How many of you have stopped batoning?

[The Grendels]

Breaking down the wood? You're clearly not using enough gasoline!

The bushcraft traditions of my people... "What do you mean the fire didn't light? Just pour more gas on it. Also eyebrows are overrated".

Batoning is one of the few terrible, terrible things that I didn't do to my old Ka-Bar Utility knife I had as a teenager. As the first generation of my family in the New World not to make a living by logging or ranching, I learned to use an axe before I learned how to ride a bike, so I definitely have an axe bias for splitting wood. For splitting a lot of the wood at home, I'm mostly using a splitting maul due to the wood being large rounds of Douglas fir. If it's excessively knotty I might even have to resort to using a sledge and wedge, which is kind of like batoning I suppose. Axes are mainly used for chopping kindling and delimbing trees before they get bucked into rounds. Sometimes I run into wood that's easily split with an axe and it's a nice change of pace, compared to the often wet rounds of Douglas fir that you can't get your arms around, with some knots thrown in for good measure. I do like to take an axe camping, if I'm going somewhere I'm actually allowed to use it.

Unlike what I see on YouTube, the only time I wear eye protection chopping wood is with the sledge and wedge, because you can get tiny bits of the iron wedge blasted off at weird angles and clip you. I'm not really sure what you'd have to be doing with an axe to get wood chips in your eye, but if you do you're doing it wrong.

 

[The Grendels]

I live in Southern California. Here the trick is not finding dry wood. It's finding any kind of wood at all, and a place where it is legal to collect it and burn it.

I'd never even heard of "batoning" until I started hanging out here.

There are some places where if you want to have a campfire, you'd better bring a Presto fire log, because the pickings are sparse and the sparse has already been picked.

 

[91bravo]

For all the baton haters

 

[USMCPOP]

Some stuff is just too big to baton.

 

[Spey]

Testing your metal ;-)
At this point, was time to make a wood wedge savior for this flat grind.
For the record, saber grinds do much better in my experience.



EDIT: for the record that Winkler is still straight, and to this day will tell you it's never been abused ;-)

 

[King of the Cheese]

I never started. I have a hatchet for that.

 

[91bravo]

Testing your metal ;-)
At this point, was time to make a wood wedge savior for this flat grind.
For the record, saber grinds do much better in my experience.

View attachment 1669560

I'll see your bend and raise you another bend. It always comes back out straight as an arrow. This is the one I've been trying to break by batoning, I have failied miserably.

 

[bush-haus]

I LOVE batonning wood, it’s almost hypnotic, and soothes my soul. While I’m fairly efficient with an axe, I was never really trained or taught how to use one. As soon as I bought my Becker BK9, it felt like an extension of my arm and batonning felt very natural. I’ve been using it for 10 years and would never dream of starting fires without that method. I am much more precise and feel much safer than using an axe, especially with my kiddos around me.

I know the limits of the knife and size of trees that I can quickly chop down and process for firewood. Besides, as I get older my back cannot handle swinging and axe anyway.

 

[scdub]

It’s fun to baton wood with knives! And, in addition to making fires it’s a great way to get very specifically sized sticks/shingles for a wide variety of projects.

Some knives are clearly not designed to baton, but others clearly ARE designed for this task, so the “wrong tool for the job” arguement doesn’t really hold water.

“I wasn’t taught that way” is another argument that I don’t really get. Just because you learned something at one point in your life doesn’t mean you learned the ONLY way or the BEST way. If you think you did, explain WHY.

I suspect that at least some of these non-baton folks are secretly wishing they could try it but are afraid that their Dad might find out and make fun of them, so they go ahead and make fun of others instead to feel better.

 

[J85909266]

I stopped a long time ago. Not because I think it's stupid or dangerous, I just typically have a better tool such as a cheap Fiskars hatchet. I would still absolutely do it if I wanted or needed to.

 

[K.O.D.]

How many of us never started batoning?

I don't even own a baton. Never had an interest in band or being drum major.

 

[kobold]

I baton, just to see how a new knife performs, but never had the need. To avoid batoning:

I always check the forecast, if there is some serious rain coming, I am staying home.
In a company, we collect and burn large pieces of wood from one end to the other. Almost always it is faster and easier to just break dry wood with hands and legs.
When alone, I always use a flat-pack Ti twig stove. I even have a small grill for steaks, I love those things.
My favorite method of warming up is from inside - to drink hot teas and soups. Also making hot water bottles for the night.
I always dress according to the season and always carry rain gear, wool gloves, a beanie, thermal underwear, even in summer.
When everything is soaking wet I will just use an alcohol stove, which is either a weightless cat-can stove or a trangia. I use these inside the twig stove which acts as a wind shield. About two or three ounces of wood alcohol is enough for a hot soup, a hot drink and to rehydrate a meal.

 

[DocJD]

Went on a trip recently, and I was so tired the first day I stopped batoning. I actually stopped using an axe too. I did a bit of sawing, then mostly collected 1 inch dead sticks from trees. Is this really more efficient? I'm starting to question both batoning and using an axe.

I never started !

Saws are the most efficient .

Loppers / pruners , followed by machetes , BAK choppers , axes and hatchets .

The only use I see for baton on a knife is some sort of emergency / survival situation where that's all you got . Better have great technique and a tough knife .

 

[stabman]

Last few times out I have not bothered with batonning because the wood was dry.
Previous times I did, because the wood was wet.
Dry wood burns easy...wet does not (science!!! )

Once the fire is going with a huge bed of coals, you can just throw any wood you like on, and it will burn.

 

[DocJD]

you should've got a Cold Steel

Yes ...yes ...YES !

 

[Natlek]

I have a scar that serves as a testament to where I should have batoned (either with my axe or a knife). I was in a snow camp, and all the wood we could find was drenched so I was in the process of breaking down larger chunks of wood to try and get to more burnable material within. It was cold, very wet, and my fingers were going numb - ideal conditions for making mistakes. I made a mistake with my axe and painted the snow with my blood - it actually was really cool looking...

Hunting and fishing are my hobbies. Fast math says I have spent more than three years of my life in the wild , summer, winter ...... I've never had a problem to start fire . Just give me 4 x 1 inch rubber bands and I will start fire at the bottom of the lake...........

 

[Natlek]

Last few times out I have not bothered with batonning because the wood was dry.
Previous times I did, because the wood was wet.
Dry wood burns easy...wet does not (science!!! )

Thin branches and grass dry quickly (science!!! ) Seriously guys, there's nothing better than strip of rubber to start a fire...............

 

[DocJD]

Hunting and fishing are my hobbies. Fast math says I have spent more than three years of my life in the wild , summer, winter ...... I've never had a problem to start fire . Just give me 4 x 1 inch rubber bands and I will start fire at the bottom of the lake...........

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[Lesknife]

Ha ! Now I can answer the question I’m gonna start batoning now since I bought a Buck 108 Froe . It’s 5160 .250 thick, 10 inch cerkoted blade and a natural micarta handle. 16 inches overall length. Came with a nice leather sheath. Now to find the time to go camping and wack the snot out of it.

 

[DocJD]

Last few times out I have not bothered with batonning because the wood was dry.
Previous times I did, because the wood was wet.
Dry wood burns easy...wet does not (science!!! )

Once the fire is going with a huge bed of coals, you can just throw any wood you like on, and it will burn.