How many of you have stopped batoning?

DocJD said:
www.wildernessarena.com

How To Make Napalm (a Recipe For Simple Homemade Napalm). - Geek Slop

Napalm is the generic name for the mixture of a flammable petroleum substance, typically diesel gasoline, with a thickening or gelling agent to give the fiery substance “sticky” properties. Napalm-like fiery substances have been used since early Greek times for war purposes. Modern day uses...
www.wildernessarena.com www.wildernessarena.com
Click to expand...
Napalm :eek: This is even better..........................:)
EaHf2Rx.jpg
 
Natlek said:
Thin branches and grass dry quickly (science!!! 😉 ) Seriously guys, there's nothing better than strip of rubber to start a fire...............
Click to expand...

And they dry out in the pouring rain...how?

The day from that picture involved a county-wide flood warning, and indeed there were several floods in the surrounding areas. It rained the entire day, and the entire night. It rained before we got there, while we were there, and after we left.

And if you want help with fire, why stop with rubber bands?
A small drinking flask of gasoline works for starting fires too, so I've heard.
 
stabman said:
And they dry out in the pouring rain...how?

The day from that picture involved a county-wide flood warning, and indeed there were several floods in the surrounding areas. It rained the entire day, and the entire night. It rained before we got there, while we were there, and after we left.

And if you want help with fire, why stop with rubber bands?
A small drinking flask of gasoline works for starting fires too, so I've heard.
Click to expand...
Yes , they will dry out even in the pouring rain ............Gasoline burn fast , rubber burn slow ! Did you get it now why rubber is excellent to start fire in wet condition ? The temperature of flame of the rubber will dry out the thinner branches , they will catch fire and dry thicker branches............................
BTW , I hope you don’t carry those concrete blocks in your backpack as you go into the wilderness ................... I'm just asking since I can't find them where I'm going ?
wHOZdkd.jpg
 
Natlek said:
Yes , they will dry out even in the pouring rain ............Gasoline burn fast , rubber burn slow ! Did you get it now why rubber is excellent to start fire in wet condition ? The temperature of flame of the rubber will dry out the thinner branches , they will catch fire and dry thicker branches............................
BTW , I hope you don’t carry those concrete blocks in your backpack as you go into the wilderness ................... I'm just asking since I can't find them where I'm going ?
Click to expand...

They will NOT dry out in those rain conditions, not without something to block the rain. But whatever, you do you I guess.

Here is the link to the thread from that day:

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Bushcraft...

I was watching that show Alone on History Channel, and I couldn't help but notice how annoying it was for the contestants to get a fire going in such wet conditions. It made me wonder how well I'd do with fire in wet conditions...I generally head out to the woods when it is nice. Well, this...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Sure, after setting up the tarp shelter we could have spent a bunch of time fiddling with drying twigs. That could have been done, but would have taken a bunch more time. Instead, splitting the wood (under the tarp shelter to keep it dry) combined with a Vaseline impregnated paper towel, preparing all the different sizes of kindling, then setting it up quickly in the rain with a "roof" on it got the fire going. :)

If it was some sort of survival thing, then yeah, a smaller fire set up under the tarps, using less fuel would have been fine, and a bit of rubber or one's other preferred tinder choice (and twigs, if you have a thing for twigs) could be used. I'd still go with splitting the wood to get dry wood faster because it's faster; simply would have required less wood than keeping it going in the flood-level rain did.

The blocks were carried in years ago from the trail-head; that was a heavy hike in for sure.
There are almost no rocks in the area; in 11 years we have found ONE good sized rock. One.
The blocks have weathered down to nothing now, pretty much. We have carried in rocks on subsequent trips as they are more photogenic, and weather better.

The site has been used by many over the years now, which is pretty nice. :thumbsup:
 
stabman said:
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.

gxWgcla.jpg
Click to expand...

I think you just earned your merit badge for Building a Fire in a Puddle.
 
To me they are all tools and techniques to get the job done. The more you know, the more you can use the most effective technique and pack the most effective tool for the environment. To me that's the key. You have to know what sort of wood and environment you are going to be looking at. I kinda want to take some of the top "woods knives" and a mallet to some blocks of ironbark just to reset some expectations. Sure if you have some seasoned white poplar, cottonwood, birch or pine, by all means, it almost splits itself. Trying to get into the center of some old soggy diamond willow, or many of the aussie species I've become familiar with, and you'll start to curse your day of conception. How Australia burns like flash-paper when so many of its tree species are so immensely dense or spongy and full of water just amazes me. But I digress. I more have practiced battoning to find out its limits. I'd rather know which options to take off the table before things start going wrong so that I have not wasted energy or damaged equipment for no reason.

When I'm just playing around I might try something that is harder than it needs to be, just for the information, but I also go by the motto that "its not cheating if it works" If the goal is just to get a fire going, then just get it going. If I am lighting my charcoal grill, then maybe I wouldn't use a bit of inner-tube, but again, you do you boo.
 
I never started either. I always just pick up deadfall twigs and pine needles etc. and use that. I use a hatchet for bigger stuff instead of breaking my knives.
I just wonder what the point is, since you have to chop branches down with a knife before you can baton them, which is super difficult compared to chopping with a hatchet. And if youre batoning deadfall, the big stuff you would need to split is usually rotten anyway. If you need to dry out small twigs (which you dont since theyre twigs), just peel the bark off really fast, its easy and quick with no hammering on your knife. And if its raining so hard you need to baton to find dry wood, your wood will just be soaked anyway by the time you baton it all.
Basically I just think that batonning is kind of pointless and can be negated completely by just carrying some fire starters.
 
GAGL said:
i did the unthinkable...

i batoned a hatchet.works very well and i save a ton of weight


https://imgur.com/a/zYNXBo3
Click to expand...
I forgot about this thread, but apparently people are trolling heavy now. For those who don't know, you never baton (at least heavily) with an axe, because you can ruin the metal eye, and essentially, you are better off buying a new axe than find a blacksmith to fix that eye. This post has no metal eye as part of the head of the axe. His handle is part of the eye which means the standard does not apply. I can't tell if it's deep level humor, trolling, or pure ignorance. Regardless, a few of these posts have got me. Glad it was entertaining.
 
Last edited:
I've been batoning kindling forever and it works fine for me. Everything in moderation however.
 
Yeah... I think it'll handle anything I throw at it.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_15102021_075707.jpg
    IMG_15102021_075707.jpg
    72.2 KB · Views: 4
stabman said:
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.

gxWgcla.jpg
Click to expand...



Sir, there's leaf litter all over the ground there. You're supposed to scrape a 40 foot circle of bare ground around your camp fire. Are you trying to burn down the whole forest? Fire safety! :oops:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top