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

Alone said:
Don't underestimate/forget dryer lint and "Vaseline"-soaked cotton balls.
Click to expand...
The problem is, this is prepared territory rather than "I suddenly found myself deep in the woods naked and without any kit" which is what I presume most "I need a knife that can baton wood" people are thinking might happen.

Now that being said, in the far away places if I was below the tree line I was able to scavenge enough kindling to get a fire going. Tinder is usually the hard part IME. And I don't need to do a lot of batoning to get tinder. If I'm in a place devoid of kindling, its usually because there's lots of people around starting fires.
 
NapalmCheese said:
The problem is, this is prepared territory rather than "I suddenly found myself deep in the woods naked and without any kit" which is what I presume most "I need a knife that can baton wood" people are thinking might happen.

Now that being said, in the far away places if I was below the tree line I was able to scavenge enough kindling to get a fire going. Tinder is usually the hard part IME. And I don't need to do a lot of batoning to get tinder. If I'm in a place devoid of kindling, its usually because there's lots of people around starting fires.
Click to expand...


Well, I was just trying to be fun-loving and enjoy the party. But, since you mentioned it...

If you have a knife that is robust enough to baton, you'll ALWAYS have kindling. Pretty simple concept for many.
 
Alone said:
Don't underestimate/forget dryer lint and "Vaseline"-soaked cotton balls.
Click to expand...
And lip balm (common in winter), and hand sanitizer. And spruce pitch and moose poop.
I keep a small can of Sterno with me when off the road system to start wood fires if I am really wet/cold and don’t have the dexterity from cold hands to get fire started easily. Just warming your hands with the sterno lit in the can is nice after digging out a snowmachine.
 
beeinak said:
And lip balm (common in winter), and hand sanitizer. And spruce pitch and moose poop.
I keep a small can of Sterno with me when off the road system to start wood fires if I am really wet/cold and don’t have the dexterity from cold hands to get fire started easily. Just warming your hands with the sterno lit in the can is nice after digging out a snowmachine.
Click to expand...


Bingo! Hand sanitizer is another good one. 👍
 
beeinak said:
And lip balm (common in winter), and hand sanitizer. And spruce pitch and moose poop.
I keep a small can of Sterno with me when off the road system to start wood fires if I am really wet/cold and don’t have the dexterity from cold hands to get fire started easily. Just warming your hands with the sterno lit in the can is nice after digging out a snowmachine.
Click to expand...

Why don't people just use firelighters?
 
I was practically raised with an axe in my hand, so if batoning is going to get done it's going to be with an axe, but it's still not something I tend to even do even then except to split kindling. I don't whittle with a hatchet the way I've seen some people do, because that's knife time. Most of the wood I split is big rounds of Douglas fir, so it's more of a sledge and wedge or splitting maul activity, unless it's really dry or lacking in knots. I own a bunch of axes for smaller work (like delimbing fallen trees or marking rounds for saw cuts) or easier to work with wood. In the last few of years I've gotten more knives that would be pretty good at batoning, because I like a nice fixed blade, but I've never been in a situation where it was needed and an axe wasn't handy. What other people do with their own tools is their business, although I have seen some cringe videos where people are batoning with skinning knives or locked folding blades, and then criticize the knives for not being very durable...



In camp, after a long day's hike, I'm using a jet lighter to start a fire, because I hate how easily the wind can blow out a Bic lighter and how prolonged use heats the metal part up. I have windproof matches and a ferro rod as backup, but in camp the priority of work is to get a fire going as soon as possible, without messing around and wasting daylight. There have even been occasions where I've used the bushcraft traditions of my people and started a bonfire with a can of gas.

I'd love to reach back in time to give past me a much better knife to use when I was in the military, because I was poor and had shite taste in knives (the salesman required a heroic effort to convince me to spend over $40 on a knife). Even then it would be a nice lightweight camp knife, like a Fallkniven F1 or Bradford Guardian 3, because I already had enough heavy crap to carry around. I sometimes carried a big machete (stowed inside my pack), because it was useful and used, compared to those cheap thin metal stamped machetes they issued from stores that were completely useless for anything. The blade I most carried was a half-serrated Spyderco Walker to cut paracord and packaging. I still have it and it's now a retired keepsake.

52491928770_b528a74bc6_b.jpg
 
Alone said:
Well, I was just trying to be fun-loving and enjoy the party. But, since you mentioned it...

If you have a knife that is robust enough to baton, you'll ALWAYS have kindling. Pretty simple concept for many.
Click to expand...

And by the time you've whittled down that fallen oak tree into tinder sized pieces with your BK9 you'll already be warm, so you don't need as much of a fire anyway!
 
I think people baton because they think it is fun and feels cool. Nobody wants to split wood with an axe, that is just plain and boring. Batoning makes people feel like they are master of the wilderness. Same with using the spine of the knife to scrape ferro rods instead of using a bic lighter or matches. Everyone tries to come up with reasons to justify the practice, but honestly I think it is just for fun, trying out the methods they see on YouTube . (I fully support the idea of having multiple fire starting methods by the way)

The frontiersmen of old carried saws. axes, and/ or tomahawks to split/ process firewood. They used flint and steel or a burning glass to start their fires. The primary use of their knife would have been for processing game and fish, as well as a secondary weapon. There are some occasions where light batoning makes sense when creating notches, carving or crafting something.
I guess I am not a “one tool” kinda guy, I am more of a “use the appropriate tool for the job” kinda guy. But everyone is free to have fun with their stuff as they see fit.
 
I don't get it either. I've never seen a drum major use one.
 
This thread has gone full survival! Maybe we can take this lively discussion to the quiet W&SS subforum.
All the stuff people are saying here is legit. Instead of being either an "ax guy" or a "knife guy" or a "froe bro" or a "twig man" or a "Dorito dude" or a "lint hoarder", I would say these are all good techniques have in your repertoire, and may save your life one day. I don't get the "why do people do X?" mentality.
 
Last edited:
I like to use a large knife to process kindling for my wood stove. I usually use trim pieces from when I cut wood, the knife provides me a larger area to strike if the target wood doesn't split all the way initially. If my axe head is buried there's nowhere to hit with the baton.

I suppose I should add that I don't expect every sheath knife I own to excel at this task, but what a thin well cooked blade can handle can be an eye opening experience.
 
Last edited:
NapalmCheese said:
And by the time you've whittled down that fallen oak tree into tinder sized pieces with your BK9 you'll already be warm, so you don't need as much of a fire anyway!
Click to expand...

See how eco friendly we are, Less fuel burned, less carbon emissions so we don't kill the earth.

That's precisely why I use a knife to baton wood.

Go team.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top