Knives Best Suited to Batoning

kgd said:
Full tang helps but it isn't necessary. I'm mixed. I've batonned all the knives I have bought. Actually the knife I used to own, but gave it away (in tact) that saw the most batoning was a hidden tang buck 119 special. That was when I first joined here and I spent that summer forgoing an axe in favor of the knife to see if it could be done. Over that summer I gained a lot of confidence in the technique.

Another thing that I learned that seems counter intuitive is that thicker is not necessarily better. Basically I find 1/8" to be about optimum but I've used 3/32" without problem and also use 3/16" readily enough. If find that the amount of force you need to pound on your knife is proportional to its thickness, at lease for tough to split wood. So 1/4" knife, while very strong, also has to suffer very hard hits in order to sink that fat bevel into the wood. For many of my knives, 1/8" thickness seems to be a really good compromise between rigidity and ease of batoning.

I also prefer a full flat grind plus convex edge for batoning. I don't have enough experience with full convex grind knives of different thicknesses to really compare this to full flat + convex edge.

Longer knives are easier to baton that knives that are just slightly longer than whatever it is you are batoning. I think that one is obvious.

Finally, batoning requires common sense. Some types of wood will split readily. Other pieces can be highly knotted and be extremely resistant to splitting. Just because you commence batoning a piece of wood doesn't mean you have to finish the job. If you are pounding away and not getting anywhere, rather than stepping up your force consider abandoning the task. Do you really need that piece of wood?

P.S. I have found that wood that is difficult to baton is also difficult to split with an axe. If you really need to split that stuff than a wedge and maul is the best way to go.
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to the PS- often you can get a crack started with a knife and get a wedge in easier that way. I have, on a couple occasions, made a split deep enough with a batonned knife to plug a thick angled wedge in and strike it a couple times and withdraw the knife.

To the rest-

A flat slab sided blade with a convex edge is going to do as well as a narrow flat grind. A wide flat grind is going to behave differently, of course.

A full convex on a thicker blade, like a 3/16 or 1/4 inch heavy chopper, it going to baton almost exactly like a light axe- very well. Except of course, you have lots motre spine length to play with.

I find that barring a full convex grind, 3/32 to 1/8 is ideal for most of what I want to baton.
 
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I myself has batoned on all knives I use. Fallkniven F1 and H1 and the Sissipuuko M/07.
Is is even mentioned in good swedish survival books that you should baton the knife instead of chopping with it.

Also, on the safety side it is better to baton instead of chopping something.
When you chop, the knife has a lot of energy if you miss. A batoned knife is quite static.
Yesterday I used my F1 to split up wood for a fire. I just whacked away and the somewhat "resistive" piece of pine split up. I have noticed that it is easier to split birch if you do it like you cut a cake, across the rings.
 
The Ka-Bar heavy bowie is a great value in a light knife that batons well. It also chops much better than many much more expensive knives, and is easy to sharpen. I think mine ran around $50 US.


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It's good to remember that the use of a baton is not all about splitting wood. It is also a means of getting a lighter knife to cut like a big chopper, albeit more slowly. I have often used a batton on a 4 inch long, 1/8th thick belt knife to help limb both green and dead wood. You can get through 1-2 inch branches quite easily like that. I know, if you plan on that sort of work, take something bigger, an axe or a parang, ;) but the use of a batton extends the operating envelope of a small knife, which is no bad thing to know about. :D

Blade depth and belly help when battoning, as does a smooth transition from primary to secondary edge, convex really shines. The only thing that I really can't stand is knives that have swedges or false edges because they chew up the batton so much!
 
I have a Cataraugus 225Q, it is largely slab sided, but with a significant convex bevel as it widens out from the edge. That knife does NOT batton well, it sticks. I don't know why.

My Becker BK9 does ok, but sometimes you gotta pound it pretty hard.

I will echo some previous comments about thin knives doing suprisingly well.
I tried my Mora clipper lightly a couple times (worried about small tang and plastic handle fracturing) It slid through like butter wiht much less force applied then my beefier knives.
 
Bk2 thing is a TANK...timex of knives...takes a licking and keeps on ticking... last time i batoned mine through a piece of hickory firewood and ended up going through to hit a large rock...nicked the edge but was easily brought back to scary sharp w/ an emory board... :D
 
Thanks for all the useful and encouraging comments.

That is a good point about batoning being safer than chopping.
 
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