Is this 'batoning' and firewood chopping with a knife a passing trend?

I like to batton, but not just fort fun. (though I do find it fun)
I usually do it when I am starting a fire, and the wood is wet, or I can't find decent smaller twigs. Even if I have a hatchet or an axe, I find it easier and quicker to whip out my knife and batton it through a stick that's just too big to help get a fire going.
You don't even need to batton it very deep, one or two whacks and then a twist and the stick usually breaks.
If I tried doing that with an axe or a hatchet it would even be clumsier then the knife. Unless you use the Ray Mears method, most are familiar with, I'm sure.)

Bigger stuff, like 2 or 3 inches and bigger, there really is no need to batton, unless that's all the wood you have to get a fire going, or it's wet.
But in the end, it comes down to personal preference, but those knocking battoning should give it a fair shake.
 
Yeah. My thoughts exactly. I`d never heard of it `til I read about it on some knife site or other. It seems to be a criterion for rating a knife, for many people.
Never met anyone who engages in this practice; at least, I`ve never asked, and no-one`s ever come out and told me they do so.
To me it just looks like an awkward rigmarole... It`s one of those things that when I see someone doing it, I wanna say, "What the hell are you trying to DO, there, guy? And why are you beating on that poor knife? You`re gonna break that thing. That`s what a chisel`s for".
In "my book", I`d file that alongside "putting from the rough". Something I`ve never done or seen done, but... "Hold on there, son... Lemme give you a hand with that; I`ll show ya how this is done. You`re gonna hurt yourself or wreck something` doin` it like that".
 
RimlessGlasses said:
Yeah. My thoughts exactly. I`d never heard of it `til I read about it on some knife site or other. It seems to be a criterion for rating a knife, for many people.
Never met anyone who engages in this practice; at least, I`ve never asked, and no-one`s ever come out and told me they do so.
To me it just looks like an awkward rigmarole... It`s one of those things that when I see someone doing it, I wanna say, "What the hell are you trying to DO, there, guy? And why are you beating on that poor knife? You`re gonna break that thing. That`s what a chisel`s for".
In "my book", I`d file that alongside "putting from the rough". Something I`ve never done or seen done, but... "Hold on there, son... Lemme give you a hand with that; I`ll show ya how this is done. You`re gonna hurt yourself or wreck something` doin` it like that".
Click to expand...

1. The technique has been around - and used - for life-times. I was taught in a Marine survival course almost fifty years ago. One of the benefits of a forum is escaping the limits of your experience and prejudices.
2. Chisels are not generally used for splitting wood.
3, Carry a chisel with you in the back country, do you?
4. What if all you have is a fixed-blade knife?
5. "Son"? That's OK, youngun'. Welcome to the Forum. :D
 
Thomas Linton said:
Saw blades are pretty thin.

Driving the teeth into the work makes it almost impossible to saw. (Traditional advice to those who bear down too hard: "Let the teeth do the work.")
Click to expand...

In the old days experienced loggers, when bucking with a beginner, used to say, “Stop dragging your feet.”

In other words, “Let the teeth do the work.”
 
Smithhammer said:
...

Sooo.....what about whacking on the top of a saw with a baton, while simultaneously sawing?

Two good things can't make a bad thing, can they?

I give you "sawtonning."

This may require a new thread...
smileycoffeed.gif
Click to expand...

Isn't that the principle behind the hammer drill?

n2s
 
I have no compunctions batoning with my belt knife nor my kukri.
As a matter of fact, I batoned some oak for kindling just the other night.
 
I was never taught to baton w/ a knife as a kid, but we only carried small and/or thin blades and would just gather dead wood for fires, stomping on it, as someone mentioned, if we needed to break it down a bit. But I grew up in a desert where dry, dead wood was plentiful. Maybe it'd have been different somewhere else.
 
Learned that a long time ago with cross cut saws. My Great Uncle and I were sawing wood and I was trying to "push" the saw down a bit for an extra bite. He says, son just let the saw do the work.
 
As my wife's class would sing ''The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round.''
 
lol this thread will never have a conclusion just endless posts of opinions.. but it sure is entertaining!! who needs direct tv
 
I'm with you, Blackie. I've been living and working in the back of beyond since the early 1960's and I never heard of this "art" of batoning until just recently. My dad and grandpa taught me that it was a good idea to use the right tool for the right job. Knives are for cutting, carving, and slicing, with limited chopping of meat and bone. Axes and hatchets are for chopping and splitting wood. A Kukri or Machete are specialized knives that are designed for chopping and splitting wood. If I broke the handle on my axe, I could use one of my knives to chop and carve a new axe handle, but I would not refuse to use the axe again in order to prove to the community of knife-men a new role for any and all knives. My Bug-Out-Bag includes a Gerber folder, a Victorinox Swiss Champ, a Gerber Multi-tool, a Buck Master survival knife, and Horror of Horrors! a Hudson's Bay Axe. Right tool for the right job!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top