Well...
I still don't see the controversy....
I understand that there are those who think the practice is abusive, and I guess I would agree with them, with the caveat that anything can be abusive, if done excessively.
And I agree that some people claim that they are batoning, when really they are just whacking the crap out of a knife with a big stick.
I would say that there is such a thing as proper batoning technique. That, knowing the limitations of the tools at hand, and the range of resistance and stress likely given the wood to be split or cut, one can properly apply the technique of batoning to accomplish their goal.
I do think that batoning a bolt is appropriate. When I go out, I often bolt a tree with a saw, and I will then select bolts that fit my tools, to split them, and make the structural members for the my fire lay, then, I will split the rest of the bolts, so that they will more easily take fire.
Have I damaged a knife this way, yes. I bent a Cold Steel Bushman, but it was my fault, the bolt of wood was too big, my mistake. But, the other side of that coin is that I decided I wanted a knife that was capable of batoning that size of wood, and discontinued using the Bushman (though there were other factors involved).
Usually now, I attack the bolts with my Bill Siegle Cutlass, which is sufficiently thick and strong to handle the task.
Improper Batoning Technique would be using The Cutlass's friend to try and split a bolt....
Marion
This not being one of those times 
