today i snapped a few pictures of techniques in using the wrong size knife to do tasks that are generally considered not possible or akward at best. i used a large knife (cold steel machete) for fine shaving and shaping of wood. i used a little knife (2.25 inch blade) to baton a piece of wood in half.
the big knife technique is pretty simple, many people have probably figured it out on their own. just sink the tip of the knife deep into a log or stump with a hard swing, leaving a few inches hanging over the edge in the air.
place your foot on top of the blade, or your knee against the handle. it is difficult to do both. this reduces vibration which will keep the knife in the log better and will make it easier to shave the wood.
pull the wood against the edge. it takes a minute to get the motion down, but it is easy and simple. in some cases, it is easier than using a mid sized fixed blade because of the large amount of control and the ability to use both hands to control the angle, instead of just one hand.
then i did something more challenging. i split wood with a tiny knife and a baton. the trick to this is the preparation. don't just start wailing on the knife and wood. take your knife to a stick first and whittle a wedge. i make the tip at least as thin as the spine of the knife, sometimes a bit thinner.
cut another stick about 3/4 inch thick to a length of about a foot or so. here is the batoning set:
now baton the knife until it is a little below the level of the log.
baton the wedge in behind it. if the wedge won't stick vertically (rare, but it happens, like on this example) lay the log on its side and pound the wedge into the side of the started split.
continued...
the big knife technique is pretty simple, many people have probably figured it out on their own. just sink the tip of the knife deep into a log or stump with a hard swing, leaving a few inches hanging over the edge in the air.
place your foot on top of the blade, or your knee against the handle. it is difficult to do both. this reduces vibration which will keep the knife in the log better and will make it easier to shave the wood.
pull the wood against the edge. it takes a minute to get the motion down, but it is easy and simple. in some cases, it is easier than using a mid sized fixed blade because of the large amount of control and the ability to use both hands to control the angle, instead of just one hand.
then i did something more challenging. i split wood with a tiny knife and a baton. the trick to this is the preparation. don't just start wailing on the knife and wood. take your knife to a stick first and whittle a wedge. i make the tip at least as thin as the spine of the knife, sometimes a bit thinner.
cut another stick about 3/4 inch thick to a length of about a foot or so. here is the batoning set:
now baton the knife until it is a little below the level of the log.
baton the wedge in behind it. if the wedge won't stick vertically (rare, but it happens, like on this example) lay the log on its side and pound the wedge into the side of the started split.
continued...
)
:thumbup:
