Batoning

I think you can split smaller wood easily with a hatchet that might be awkward with batoning. You might be able to baton some heavier wood easier than with a hatchet. A light hatchet is cheap enough to have in your toolbox. Take what you need for what you're doing.
 
I like the control you have when batonning. 10 fingers seems like a lot but I want to keep them all.
 
When wood is well seasoned and splits easily, there is nothing more efficient than splitting wood than with an axe. When the wood is not easy to split, not fully dry, lots of knots etc, then batoning often works better. In the latter case you get that wood where your axe just bounces back at you. Also, when trying to make controlled cuts, e.g. you want a flat piece for a fire hearth etc, then the batoning methods is much more precise.
 
I am in the hatchet crowd. If weight is a major concern there are some very good ones out (once re-profiled) that are relatively light.
 
A hatchet or axe are going to work fine in a lot of places and under lot of conditions. I personally like them and have a bunch of them. I noticed one axe advocate mentioned that on some wood the hatchet is going to bounce back or deflect which can catch you.

Here in the Pacific Northwest where because of the moisture we are almost always dealing with arm sized wood with pithy outer layers. Unless you hit dead center in the good dry wood, those outer layers when hit with a hatchet or axe give way and deflect the edge in all sorts of ways. There isn't a single person in SAR in our area who carries a hatchet to make a hasty fire with and there are no rules against it.

Among those I have owned and tried I have not found a hawk or hatchet that works for ME as well as a knife. I do find it hard to let go of my Scandinavian Forest axe though. That thing gets a LOT of work done.
 
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The fire is built - we used a chain saw but thanks to all:thumbup:
 
RedbeAR15 said:
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The fire is built - we used a chain saw but thanks to all:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Sometimes the whole knife/firesteel/axe thing needs to take a break and let powertools and combustible liquids (instant bonfire) take its place. :o
 
We don't use combustibles, other than au natural, and the wood is the result of clearing I have been doing on some property I own. The benefit is I get to go camping with my two best buds, an no one bothers us, unless we want them to

The guy in the picture is Condor. My other buddy is the pyro :D

The fire you see was built with yellow locust, which puts off incredible amount of heat, but doesn't baton well :D

We could have heat treated infi with that fire
 
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