New product

[Cr4ze_w0lfe]

Hey cold steel, I'm always outside with my knives and I baton a lot. And I know I and a lot of people hate spending forever looking for a good baton, and I really hate it when the thing breaks. So I started thinking if you guys could make a baton out of a plastic material do it won't be effected by the weather and not metal cause it will damage the blade. I know you guys have a baseball bat out I that sort of material, I've never handled it so I don't know what it's like. Maybe add a small rod of metal in the center for extra weight and overall durability. But just make a large piece of that plastic/rubber material with a smaller handle. As long as the price isn't terrible i think it may sell good. Thanks for reading and possibly thinking I this.

 

[Kwon Kwang]

Cold Steel has always contented that knives are for cutting, and that batoning is both a bad idea and highly abusive. I strongly doubt they would make a tool for the specific purpose of abusing knives. If you know you're going to need to cut some wood where you're going, bring an axe. If you are in a situation where you need to cut wood and you don't have an axe, every prepared man EDCs a multitool, many of which have saw blades on them. Victorinox and Leatherman come to mind.

 

[DShiflet]

If you are in a situation where you need to cut wood and you don't have an axe, every prepared man EDCs a multitool, many of which have saw blades on them. Victorinox and Leatherman come to mind.

Well, every prepared man who's ever tried to use one of those "saws" on any but the smallest branches will quickly learn how much he likes batoning. too.

Not that I care to baton, if you're going somewhere where you'd need to process wood, if you're going to bring a batoning stick, why not just bring a hatchet or a decent folding saw instead?

 

[Cold Steel Knives]

I think everyone knows our opinion on batoning
I understand that it is a technique that has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years. It's something we've done - we even show it in PROOF as an example of a hard use / abuse test -but it's not something we encourage

I know several people in the survivalist community who use a Trail Hawk head as a wedge for batoning. It seems like a great option, and it can be easily added to a pack or tied on to your belt with a sheath.
I often recommend that as an option.

As for making a dedicated baton. I can't speak for Lynn, but I don't see it as a product we would explore.
I might be proved wrong though

 

[bigghoss]

I've never really seen the need for battoning, never been to an area that had large logs for processing where I also couldn't find some dry smaller wood somewhere, at least enough to get the fire going good enough to dry out wet wood. I have done it a few times, just for the heck of it and once because I needed a wide thin plank of wood to carve a spatula.

As for the whole "knives are for cutting, just bring an axe, blah blah blah" thing; a lot of large knives on the market are marketed for chopping/wood processing. I'll bring an axe when I can but I like to have a large knife because it's one tool that can do almost everything I need. And I have recently been in a situation where the size of the wood on hand and the way I had to chop it meant my big knife was better suited to do it than a hatchet.

 

[wroughndt]

I have shared this story before on here but I will do it again as it explains a situation where battoning was necessary. I had my hip replaced about a year and a half ago. I had just moved into a place that had a small wood stove and required me to start fires regularly. With a new hip, I was in no condition to split kindling with an axe. I split kindling by battoning for a whole winter. In that time I realized that it was a very usefull technique and it wasnt as hard on the knife as many people claim..... As long as you use your brain. If you try to pound your knife through a large frozen knot, you will most likely break it. Splitting pine, with the grain, after it was thawed took very little effort and I never damaged a knife. (even the chinese stainless knife made it.) I dont reccomend doing it all the time but it does have its place and it is not that hard on your knife..... If you use your brain.

Also, if you are having to baton wood, you can usually find a stick around to baton with.

 

[Cr4ze_w0lfe]

I have a estwing hatchet and few axes. But I have Ka-bar bk2 (which in my opinion is made for batoning) cause a 1/4 inch thick slab of steel that about 5 inches long isn't good for much anything else. But I personally think batoning is great, cause at a camp sight with people around you swinging a axe or hatchet is very dangerous. I know a lot of people hate batoning but I love it. I know it rough on a knife but a 1/4 piece of steel is very strong and I think can handle it. And as long as you know proper technique batoning isn't that bad, I use wedges made from wood to help relive pressure on the blade if I need to. I just thought that would be a great product. Thanks for answering.

 

[gunfixrjoe]

Personally, I think batoning is a good skill to possess if ever needed. However, since it is a "Survival Skill" and everyone is an expert survivalist, as seen on TV, then you HAVE to be able to baton with your knife. :barf:

 

[DShiflet]

I've never really seen the need for battoning, never been to an area that had large logs for processing where I also couldn't find some dry smaller wood somewhere, at least enough to get the fire going good enough to dry out wet wood. I have done it a few times, just for the heck of it and once because I needed a wide thin plank of wood to carve a spatula.

As for the whole "knives are for cutting, just bring an axe, blah blah blah" thing; a lot of large knives on the market are marketed for chopping/wood processing. I'll bring an axe when I can but I like to have a large knife because it's one tool that can do almost everything I need. And I have recently been in a situation where the size of the wood on hand and the way I had to chop it meant my big knife was better suited to do it than a hatchet.

Yeah, but here's the the thing-if you are going to expressly bring a knife AND a "batoning stick", like the OP was wanting CS to make, there's no reason not to bring a knife and a hatchet. I mean, the OP was asking CS to make a a polymer rod with a metal core, to use as a batoning stick. Sure, if you're in some kind of emergency situation and find yourself needing to process wood and don't have an axe with you, fine, that's understandable. But if you're going somewhere and are expressly packing a rod to baton with as well as as a knife, why not just, forget the baton stick, and bring the hatchet(or a folding saw, something that also removes the danger of swinging an axe with people around you, as another poster mentioned) in it's place? I mean, a Silky Saws PocketBoy has a 6.75 inch saw blade and weighs about 7 ounces, if you're expecting to have to process wood to the point that you're bringing your own batoning stick as well as a knife, why not just get one of those? It's one thing to find yourself needing to baton, it's another thing to go out with the idea of "I'm going to need to baton, so I'm going to bring a batonning rod as well as a knife".

 

[bigghoss]

Yeah, but here's the the thing-if you are going to expressly bring a knife AND a "batoning stick", like the OP was wanting CS to make, there's no reason not to bring a knife and a hatchet. I mean, the OP was asking CS to make a a polymer rod with a metal core, to use as a batoning stick. Sure, if you're in some kind of emergency situation and find yourself needing to process wood and don't have an axe with you, fine, that's understandable. But if you're going somewhere and are expressly packing a rod to baton with as well as as a knife, why not just, forget the baton stick, and bring the hatchet(or a folding saw, something that also removes the danger of swinging an axe with people around you, as another poster mentioned) in it's place? I mean, a Silky Saws PocketBoy has a 6.75 inch saw blade and weighs about 7 ounces, if you're expecting to have to process wood to the point that you're bringing your own batoning stick as well as a knife, why not just get one of those? It's one thing to find yourself needing to baton, it's another thing to go out with the idea of "I'm going to need to baton, so I'm going to bring a batoning rod as well as a knife".

I agree that packing a baton with you is needless weight, not to mention that the baton will sooner or later break through it's intended use. I was merely addressing the argument that batoning with a knife shouldn't be done, knives aren't for processing wood, and the like. And I'm speaking about knives in general. If CS doesn't design their knives for that, doesn't recommend it wither their knives, and won't warranty knives that are broken while batoning then that's that as far as Cold Steel blades are concerned.