Batonning...the eternal argument

91bravo said:
May be perfect for that person that car camps every couple of years or so lol. For the primitive backpacking we do, something more substantial is desired.
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Think it's more pure gadget factor.
Which I can understand; there are a few knives I bought that weren't exactly practical.
 
It's a skill to understand how to do properly if you need to do it. If I am planning to going out into the woods, I'll pack a saw and will just cut what I need. I might have a small hatchet or decent fixed blade to pop apart wood with light batonning, but I doubt I'll have use for it if I am sticking to the prepared camping I would find myself planning to do.

If I'm stuck in the woods unexpected with with a zippo and a pocket knife, it's nice to know that I can disengage the lock on my folder and baton it a bit to pop apart smaller bits of wood that will catch faster for an emergency fire. I'm not going to be starting a Texas A&M bonfire. I'll want to just be able to make something for warmth and light without wasting calories.

I would rather have a sharp knife than a thick knife if you make me choose. I'll be more likely to carry the thinner sharper one. I can use the knife reasonably and wedge apart bigger pieces if I needed too.
 
I never heard of batoning until something like a year into owning and using my Strongarm when a video popped up of this dude cutting a steel barrel drum lid in half with one. Why would you do that? Then I learned what the technique was actually for and have done it enough times since to forget to take the hatchet along. It seems like unnecessary work, but I find it beats traipsing around gathering a mix of green branches and damp twigs. I even tried it with the Tracker, for giggles, but the blade stock is so thick that I went back to the Gerber, and bought a second. Just in case. My use opportunities have been pretty few and far between since.
 
Survival situation: any knife I have.

Planned trip: a hand axe.

An action film: any Mod who just happens to drop in? Id have them karate chop the wood for me. Blindfolded, of course-as they could do it! 🙃

Seriously, Id use a hand axe. Place the edge at the top and use another piece of wood as a hammer. All of it, sloooowly!
 
I spent my whole childhood living out in the woods and going camping a lot, often for 3 weeks at a time. Even when I was at home I was in the woods because my parents have a little land.

However, I had never heard of batoning until I first came to this forum in 07. I immediately had to go out and do it. It's a good skill to have, and I keep a big Condor Hudson's Bay knife in my vehicle in case I need to do whatever. But I don't do it very much. Really, the only time I do it is if I just want to play with my knives.

One use case that I have come up with is processing wood inside your house at the fireplace. It's a lot safer for everything, and less mess, to just squat up next to the fire place and baton some kindling there out of the wood that you already have stored inside.
 
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