batoning

A

andrew7978

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
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So i have been praticing batoning and was wondering what you guys prefer: going straight through the piece of wood or cutting a v (like when using an axe). I am talking about going through the grain, I'm not talking about splitting it.
 
I have, rarely, cut a "V."

But cutting wood to lengths is what I carry a folding prunning saw for. Uses less energy and wastes less wood. Also quieter and safer.
 
when having to cut a V in there is generally too much lateral stress for a knife's edge, and I find a coarse saw is super fast.
 
I agree with these guys on this one. I use a gerber folding saw for cutting and then I split it all up with a FB. It's just easier to set it up on its end to baton without the worry of slipping or wobbling off.
 
I'm usually SPLITTING wood if I'm using a baton, not cutting through it. If I need to cut through wood, I use a SAW!
 
For sticks up to about wrist thickness, that I can't break, I can make a few deep cuts at an angle around the whole stick, which weakens it enough so I can make a clean break. It's kind of hard to describe...

But for bigger things, there are better ways to make long sticks into short sticks, even if you don't have a saw. I like to break them using the a V crotch in a tree, which works excellently.
 
Keith_H said:
Sure, but you would be best to use your knife like a hatchet or and axe than using a baton.
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Why do you say that?

The knives I tend to carry backpacking would be pretty poor impact tools, not to mention the greater stress when used that way. When batoning, I can tap with less force until the cut is well-started, then increade the force of the blows.

(Still like a saw for the task mentioned.)
 
i never baton with a knife I always use an axe or a hatchet to do that.
 
Batoning is talked about all the time and is very rarely needed IMO. There is not a day that goes by on this forum without someone mentioning it and I have not batoned a knife 5 times in the last year, hell, probably not 5 times in the last 3 years, I just don't get it. It really doesn't seem to be that vital of a skill that I need to practice it all the time and choose a knife based around it. It seems a lot of people think you can't start a fire in the woods without splitting wood, 99% of the time, if you know the good tender in your area, batoning will actually slow you down. Chris
 
From here in Australia I had not even heard of the term battoning till I found this site a several weeks ago.

To be honest I am not clear on the need (at least in an Austrlian context). To build a fire we use smaller sticks (easy to break particulary with jumping, tree V's etc)) to get big fires started, and for quick cooking campfires . And for larger peices we generally use an axe or a saw or simply put the ends in the fire and generaly push it in as it burns.

It may also be an aspect of our bush/forests which tend to have more deadfall and lighter quicker buring woods, I expect.

happy to be educated ....
 
I havent needed to baton for anything but once when abusing an old kitchen knife using it to split corrugated iorn lengthwise

and when I was making something that I needed a relatively flat piece of wood for a long time ago .. forgot what I was making but to get a flat bit of wood , I split a piece with a knife .

I seriously agree with the using smaller wood and shoving the logs into the fire as they burn down , but the number of times I have seen people hacking their firewood to neat lengths with an axe when they were camping way way out in the bush ( camps between Pt Augusta and Darwin for example ) it spins me out that people do this ... but its what they feel is right I guess ...

Batoning does have a place sometimes , its not a bad thing to know , but I do feel also that its over rated at times .

just my 10c
 
Myal said:
I havent needed to baton for anything but once when abusing an old kitchen knife using it to split corrugated iorn lengthwise

and when I was making something that I needed a relatively flat piece of wood for a long time ago .. forgot what I was making but to get a flat bit of wood , I split a piece with a knife .

I seriously agree with the using smaller wood and shoving the logs into the fire as they burn down , but the number of times I have seen people hacking their firewood to neat lengths with an axe when they were camping way way out in the bush ( camps between Pt Augusta and Darwin for example ) it spins me out that people do this ... but its what they feel is right I guess ...

Batoning does have a place sometimes , its not a bad thing to know , but I do feel also that its over rated at times .

just my 10c
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Batoning has nothing to do with the above statment and everything to do with wet.

Skam
 
runningboar said:
Batoning is talked about all the time and is very rarely needed IMO. There is not a day that goes by on this forum without someone mentioning it and I have not batoned a knife 5 times in the last year, hell, probably not 5 times in the last 3 years, I just don't get it. It really doesn't seem to be that vital of a skill that I need to practice it all the time and choose a knife based around it. It seems a lot of people think you can't start a fire in the woods without splitting wood, 99% of the time, if you know the good tender in your area, batoning will actually slow you down. Chris (emphasis added)
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And neither can I grasp why you don't "get it" and, in fact, seem offended because so many wish to mention/discuss it.

I also have rarely needed this technique -- nor greased cotton balls, my first aid kit, a whistle, or CPR. Never in fifty years have needed my PSK 'cause I never lost my backpack. But The God Murphy is out there waiting. So IMO, we can validly discuss "in case" techniques and gear.

Or shall we discuss only those survival skills -- and gear -- actually needed most of the time we go into the woods? If so, it's going to get quiet around here.
 
skammer said:
Batoning has nothing to do with the above statment and everything to do with wet.

Skam
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to me , batoning = driving a knife thru something by whacking it with a baton

your definition obviously differs to mine .
 
Myal said:
to me , batoning = driving a knife thru something by whacking it with a baton

your definition obviously differs to mine .
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I doubt it. He refers (I think) to batoning to get to the dry center of otherwise wet wood. When all is dry, there is probably no need to use any tool to open up wood.
 
Thomas Linton said:
I doubt it. He refers (I think) to batoning to get to the dry center of otherwise wet wood. When all is dry, there is probably no need to use any tool to open up wood.
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I found belting a knife thru wood with a baton to be a handy way to make a smallish flat board ...

I did not know batoning was limited to firewood only .

What is it called then , if one is belting on the back of a blade with a baton to split wood for any other purpose but to get at the wood inside to burn it ?
 
Myal, I would call it batoning. I have made hearth boards for firebow sets that way.

Everyone has their own ideas about what is more or less important. I find the sharing of such ideas enlightening.
 
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