Is battoning safer?

[The Government]

EDIT: internet discussion can be hard to interpret sometimes:thumbup:

 

[Codger_64]

That is so far removed from reality, it's hard to believe anyone would even post it.

Gomment, no, I am sorry if it appeared that I was directing that part of my response at you. I was responding to the post quoted above.

I don't have an axe to grind with you! And I would rather bury the hatchet anyway.

 

[mdole]

For crying out loud, don't do that thing where you hold the wood up with one hand and chop down with your hatchet while at the same time letting the wood go. That is just asking for problems.

I don't disagree with Codger's axeman ship, but the simple physics of it is that you once you start the swing, the momentum is almost impossible to overcome with an axe. Of course, the safety practice that Codger is talking about is setting up the right conditions before you start your swing. This entails, using a level splitting block so that your piece of wood being split stays upright. It entails using a piece of wood that is capable of standing on its own. It entails the user understanding where the axehead is going to end up during a miss and having the precision of technique to perform a swing to match his mental calculations.

I agree with Codger that if you follow the right technique, using an axe can be safe and effective and it will certainly process wood faster than baton splitting. However, baton splitting can also be effective in situations where it is difficult to establish the safe parts of using an axe. For example, with a baton, having a splitting block is less important and might even be completely circumvented in some cases. Need to have a self standing piece of wood is less important. The baton can be corrected part way through the process and you can use controlled swings to test the wood before attempting to commit to the split. For people who have a bad back, swollen disk etc., swinging an axe is pretty much impossible but they can often kneel, back straight, and baton with little pain.

I agree that you can't process as much wood by batoning and you will more likely process smaller pieces by batoning than you would with an axe. I've also come to the opinion that most people must make tremendously larger fires than I do because of their demands for an axe. I agree with the statement that often times you don't even need to baton the wood. You can crack the wood over your knee or in a tree crook. There are many ways to get that wood for a small personal fire and baton splitting is one of a variety of techniques.

this is my basic point, under non ideal circumstances (i.e.- not a square bottomed piece of wood) battoning is the safer alternative. I know this has been done to death, but short of using the "sissy stick," I'm partial to keeping my fingers away from the cutting edge. Thanks for all the responses!

 

[wyattT]

honestly if your in the wilderness without a saw, any chopped rounds your get are going to have tapered ends and make it hard to baton. and if your chopping rounds, your going to end up with kindling without battoning anything. its really not the most useful skill unless your hunting fatwood or something.

doesnt mean its not fun, i do it often.

 

[kgd]

honestly if your in the wilderness without a saw, any chopped rounds your get are going to have tapered ends and make it hard to baton.

Hey Wyatt, why does that make it hard? Unless you have two spear points, I suppose its a bit tricky. But batoning rounded or chopped end pieces is one of the chief reasons I baton. Place your edge on one end, add a little weight onto the handle and your knife holds the piece. Then just tap the knife in. Once the edge is 1/4" in place you can proceed with the split. You can do the same with an axe (baton the axe), but the axe handle makes this a bit less stable than a knife.

 

[Codger_64]

this is my basic point, under non ideal circumstances (i.e.- not a square bottomed piece of wood) battoning is the safer alternative. I know this has been done to death, but short of using the "sissy stick," I'm partial to keeping my fingers away from the cutting edge. Thanks for all the responses!

You are correct. If you don't know how to set a section of wood with an unsquare cut end to split it with an axe or hatchet or maul, and if you can't figure out a way to use any of those without putting your fingers in reach of the bit, you are probably best off not having and trying to use any of those three tools. That also saves you from having to figure out how to use dogs and wedges.

 

[softrockrenegade]

I learned to split wood with an axe as a child and did so for many years but since recently getting my junglas I find batoning way easier and much safer than using an axe, not only for your apendages but for your back!!!

 

[JCavSD]

As a child my grandfather taught me how to baton a knife through an ax with a saw blade. It's the only way to go. Video to follow...once I find all my fingers.

 

[softrockrenegade]

Wait how did you type this without fingers

 

[SouthernCross]

Is battoning safer than chopping with an axe or hatchet? I'm not sure if this question has come up before, but every time I go camping, my fingers are well clear of uneven pieces of wood when they are split. This isn't the case with an axe or hatchet...so I'm wondering, is the answer to "why baton?" saftey?

My question is why aren't your fingers "well clear" of uneven wood when you split it with an axe or hatchet.

There are several different techniques that can be used to keep your fingers out of the way. Two of them are demonstrated below using a GB mini.

[youtube]Kn-cyXPAjzg[/youtube]

[youtube]svley5CNsnQ[/youtube]


IMO, an axe or hatchet is as safe as any other tool in the hands of a skilled user :thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick

 

[theevilmike]

i never knew there was such a thing as batoning (or what it meant)
i thought it had something to do with throwing sticks around
after reading everyones thoughts here, im still convinced that an axe is not only faster, but safer
im 35, and for my entire life, every ome ive had was heated thru woodstove
my job, from 8yrs old on was to split pile the woo, and make sure theres enough kindling
my conclusion is i prefer an ax, a 3.5 lb head to boot, not just for splitting kindling, but also for splitting the actual fire wood
my 2 cents deposited

mike

 

[Shotgun]

I think batoning is a helluva lot safer...for a novice. I don't recomend an axe to anyone starting out. There is just too much of a learning curve and most people won't take the time to learn it. If a person takes the time to really learn the tool, then it's just as safe as batoning IMO. I think the reason most people think axes are dangerous is because we no longer live in an axe culture and have had bad experiences from poorly maintaned axes and/or poor judgment on the users part. Using an axe safely and knowing how to keep up a safe axe are skill sets that we're losing in our chainsaw and hydraulic splitter world.

 

[marthinus]

For bigger wood an axe for me thanks. Especially here in Africa where we have iron wood to split. That stuff is so hard and heavy it sinks when thrown into water. We use diamond tip electric saws to cut it into smaller shapes to use an axe on.

Other then that I still feel batoning is a skill to have especially for making kindling for fire as Big Mike shows. You can split the corner of a piece of wood to start with kindling. Keep it small. That is what I consider safe batoning. I have seen people spit HUGE logs when batoning, but for me at least it is unnecessary and cant see myself wanting to do that to a tool that was not designed for splitting logs. From what I have seen at wood cutting competitions an axe can go through a 30inch log much faster then any knife.

Using a Baton is a very safe and controled technique to use with any edged tool. :thumbup: :thumbup:






Big Mike

Forgot to ad. A axe can also be used in a wrong way. I like the tips given by Mears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tUUctg6dfk

Look at around 2 minute. Great advice that I was tought.

 

[TNRat]

Not if your femoral is in the way. :thumbdn:

Be careful with anything that has an edge...especially a Stihl 880 with a 48 inch bar on a 30 foot step ladder while sitting on the top rung proceeding to...