Knife "batoning" for camp/survival fire making

[Woods Walker]

That's the debate in a nutshell. People like me think that a knife IS the proper gear for some situations including the making of kindling. For me hatchets have a place but it's more for the chopping chores. I'd take a knife over a hatchet for splitting as I find it easier, quicker and safer.

Don't forget you can baton with an axe or hatchet as well. Here is my take of the debate in a nut shell. A certain percentage of people who don't baton lecture those who do about how unsafe it is for both the user and tool. Those who do baton get defensive because sometimes people with little or no actual field experience using the methodology are schooling them about it. This isn't to say those who decide not to baton don't use their tools often for other things however in the age of the internet it would appear actual experience doing something is trumped by Google. Heck a person could spend 15 minutes looking up anything and appear to be an "expert" on the topic. In some cases this gets so out of hand the search engine expert actually starts to believe it. After all there is an App for everything.

 

[Gingerman]

I believe there is a situation where batoning is right, but I am based by age. Back in my day, after walking five miles uphill no matter which direction you turn, we just didn't baton a knife. The flint proably wouldn't take it.

That said, an Axe is best for wood processing. Down to the level of tinder. You can do more with the axe over all than the knife, and to paraphrase Napoleon, who said you can do anything with a bayonet except sit on it, you could even sit on some axes.

Not to say that I wouldn't take a good knife or two or three. They are more convenient and if the only tool you have is a knife, baton away. I've bucked a few logs with knives. But if I only could take one blade, it would be an Axe.