Batoning?

Bwaahaaa that sounds like a mix of cold Steel video and forged in fire!!!
Goat chop followed by mustache shave lol
 
If anyone finds themselves batoning firewood with a pocket knife outside of a survival situation, you're using the wrong tool for the job.

Pardon me while I park my Subaru, finish an IPA and start batoning a log with my Sebenza. :confused:
 
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Jason Chambers said:
In all my years starting with the Boy Scouts and ending with the Military, I have never batoned with a knife. The only time I ever batoned anything was firewood for my wood stove in my basement with a machete, but that is just me.

That being said, to me the real test of a knife is if will shave hair after stabbing through a car door or chopping a concrete cinderblock in half.
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Having tested many hundreds of knives over the decades....

To me for a field knife it should be able to chop as needed while being able to cut stuff and light enough to carry around for days.

That means reasonable blade and edge geometry, not something that looks like a blank bar of steel with an edge on it that you need a wheelbarrow to carry around.
 
Just because batoning doesn't work for your needs why have an issue with others doing it? Personally I use axes/goloks/machetes/chainsaws at my house or if I can load stuff up in the car. But if I am not trying to carry much weight I would muchhh rather use a 4ish inch fixed blade like my BK16 or Companion HD and a super lightweight folding saw like a laplander. I find batoning really useful in starting fires since feather sticks from the dry inner part of a log are way easier to obtain. The Mora Companion HD weighs like 4ish ounces and I am pretty sure it will never break, and to be honest if avoiding knots batoning hardly dulls the 59 HRC c100 steel.

Do I need to baton 99.9 percent of the time....? No...but it is really fun....? Yes...The entire reason we do any of this stuff is for enjoyment. So I would say if you have fun batoning then do it. If the primary purpose of a knife for you is to baton because it is fun...great!

It would be pretty boring if we all just carried super thin scandi pukkos that cut like lazers. That being said I always have one.
 
I like to baton kindling and such for fire starting. Easier and quicker than an axe. Usually you can split the wood just by smacking the spine with your palm since using smaller wood makes this easier.

If I can find ample twigs, then no need. Really looking for those pencil size pieces.
 
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Truth to tell, prior fo joining BF however many years ago it was, I'd never heard of batoning a knife.
It wasn't mentioned when I was in the Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts.
Nessmuk and Kepheart do not mention it.
Understanding a little something about metal stresses as a former fabrication welder and an auto body repairman, and for a short time as a machinist, I knew it was not something I would ever do.
Then again, I was brought up to use the right tool for the job. In the case of splitting wood, that would be an axe or a wedge.
Felling a tree, an axe or a saw; preferably the saw (a lot less work)
The only "knife" I would ever consider batoning is a shingling froe, and I would switch to a wedge as soon as possible, even then.
Batoning stresses the blade and the tang. No two ways about it.
If I break my knife out in the boonies, what then? It isn't like I can run over to the nearest sporting goods or hardware store and get a replacement. Especially if I am a day or more from my vehicle.
Most manufacturers will not cover damage or breakage from batoning under warranty. They call it "abuse".
I have to agree. It is abuse. Same as stabbing some poor innocent car, or using a knife to shorten or narrow a 8-8-16 concrete block or to cut/trim a construction or paving brick is knife abuse.
In all of my 64 years on this planet, I've never had cause to stab a vehicle. (Has anyone had to stab a car in self defense, or to murder a car??)
There are much better tools for dealing with concrete blocks and bricks than a knife.
A concrete saw and chipping hammer and/or half jack hammer and a concrete/rock chisel come to mind...

A knife is intended to cut things. Not chop things or to pry with.
 
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I'm not into bushcraft, and I never cared about batoning, and I also never heard about batoning until recently.

Batoning is pretty much a staple of every youtube review video. That being said, I don't see purpose of it. I'm not survival expert, but you can make fire with smaller branches first, and then put bigger chunks there. I mean it's not like you have a stove so it won't fit to put wood inside. I could be wrong.

If you see batoning as fun - it's your knife, and feel free to have fun with it.
At the other hand, in defense of those youtubers abusing knives, it gives you peace of mind knowing what is your knife capable of doing. And it's definitley fun to watch.
That goes for all, batoning videos by bushcraft youtubers, cutting bricks and hitting knife with hammer and/or axe, and videos of stabbing cars. You can't argue that those vids aren't entertaining.
 
Batoning wood with a knife is far safer than splitting with an axe, especially in low light or when you're tired.

There is nothing at all wrong with batoning with a knife if you know what you're doing. Anyone who says different is very uneducated as far as knife use is concerned.
 
I never said batoning was bad. Just that I’d use a froe not a knife. Some of the knives used for batoning are essentially froes.

My complaint and the reason for the thread. I see a lot of nice knives being rejected by people here because it is a stick tang and therefore no good for batoning so it is a bad knife.

I feel bad for those that are missing out. Ironic because they apparently feel bad for me because I carry fragile knives. Lol.
 
For anyone interested in froes I found this video interesting. Especially his thoughts on grain structure and green wood construction.
 
afishhunter said:
In all of my 64 years on this planet, I've never had cause to stab a vehicle. (Has anyone had to stab a car in self defense, or to murder a car??)
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I'll be honest, there are times when I've wanted to stab a car
eveled said:
I never said batoning was bad. Just that I’d use a froe not a knife. Some of the knives used for batoning are essentially froes.

My complaint and the reason for the thread. I see a lot of nice knives being rejected by people here because it is a stick tang and therefore no good for batoning so it is a bad knife.

I feel bad for those that are missing out. Ironic because they apparently feel bad for me because I carry fragile knives. Lol.
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I think the stick tang observation gives a good perspective about batoning. I know some people find it as knife abuse, but there are a lot of different ways to baton, and some things are just a lot easier to do with some light batoning. And viewing some knives as basically froes is fair, because I think some knives are designed around the idea of batoning and I will buy a knife that is aimed at wood processing instead of cutting other things because that's how I intend to use it. Almost like a small machete, golok, or parang. Prangs being a traditional design that was commonly used for both chopping and wood splitting from my understanding of the ancient tool.

To denounce a stick tang is a bad idea, IMO. I think they're a great option for getting more blade in a lightweight package as there can be a significant weight penalty for a full tang knife. Mora's are a great example of this. Ironically, I also think the hidden tang is nicer for batoning because the exposed tangs seem to transfer a lot of the shock into your hand. This is where some of the knives from Busse with res-c is so nice, designed to be able to handle abuse but also wraps the whole handle. They're also noticeably lighter than the G10 or micarta designs that are similar, such as the Ash and Trash models.

I'm all about knowing your knife, what it can handle and using it within it's limits. I was going to say, "use it for what it's designed for" but knives are often really versatile so using them outside of their intended design comes with the territory I think. Common sense wins the day here. I also think stick tangs are a lot stronger than people think if they're well made, and the well made aspect counts for any knife.
 
Ankerson said:
Here is a field knife that I tested not long ago, didn't baton with it, but as you can see it has good penetration....

Being it's only .020" behind the edge and hollow ground, 7" blade....

Light enough to carry around too at 11oz.


750_2559 by Jim Ankerson, on Flickr

750_2560 by Jim Ankerson, on Flickr
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Good stuff. We need to see more Randall knives on this forum. From a practical point of view, a knife needs to be both functional and of a size that it is practical to carry in the field. A 7-7.5" blade is about the maximum size that I find practical. The blade width also has a serious impact on how willing I am to carry a knife in the woods.
 
Bushcraft Forever said:
Batoning wood with a knife is far safer than splitting with an axe, especially in low light or when you're tired.

There is nothing at all wrong with batoning with a knife if you know what you're doing. Anyone who says different is very uneducated as far as knife use is concerned.
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There are some extremely safe techniques that can be used with a hatchet which again make it the superior choice for the job it was designed to do.

I feel batoning is simply a choice, you either want to do it or you don't.
There's really no reason one can't be sure to have at least a mini hatchet with them like the Vaughan supersportsman with them, that thing will fit in my pocket.

I really don't get why people are so hung up on the idea that they'll end up in the woods with just their knife and Altoids survival tin or something.
I know I'll never end up stuck in the woods without an axe or hatchet of some kind.
 
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