Question about batoning a Spyderco Police 4 Lightweight or VG-10 in general.

Ok to look at the specific questions of OP:

If I left the lock disengaged, and used a baton on it through some wood, would I damage the back of this blade?
Probably not the back if you used a wood stock to baton with

Would the blade break, snap or bend?
Very possibly break or chip out

How durable is VG-10 overall?
Not very tough compared to almost every other knife steel

Would VG-10 make a good steel for a fixed blade heavy duty knife?
. If thick maybe, but why not choose a tough steel instead?
 
ceranoe said:
If what Alberta says is true, I suppose I have two VG-10 knives then, my partner is from Sweden and former Swedish military, she actually has one of these knives. I have only ever used it a few times though. As for the knife breaking through the blade hole, I have only ever heard and seen a few cases of this happening. My last Spyderco actually broke at the tip. No idea how this happened, I was moving and when I grabbed it out of the box the tip was missing and it was completely flat. Pretty easy fix though, I reshaped the tip and it was good as new. I can believe that the hole would compromise blade integrity though I know that some manufacturers can still make a sturdy product even with such designs. As for the need to baton, I have had to do this quite frequently. When I am out in the wild on purpose, I of course have other, more generally suitable tools and knives for the more "abusive" purposes as needed. Imagine you're out hunting, you do not want to carry a ton of gear from your camp and a hatchet can be quite heavy when combined with other gear, not to mention it can often take up quite a bit of space in small packs. Say it gets late and you need to set up a small secondary camp before you either continue the hunt the next day or return to your main camp. Having a reliable knife fixed or folding would greatly lighten your load during these small trips. This is one such scenario where I have needed to baton wood. In some cases using a folder, that folding Selkirk to be specific works great, as long as you dont leave the blade locked. After all, a knife is at its core, a wedge, the most important part of which, is the blade itself, this is the part that will be doing most of your work, fixed blade or folding.
Click to expand...
Ok , , I get it , still IMO buy a $15 serrated moraknif and put it in the pack or belt, lol 😂 it’s light. Cheap and sharp, and maybe your $200 vg-10 spyderco falls out of your pocket , now you have a backup plan

p.s carry a bic lighter just in case and starting a fire start small and burn big
 
Careful batoning , with proper techniques is not as hard on a knife as lateral prying and twisting forces .

Especially folders . If emergency / survival is a real concern , it is worth the weight and space cost to carry a medium size fixed blade made for the purpose .

Stronger , simpler , cleaner and more reliable .

But if it MUST be a folder , at least invest in one designed and built for "abuse " .

Plenty of threads already here if you search .

My favorites are Cold Steel with the Tri-ad lock . The thicker ones with metal liners are probably the strongest . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

4-Max , AD-10 , etc .
 
I don't get it. If I were in a survival situation with only a Spyderco Police lightweight in VG-10 for a cutting tool, I would absolutely not want to baton with it. It'd break, and then I'd have no cutting tool and also no one to blame for that but myself. Under what circumstances would batoning be necessary? You don't need to baton wood to make kindling or fuel. Is there some situation where there is literally nothing flammable about you but large logs?
 
DocJD said:
Careful batoning , with proper techniques is not as hard on a knife as lateral prying and twisting forces .

Especially folders . If emergency / survival is a real concern , it is worth the weight and space cost to carry a medium size fixed blade made for the purpose .

Stronger , simpler , cleaner and more reliable .

But if it MUST be a folder , at least invest in one designed and built for "abuse " .

Plenty of threads already here if you search .

My favorites are Cold Steel with the Tri-ad lock . The thicker ones with metal liners are probably the strongest . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

4-Max , AD-10 , etc .
Click to expand...
Buy a dang ganzo knife g710 in 440c ( big fat tough blade) and if it breaks well 👌🏾😎😎😎
 
I'm going to attempt to answer the OP's actual question.

Careful batonning to split wood along the grain should not break a P4LW. It's more about careful selection of wood and careful technique than it is the strength of the wedge, though. If you hit a knot or your baton isn't striking squarely, you could easily break the blade.

Batonning to cut theough wrist-sized branches or small trees would be a big mistake.

If I had no other knife, I would still not use the P4LW as a splitting wedge. There are far better and easier ways to put the knife to work in shelter and fire building.
 
I saw a video of a guy batoning a Spyderco Caribbean and it was fine.
Shrug
 
As others have said, a VG10 Spyderco isn't ideal steel for a batoning folder.

Also, not all wood is created equal. Batoning Aspen will be easier than White Oak. Hitting a knot can cause a problem too.

If you want help with a knife recommendation, list a budget and location (it helps with prices and availability) and we will see what we can do.
 
No that's a horrible idea. You don't smack the crap out of the ONLY knife you have in a survival situation when it's a lightweight folder. You should be able to build a fire from dead fall or still standing dead trees or anything else that would stop you from most likely breaking your knife.
 
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