Dedicated Baton?

D

DebX36

Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Messages
41
Was thinking today. What could I buy as a dedicated baton? Instead of looking for random hunks of wood in the wilderness, what else could I use? Potentially even a prefabricated hunk of wood, and if so, what style of wood would work best? What about a soft faced or rubber mallot? Any help is appreciated!
 
another knife :D

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I've used rubber mallets and wooden mallets a lot in the past. Works pretty well but wood ones can split quite easily
 
TheDandyLion said:
I've used rubber mallets and wooden mallets a lot in the past. Works pretty well but wood ones can split quite easily
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Did the rubber ones seem to suffice? I can also only assume them to be a deal quieter. Was considering an estwing soft faced, unless that's just a fancy way to say rubber haha
 
Using a baton with a knife is all about expanding the capability of the tool you are carrying so that you don't need to carry more, or bigger, tools. Carrying a mallet to baton a knife, rather than carrying a hatchet to begin with does seem faintly absurd to me, especially since different jobs might dictate different weights and size of baton.

Putting that aside, I would suggest that you don't want to use wood where you are striking with the end-grain, which is how most wooden mallets are made. The ones I have seen are all beech, which is fairly hard, dense and even grained. Hard maple would also seem like a good candidate for a mallet, but if I wanted it as a baton, I would want to be striking across the grain. Compression strength from an endgrain face is highest, but as mentioned, you risk splitting since you are hitting something hard and narrow.

In that case, I would think that maybe osage and hickory would be good choices where you are. Looking for dense, hard, tough and not so easy to split wood. Osage heartwood would be very hard, has interlocking grain so not easy to split, and is fairly heavy, if you can get stuff with plenty of latewood.

If you must use a rubber mallet, be sure to pair it with an appropriate Stanley chisel ;)
 
I hear if you dip a banana in liquid nitrogen it'll freeze solid and you can use like a hammer.

So liquid nitrogen and a banana.

Doubles as bear defense or monkey bait. Depending on your survival needs.
 
I just carve one out of a stick.
Not too thin, Not too thick,
Beech is fine, softer than Oak, harder than pine,
Use it until your done, then burn it just for fun,


 
Using a baton with a knife is all about expanding the capability of the tool you are carrying so that you don't need to carry more, or bigger, tools. Carrying a mallet to baton a knife, rather than carrying a hatchet to begin with does seem faintly absurd to me, especially since different jobs might dictate different weights and size of baton.
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Totally agree with that. Lots of random batons in the woods.
 
Thanks for all the very sarcastic, ignorant, nonanswering posts. I get a hatchet would work better. But if Im just out for a hike or just to trail, I tend to only carry a machete or large knife, as it will serve far more purpose than a hatchet would. Now, I was simply asking because batoning is such a common practice. I guess anyone who ever batons should just use a hatchet, eh? Nothing wrong with trying to stay ahead of the curve. To add my own bit of sarcasm; thanks for all the oh so helpful posts.
 
DebX36 said:
Thanks for all the very sarcastic, ignorant, nonanswering posts. I get a hatchet would work better. But if Im just out for a hike or just to trail, I tend to only carry a machete or large knife, as it will serve far more purpose than a hatchet would. Now, I was simply asking because batoning is such a common practice. I guess anyone who ever batons should just use a hatchet, eh? Nothing wrong with trying to stay ahead of the curve. To add my own bit of sarcasm; thanks for all the oh so helpful posts.
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Yes, most of the responses wear sarcastic, but let's look at it from a minimalist approach whether hiker or bushcrafter.

There is an old adage, ounces equal pounds and pounds equals pain.

Another one is light equals fast.

So from their point of view, and most of the posters, if you have a good bushcraft knife/machete why take anything else because a good bushcrafter/light hiker can make do without and carry something that would be more beneficial than something they can make when needed.

If you are dead set on an extra tool, multipurpose is better than single purpose dedicated tool. Therefore their suggestions about a hatchet or axe are right on the money.

You might not like it, but they are better responses than others I have seen.

In the end, why did you even ask if you had already made up your mind? Their advice is sound, you just don't like it. Deal with it and move on.
 
darsk20 said:
Yes, most of the responses wear sarcastic, but let's look at it from a minimalist approach whether hiker or bushcrafter.

There is an old adage, ounces equal pounds and pounds equals pain.

Another one is light equals fast.

So from their point of view, and most of the posters, if you have a good bushcraft knife/machete why take anything else because a good bushcrafter/light hiker can make do without and carry something that would be more beneficial than something they can make when needed.

If you are dead set on an extra tool, multipurpose is better than single purpose dedicated tool. Therefore their suggestions about a hatchet or axe are right on the money.

You might not like it, but they are better responses than others I have seen.

In the end, why did you even ask if you had already made up your mind? Their advice is sound, you just don't like it. Deal with it and move on.
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I get it entirely. I even thought of it myself. I know an axe for splitting wood is better. But I would use a machete for far more purposes than a hatchet, therefore making it my top choice. Additionally, having a stick smaller than a hatchet handle for dedicated batoning would weigh far less than a hatchet itself. A machete excels in most trailing uses, such as trail clearing. But should I decide to stop and make a little fire, I'd love to baton with it as well. Excuse me for setting out to get an answer and instead getting flamed and misanswers, and for becoming aggravated with said results
 
Carrying a dedicated baton makes zero sense.
Those who suggested a hatchet or whatever are right when the alternative is bringing an extra thing along to baton with.

If you have wood to baton through, you have wood to baton with.

Don't overthink it.
 
stabman said:
Carrying a dedicated baton makes zero sense.
Those who suggested a hatchet or whatever are right when the alternative is bringing an extra thing along to baton with.

If you have wood to baton through, you have wood to baton with.

Don't overthink it.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
Might make sense if you were in an area with bears or stray dogs, then your bear bat could be used as a baton. But you also might as well just carry a 3/4 axe then.

In any case the wood will not last long unless you use ultrathick blades. Hickory, rock maple, oak, elm. Any really hard woods can sustain quite a bit of abuse, but hard, sharp-edged steel will cut it up quickly.

I personally agree with what others are saying, but don't think the minimalist approach is the be-all and end-all. You could potentially create an attachment for a walking stick (which would also improve your knife skills at the same time), have dedicated tinder in a hole in the end of the baton, use it as one of the poles for a homemade backpack (lower back support, for example), etc. You will have to come up with your own way to make it work.
 
If one is dead-set on a baton to bring, I do remember a member here using a Cold Steel Walkabout walking stick to baton with.
Polypropylene holds up to impact fairly well.

Not what I'd choose to do, but someone else did, and it worked...and at least it makes a decent walking stick too.
 
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