmare to split some logs in some scenarios.

Also tried various saws but to be honest that's too much like hard work.

So to the folks that are saying "don't baton" with a knife, if you were out for the night, it was cold, all the wood was at best damp and worst soaked and you only had your knife.
Would you baton or would you stay cold and wet that night?

Perhaps it has to do with the milder climate over here in Sweden that I never had to baton anything !

1234,,,,,,,,,

 

[cbr6fs]

Perhaps it has to do with the milder climate over here in Sweden that I never had to baton anything !

1234,,,,,,,,,

Also depends on if you have a fire when out, or use a stove and if you do have a fire how you light that fire.

 

[1234]

Also depends on if you have a fire when out, or use a stove and if you do have a fire how you light that fire.

If it´s really cold , I´ll have a couple of logs on the fire , I use matches ,or a lighter to start the fire , I also have
a magnesium block with a fire steel , never had to use it yet .

If you don´t know how to keep yourself warm & dry in the cold & wet , maybe you should stay home . Old Swedish saying.

OK , not that old , alright I just made it up !!

1234,,,,,,,

 

[Dorito Monk]

Your choice to view other people's opinions as "snobbery."

You could just as easily regard them as a different point of view and not feel offended by them.

+1. :thumbup:

I thought it was a little funny that, if you don't subscribe to the batoning fad - according to this thread - you're automatically a "knife snob" and "closed-minded bigot" who is attacking peoples' right to buy knives and trying to dictate what people can and cannot do with their camping equipment.

The butthurt is strong in this thread...

For those that are saying you should never baton wood i would love to see you hike 20+ miles a day for 5 days with a axe.

Wait, you mean you've never seen someone do that before? That's what I've done since I was a child in boy scouts.

Step 1: lash hatchet of your choice to your pack.
Step 2: put the pack on your back and walk desired distance.
Step 3: remove the hatchet and use it as necessary.
Step 4: repeat Step 1.

 

[Steel130]

Whos butt is hurting? Its not mine. What it comes down to is what you feel comfortable doing to your tools. But to say others are being abusive isn't your call in my opinion, unless they damage, or break the knife, then its clearly abuse. I like knowing what my knives can take. I dont think anyone is being snobbish. Its just another persons view. We should try and learn from others point of views, versus but heads all the time.

 

[cbr6fs]

If it´s really cold , I´ll have a couple of logs on the fire , I use matches ,or a lighter to start the fire , I also have
a magnesium block with a fire steel , never had to use it yet .

If you don´t know how to keep yourself warm & dry in the cold & wet , maybe you should stay home . Old Swedish saying.

OK , not that old , alright I just made it up !!

1234,,,,,,,

Many different ways of starting a fire, for me batoning and shaving the dry wood is just another tool in the tool box if i need it.

But then as i said before to me my knives are 100% tools, they are thrown into my tool box when not needed and they're maintained and looked after like my other tools.

To me there is no black/white here.

Whacking a SAK through a hardwood with a 5kg log is no where near the same as someone tapping a decent knife with a branch through a pine while going with the grain.

Likewise someone going out into their garden to "test" their knife by batoning is not the same as someone who is out in the wilds and is struggling to get a fire lit.

+1. :thumbup:
Wait, you mean you've never seen someone do that before? That's what I've done since I was a child in boy scouts.

Step 1: lash hatchet of your choice to your pack.
Step 2: put the pack on your back and walk desired distance.
Step 3: remove the hatchet and use it as necessary.
Step 4: repeat Step 1.

I have not strapped anything to the outside of my packs since leaving the scouts.
If it doesn't fit inside the rucksack it doesn't come with me, i really can't be doing with bits swinging and catching branches.

Obviously we're all different doing different activities, in different areas, in different countries and regions, so there is no right and wrong.
As an example, try walking on public footpaths in the UK with a axe strapped to the outside of your pack and you'll have a nice warm bed for the night at the expense of her majesty (jail).
Out in the Yukon though no one would blink an eyelid.

For me i'm the type that cut my toothbrush in half to save weight, so there is no way i'm packing an axe if i intend hiking a distance.
I have the experience and knowledge to start a fire without an axe, so for me it's just excess weight.

If i'm base camping though then a axe will 100% be in my car/bike.

 

[fmajor007]

I can see why they changed the term...it saves on syllables

Ya know, here in this language, we have a word pronounced, "yoy" and is spelled, "joj". It mean's basically the same as "oh my, what a load of baloney". So, JOJ!!!!