I'm new here...why does every fixed blade knife have to be a star at batoning?

[Dr Rez]

No.

First time I saw it done was on Peche Island at a W&SS gathering, and it certainly was not done with a stainless steel blade (original pre-Ontario Knives RD-9).
It was way more efficient that chopping away with knives or hatchets, for the size of wood being used.

I had been doing it to split much smaller wood using my hand with a palm slap or hammer fist on the spine of the blade for years before that (before the internet existed even! ), but that was the first time I had seen a second piece of wood used to assist.

But the modern idea of moronically wailing away with a caveman club to split logs does appear to be more a YouTube thing, along with the idea that almost every fixed blade should be used in such a way, regardless of design intent.

I think people only think of batoning firewood. For me being able to cross baton different notches is the real purpose for having a thicker knife. Pothangers, birdbeak notches, etc. Never understood why everyone seems to just think batoning means driving a knife through a piece of wood to split it.

 

[dogstar]

I think people only think of batoning firewood. For me being able to cross baton different notches is the real purpose for having a thicker knife. Pothangers, birdbeak notches, etc. Never understood why everyone seems to just think batoning means driving a knife through a piece of wood to split it.

I think you have to be deep into bushcraft (or whatever you wish to call it) to know that stuff. It's easier just to diss things from your keyboard.

 

[Dr Rez]

I think you have to be deep into bushcraft (or whatever you wish to call it) to know that stuff. It's easier just to diss things from your keyboard.

Haha maybe. I am pretty far from any type of expert but I always found being able to set up a simple cooking pot over a fire was a crucial skill to have...since eating is well...important. A basic birdbeak notch 7 notch, or stop cut is such a crucial thing to know.

 

[Alone]

I REALLY like my little "Kodiak".

...from chopping/de-limbing/batoning/reducing a little green Mesquite, to cutting/breaching a plastic pack of Kiolbassa sausage, and cutting it up for some tacos over my camp stove... (*definitely NOT a "survival" situation)







I have a GB hatchet and a couple of capable Estwings, and would choose my big knife over any of 'em...any day of the week and twice on Sunday.


Flame, Flame, FLAME away! (*Your mileage may vary)

 

[Enzo’s Woodshop]

It seems that a lot of knife nuts are wanna be survivalists just like many guns nut seem to be wanna be "operators"

That is a vast over-generalization. And as far as the population here on BladeForums goes, I’d have go say you’re wrong. Most knife nuts here are... knife nuts. Lol. Not survivalists.

But even if someone is a “wannabe survivalist” or “wannabe operator” as you put it, I disagree with your implication that it’s bad.

The more folks think of survival and focus on the topic, the more likely they are to become proficient at it in the long term. Even if a person has novice-level skills, if that person tends to view themselves as a “survivalist” (to use the term you used) they are more likely to eventually develop genuinely good life-sustaining skills.

Same thing with firearms. If a person wants to be like an “operator” they are more likely to focus on and develop the relevant skillset and acquire the relevant equipment. That is a good thing, as it leads to better defended families and communities. For society as a whole, it is good.

In my opinion, it makes no sense to scorn people for their desire to be more self-sufficient and capable, regardless of their actual skill at any given point in time.

 

[JayDeep]

Nothing wrong with expecting the best and preparing for the worst.

That said, I cares nothing for fixed blades, but I have them just in case SHTF. I only require one of them stand up to extreme abuse like batoning, the rest are just backups at most.

 

[beeinak]

I REALLY like my little "Kodiak".

...from chopping/de-limbing/batoning/reducing a little green Mesquite, to cutting/breaching a plastic pack of Kiolbassa sausage, and cutting it up for some tacos over my camp stove... (*definitely NOT a "survival" situation)







I have a GB hatchet and a couple of capable Estwings, and would choose my big knife over any of 'em...any day of the week and twice on Sunday.


Flame, Flame, FLAME away! (*Your mileage may vary)

Great looking blade.

 

[Alone]

Great looking blade.

Thank you, Sir. I think so, too.




*And, with that, I'll add... (*for all the Grandpas)

"But, but, BUT...a big knife simply CAN'T cut"...

 

[scdub]

I REALLY like my little "Kodiak".

...from chopping/de-limbing/batoning/reducing a little green Mesquite, to cutting/breaching a plastic pack of Kiolbassa sausage, and cutting it up for some tacos over my camp stove... (*definitely NOT a "survival" situation)







I have a GB hatchet and a couple of capable Estwings, and would choose my big knife over any of 'em...any day of the week and twice on Sunday.


Flame, Flame, FLAME away! (*Your mileage may vary)

Beautiful! This thread doesn’t have many pictures does it?

I thought that this modified S7 steel might be able to help me make some kindling for the fire pit without snapping in half.

Turns out… I was totally right.

 

[OCEquestrian]

Beautiful! This thread doesn’t have many pictures does it?

I thought that this modified S7 steel might be able to help me make some kindling for the fire pit without snapping in half.

Turns out… I was totally right.

View attachment 2090512
View attachment 2090511View attachment 2090509View attachment 2090507

Good looking assistant there...

 

[Alone]

Beautiful! This thread doesn’t have many pictures does it?...

Nope, it doesn't. (*Big knives are really under-represented)


...and the Grandpas definitely LOVE to troll the "batoning" threads...









EDIT- I think some pics of your big "Siegle" might be appropriate.

 

[beeinak]

Good looking assistant there...

The look on that face looks more like a supervisor

 

[scdub]

EDIT- I think some pics of your big "Siegle" might be appropriate.

Siegle Chopper/Fighter!?!?

Alas - I haven’t yet used that to baton (or fight ) - but since we’ve been talking about chopping and since you asked - here it is clearing a trail on it’s first field trip (it was so shiny back then!):

 

[stabman]

I think people only think of batoning firewood. For me being able to cross baton different notches is the real purpose for having a thicker knife. Pothangers, birdbeak notches, etc. Never understood why everyone seems to just think batoning means driving a knife through a piece of wood to split it.

Certainly done that.

The thing is though, not many folks consider batonning to make notches for traps, holders, or fitting structures together to be that controversial, if they think of it at all.

The thing that people think of when they hear "Batonning!" is some guy splitting huge firewood.
Not cross-grain batonning to accomplish a task, or splitting small diameter wood to get at the dry stuff.

Now have I done moronic chopping and batonning at times?
Yes.

Of course this was a huge knife I made of 5160 steel with a spine more than 0.300" thick, at 57 Rockwell for full indestructibility.
Even so I generally don't bother trying to split wood that huge with a knife because it takes more energy that it's worth, pretty much.

But we took the boat there, so energy was saved that way.

And doesn't this picture just look neat?

 

[JFrameV2]

We had a pretty strong wind storm last week which caused one of the limbs on a tree (virtually a second, smaller tree) to fall on our property.

I went out with a hand saw and a hatchet (with a leuku as backup -- not needed ) to trim the wood sufficiently so everything could be hauled into the surrounding wetlands.

This thread had me halfway thinking of taking out my Mora Garberg, so I might try some batoning on the piece of timber (ala Lilly, the bespectacled Austrian chick on Youtube)... But sadly, expedience won out over my sense of adventure.

Truth be told -- if I owned a chainsaw, I would have taken that.

 

[Dr Rez]

Certainly done that.

The thing is though, not many folks consider batonning to make notches for traps, holders, or fitting structures together to be that controversial, if they think of it at all.

The thing that people think of when they hear "Batonning!" is some guy splitting huge firewood.
Not cross-grain batonning to accomplish a task, or splitting small diameter wood to get at the dry stuff.

Now have I done moronic chopping and batonning at times?
Yes.

Of course this was a huge knife I made of 5160 steel with a spine more than 0.300" thick, at 57 Rockwell for full indestructibility.
Even so I generally don't bother trying to split wood that huge with a knife because it takes more energy that it's worth, pretty much.

But we took the boat there, so energy was saved that way.

And doesn't this picture just look neat?

What a kickass blade, any other pictures? And to be honest using a saw (bacho folding type or even a sak farmer) is probably the smarter option...

But who doesnt like blasting a thick knife through wood. I dont see why not. Im no more worried about breaking my Terava 140 on batoning wood than I am my Council Tool axe.

 

[ferider]

Nope, it doesn't. (*Big knives are really under-represented)


...and the Grandpas definitely LOVE to troll the "batoning" threads...









EDIT- I think some pics of your big "Siegle" might be appropriate.

I'm not a grandpa yet .... at least I hope so. Some more pics:

And so on

Four three months in the mountains I used 4 of these "shingles" a day. I know how to use an Axe, but feel more comfortable with a knife.

 

[Thorgrim]

I enjoy watching other peoples' solutions to tasks. When I was an 18th century re-enactor, I saw one of the Cherokee at the event sink his tomawk into to fairly large chunk of wood, wondering how the hell he was going to get it out without breaking the handle. Without a pause in his work he simply lifted it over his head, turning the whole mess upside down with the tomahawk on the bottom, and gave it a mighty thump on a larger chunk of wood he was using as a chopping block. The wood just popped apart, and he proceeded to do the same with the rest of the wood that was too large for either batoning or splitting with a light tomahawk. I observed him doing everyday chores during that event (well, "everyday" if you lived in the 18th century), and his efficiency was impressive. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat.

In a real emergency situation the question is not so much whether you can do simple things like build a fire, the question is whether or not you will use more calories doing a task that are returned to you through your efforts.

 

[dogstar]

I enjoy watching other peoples' solutions to tasks. When I was an 18th century re-enactor, I saw one of the Cherokee at the event sink his tomawk into to fairly large chunk of wood, wondering how the hell he was going to get it out without breaking the handle. Without a pause in his work he simply lifted it over his head, turning the whole mess upside down with the tomahawk on the bottom, and gave it a mighty thump on a larger chunk of wood he was using as a chopping block. The wood just popped apart, and he proceeded to do the same with the rest of the wood that was too large for either batoning or splitting with a light tomahawk. I observed him doing everyday chores during that event (well, "everyday" if you lived in the 18th century), and his efficiency was impressive. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat.

In a real emergency situation the question is not so much whether you can do simple things like build a fire, the question is whether or not you will use more calories doing a task that are returned to you through your efforts.

open mindedness will get you a long way.
I would also add that in a real emergency, can you make do with what you have. More skills = more options.

 

[killgar]

I was never issued any rule book regarding what knives can or can't, should or shouldn't be used for, and that's a good thing, because I don't believe in such rules.

With some exceptions, I look upon a knife as a tool, a sharpened piece of steel with a handle attached, and as such, it is capable of being used for a wide variety of tasks. Its only limits being the characteristics of its design, the quality of its steel, and the ingenuity of it's user. As i see it, the great value of a knife is that it is one of man's most versatile tools.

As far as batonning goes, I've "hammered" fixed-blades through thick rope, both natural and synthetic, rope that would have taken me a long time to cut through using the conventional method (if at all), and I would have dulled most of the edge in the process. Instead, I simply placed the rope on a piece of wood, placed the edge of my knife on the rope, and with one or two hard wacks to the spine of the blade I cut right through the rope.

People often say "choose the right tool for the job", but i say- if a knife is what you have, and if that knife is capable of performing a task effectively, without being destroyed in the process, then it WAS the right tool for the job.

A man, equipped with nothing more than his ingenuity and a good knife, can accomplish a great many things.