Batoning

[SkunkWerX]

I've always thought about it as a Canadian thing, after reading some of Mors's books. I carry a knife big enough that I don't have to baton - I just chop!

I think of batonning (splitting) wood with a knife more controlled than chopping.
Finding dry wood by batonning is one thing, but, there are other reasons to do so, like needing to do some primitive woodwork, therefor you can "dimension" your wood better in a more controlled fashion.

 

[Fonly]

I think of batonning (splitting) wood with a knife more controlled than chopping.

I think thats true for some, ever see mears got at wood with an axe, very controlled and persice. Now, dont get me wrong, I like the big knives, But personal ability will come into effect, not to say either is better.

 

[tantalum]

The skill can also be used to fabricate wooden implements in the wild.

Your wooden built tools and implements will be a lot stronger if they are split from the center grains of trees, rather than using a small branch.

One of the most useful splitting techniques to understand is the process of riving. Essentially one can control the direction of the split to a certain extent, if the proper tool (usually a froe) is used in the correct manner. If you're going out into the woods and need a flat plank for whatever reason (maybe a more permanent shelter), it's the only way to do it without a sawmill or a whole lot of work...

-tantalum

 

[Salamander42]

Not quite the same idea, but I stumbled across this while looking at other knives and thought it was interesting:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=54870&cat=1,51222&ap=1

 

[EmsRescueGuy]

Actually I do this somtimes in fire building I bring a small pine board (3x3x1) as a "Cheat" and split it using my knife (no hammer) , It splits with ease and the results are really fast lighting slivers, that are a great secondary tinder or kindling.

I would Like to try this "hacking" knife as a camp Knife

 

[nemoaz]

I hope you don't all shoot me down.
I have never heard of this term before I joined this forum, maybe its an American thing?
Maybe its me................

No, its not just you. I've never seen this done nor ever heard of it except here. I too carry hatchet for chopping. A cheap hatchet ($20) does a better job of chopping than a $250 big knife.

but batoning is essentially a case of using the wrong tool for the job.

+1

 

[DOC-CANADA]

No, its not just you. I've never seen this done nor ever heard of it except here.

It seems like this is one of those never ending discussions. I think we went through this a few months ago. As far as never hearing about it before, off the top of my head I know of 3 well known survival instructors that talk about batonning - Mors Kochanski, the late Chris Janowsky, and Ray Mears (only he calls it 'truncating').

I still don't understand this debate. If you don't like the technique, don't use it. Personally, I've used it for years, most commonly to thin fire hearths for friction fire. You people that somehow think it is sacrilege to baton, are never going to convince the rest of us, so what's the point?

For those of you who haven't already made up your minds, reading posts such as Flix', Pict's, and Skunk's should point out some of the applications.

BTW, Danno, this is in no way meant to be a critcism of your question.

My apologies if this comes off sounding a bit abrupt.

Doc

 

[bikermikearchery]

The only time i have battoned wood is when I'm splitting straight grained wood to make arrows out of. I've always been able to fined dry squaw wood, under brush, or duff.

 

[Myal]

I bust up my smaller wood , the bigger bits I can smash over another log or rock , the bits that were too big to smash I just stick one end in the fire and keep on moving them in till they are burned away .

Batoning ... I realy dont like the idea of doing that to a knife youre relying on bigtime .

I have done it with cheap knives to split corugated roofing iron tho , and it worked good , but did nasty things to the blade . ( Kind of expected that tho )

I have tried it with some green wood for the exersize , just to see what it would do ... and found that it was easier to go pick a smaller piece of wood than to split the bigger bits

I guess there is a time and place for it , but I just havent found it yet .

 

[Grampa]

I'm another who never heard of "batoning" until getting on these forums, but who has done it for years when stuck with no other way of getting dry tinder or kindling. More often than not, I did it with my SAK. No damage to the SAK.

I always just thought of it as splitting wood with my knife.

I don't see the need for a special knife to "baton" with.

 

[RedEdge77]

For those of you who say it is abusive to a knife are not correct in the least. When doing it properly it is a very safe and easy way to split the wood. There is more of a chance of you chipping the knife edge chopping or some other way rather than break it batoning.

 

[outdoors4me]

I agree that a hatchet is probably the better tool for splitting kindling and I use one when I'm relatively close to civilization. When I'm a long way from help, I prefer to baton - for me it is just more controllable and therefore safer. I know there are those that have great control with a hatchet. I'm just not one of them.

 

[Kraz]

If a picture is worth a thousand words on the subject you might want to check this out on the Scrapyard forum:

http://www.scrapyardknives.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=36537&an=0&page=0#Post36537

 

[runningboar]

I posted this same thread before, I almost never baton, I think the key word is almost. I can aways find dry tender and wood to start a fire, so the whole batoning to obtain dry wood thing is out for me, I also don't live in the pacific northwest or in other areas that are perpetually wet. In the swamps and lowlands I call home there is always dry cypress bark or cedar bark along with twigs from down trees that stay dry no matter how much rain we get. I carry a 14" machete not a hatchet, and where batoning really stands out is for when I need to make a flat board for a hearthboard for a firedrill, or carving tools like spoons, so there are rare instances, that batoning is very useful.

It is a useful tool to have in your repertoire whether you use it much or not there is always that time when you will need to know how, it is not as important to learn, or difficult, as other skills but can be useful none the less. Chris

 

[Fonly]

It is a useful tool to have in your repertoire whether you use it much or not there is always that time when you will need to know how, it is not as important to learn, or difficult, as other skills but can be useful none the less. Chris

Couldn't have said it better. You may not use it, heck you may hate it, but its one of those great bits of knowladge that are very nice to have along for the trip.

 

[Yoshi]

I find even with a khukuri, if the wood is wet on the outside there is still a need to baton, to get to the dry wood in the middle to create feather sticks, and make the wood easier to burn.

 

[runningboar]

I find even with a khukuri, if the wood is wet on the outside there is still a need to baton, to get to the dry wood in the middle to create feather sticks, and make the wood easier to burn.

Where do you live, because I have heard this about batoning before and never found it to be true myself. Chris

 

[pict]

Chris,

I like I said before back home I've never needed to use it.

Here during rainy season it is a different world. We only have two kinds of wood, green and waterlogged. I have split alot of smaller deadfall trying to get to the "dry" part inside and it is waterlogged right through. You actually have to search for the right kind of wood (Candeia) to even bother splitting it to get to the dry stuff. There's no tinder, fuzz, fluff, no dry grass, leaves anything that isn't soaked. The rain goes from torrential downpour to drizzle and back to downpour for a month straight without a break sometimes.

When it is like that "splitting wood" really does help. I could care less how it gets split. I use a machete and a stick to whack the spine, or my BK-7, or a mora. It is safer than swinging at the end of a piece of wood. Once I get a fire going the heat dries out all that waterlogged stuff just fine. I only ever bother to split a few pieces just to get things going. One small armfull is plenty, it takes a few minutes of prep and I'll have a fire.

Under normal rain conditions back in PA I just scrape off the wet bark with the back of my knife. I've never encountered wood that was too wet to burn there.

Honestly I don't know why people get so hung up on this topic. How it ever got to be some testosterone marker for knives is beyond me. Mac

 

[runningboar]

Mac,
That sounds absolutely miserable but I am sure that you get used to it. It kinda cracks me up that batoning somehow got to be a test of a knife and there is somesort of skill attached to it. Chris

 

[Fonly]

yeah, thinkin the same way, there are reasons why we as a people came up with tools desgined for spliting wood. (axes, wedges)