Hey guys. So I was just wondering is it possible to baton with a folding knife, without damaging the lock? Specifically something similar to the ZT0350. Or is this something that should only be done in an emergency? Out of curiosity, could batoning be done with a SAK (one with a 2.5in blade and a liner lock)?
As others have mentioned, the trick is to disengage the lock first and be sane, not stupid about it.
One of the benefits of the Opinel (like the #10 and #8 pictured here) is that you can entirely disengage the lock ring and it won't re-engage by accident like liner locks or lock back designs will.
Opinel by
Pinnah, on Flickr
If you get stupid and press down hard on the handle while going through a knot, you can conceivably bend a pivot pin or bust the wood of the handle. But for kindling that a 3.75" blade will handle, the Opinel 10 has handled everything I've thrown at it.
NOTE: for those tracking such things, yes, in fact, I'm suggesting that a $15 knife is tougher than many $150 knives in this regard.
Judging by the frequency of this topic, batoning with suboptimal knives appears to be a popular activity. My question when I read this is "Why?" I understand the appropriate uses of batoning for getting firewood and building shelter, but I have a hard time believing that the forumites here routinely find themselves with unexpected need to baton some wood. I say unexpected because if you are already camping, surely you planned ahead and brought a more suitable tool. Same thing in your car, toss in a hatchet, or a Mora knife.
How often does it happen in real life that you are alone on foot, surrounded by trees, with only the folder in your pocket, and suddenly you need to build a fire or build a shelter? I don't believe it. What happened to planning?
The planning might be spot on.
Despite of all the love for Moras and other fixed blades by the bushcraft crowd, the vast, vast, vast majority of backcountry travelers don't carry fixed blades. In nearly all cases, planning for backcountry travel means bringing a camp stove and tent and along with that, the knife need drops to folder. Go through the packing lists of people through hiking the Pacific Crest or Appalachian trail and you'll find that a tremendous number of them won't carry anything more than Victorinox Classic.
I prefer to carry something a bit bigger than a Classic, which is why I carry an Opinel. Still light enough to be easily pocket carried and yes, if forced to, can baton kindling.
NOTE: generally speaking, I consider fires in the backcountry as an unneeded and often damaging luxury. Of all the winter hiking and climbing I've done, I've never once had to build a fire in a "survival" situation and this includes dealing with 2 episodes where people went into winter rivers up to their knees/waist.
