Sawing vrs.batoning

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patrickjames

Joined
Feb 11, 2006
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Being kinda new to this wilderness & survival forum their something that is confusing to me.Why pound a knife thru a piece of wood or chop with a knife when there is so many light weight folding saws?I under stand the concept of carrying 1 knife but I rather cut thru a Branch with a small saw than beat the day light out of my knife.Here is some of the saws I carry at different times with my knife.
1.SOG Seal revolver (blade and saw)
2.Kershaw light weight back pack saw made in Sweden
3.SAK
just to mention a few.I would hate to have my head down pounding on my knife and somebody came upon me.I'm not trying to be a smart a**,I just don't understand.
 
Battoning is usually used when splitting a larger diameter section through its length if you know what I mean,to achieve smaller kindling !
I don't understand what you mean when you said "somebody came upon you" do you mean attacked ?
 
No nothing like that.I just like being aware of my surrounding when alone in the woods.I understand now about battoning,it makes sense to make kindling.Thanks for the info.
 
I could hack and baton with my SHBM faster than you can with items 1 and 3 and I can take on bigger stuff any day of the week. I can also do all the knife chores that number 2 on your list can't do. So in effect you will still be carrying two or three items to my one. Hows that for a reason:D

Go to Blade east 07 and we will hit some trees and see who fells them faster and denudes them. I have dug deep holes with my blade I have made shelters I have used my SHBM as a short machete and it worked. Now do you see why. If I can bring a decent folding saw I will. If I can bring a small hatchet I will. If they are needed. If not my blade can do it all.

but the truth is that if you feel confortable with what you got then that is good for you.
 
It would be alot easier to carry a knife that would do it all better.Whats a SHBM?I think the closes knife I have to being a all around knife is my Swamp rat M-6.I respect your experience.Do you think my Swamp Rat M-6 or Scrap yard 6 would do?
 
Sawing and batoning go together. I like to baton. Stress reliever for me.:D
Scott
 
patrickjames said:
Whats a SHBM?I think the closes knife I have to being a all around knife is my Swamp rat M-6.I respect your experience.Do you think my Swamp Rat M-6 or Scrap yard 6 would do?
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SHBM- Busse straight handled battle mistress
Yes- either of your "6's" would be great for the woods.
 
patrickjames said:
It would be alot easier to carry a knife that would do it all better.Whats a SHBM?I think the closes knife I have to being a all around knife is my Swamp rat M-6.I respect your experience.Do you think my Swamp Rat M-6 or Scrap yard 6 would do?
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Uhmm, yes you can easily baton with one. The smaller the blade the smaller the item you baton. If you have to baton a large piece of wood, then you do it in sections that your blade can handle, but either one of those two blades would do well, they are both extremely stout knives. The Swamp Rat M6 has the distinction of being the knife that some crazy dude on this forum hamered on with a pipe wrench for 8 hours straight. You never hit metal with metal as fractures will surely begin. The fact that the M6 lasted through 8 hours of hammering is incredible. So you need not buy another knife. If you can take a folding saw with you, that is always good. It is always good to have the right tool, but if the situation occurs that you cannot, your M6 will work just fine. Really any good carbon steel knife with a decent temper should work well. Yours is just overbuilt to take abuse in the extreme. I know people that can do everything they need to do with a multitool. So just be proficient with whatever tool you have on you. The saw on a multitool is actually a pretty good saw for 3 inch limbs and smaller. I have cut a lot of stuff with them. But I can hack my way through them faster with a heavy blade or a hawk.

There are people that swear by the SAK, I know a few. So "gett'r done" is all in the mind.:thumbup:

as scott said, batoning is lots of fun.
 
Patrickjames, the only time I baton with my knife is when I need to get to some dryer wood in the center of poles for fire making if the wood is wet.
I always saw a few smaller trees and feed to the fire whole. This saves wear and tear on me and my knife. :o

Usually a few splits of this wood by batoning and I have enough dry wood to make a good fire.

I have sawed many hundreds of trees and limbs with my knife. But If I did not have such a good knife/saw, I would probably chop/baton with a good knife like Cobalt has or one of Scott Gossman' knives.

I agree with your thoughts on sawing vs. chopping or batoning. But everyone has to use what they feel comfortable using.

I like my saw because I can make precision tools, poles or notches whenever I need them. I found over the years that chopping (for me) is less precise, and I prefer sawing my limbs for cleaner cuts etc.

To each.......his own......we all just need to have fun.. :D


Robbie Roberson ;)
 
Robbie Roberson said:
I always saw a few smaller trees and feed to the fire whole. This saves wear and tear on me and my knife.
Robbie Roberson ;)
Click to expand...

this is an excellent point. I do not normally do this when I am home or near home as I can get replacements. But when I go on a long campout I take a hatchet or HAwk to save wear and tear on my blades. I do not use saws much, but I have when others have brought them along as they are fairly cheap and easy to use. I am talking about the larger folding saws.

I do have a gerber folding saw in my truck, but have never used it.
 
I always carry the SOG revolver in the bottom of my pack as a back up blade and saw.So far it seems like its built to last.
 
With the Revolver, you can saw and baton with one tool. :thumbup: I have one and it's a well made piece.
Scott
 
I think you pretty much have it figured out. Use what will handle the size of material that you envision dealing with. If I'm car camping, I use an axe or hatchet and baton it with a 2.5 lb sledge. Works well.
 
22-rimfire said:
I think you pretty much have it figured out. Use what will handle the size of material that you envision dealing with. If I'm car camping, I use an axe or hatchet and baton it with a 2.5 lb sledge. Works well.
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Metal on metal batoning sounds like an invitation for disaster! :eek: Your axe/hatchet heads are tempered and could shatter if smacked with a sledge.

-- FLIX
 
It is more of a hit with a small sledge rather than smacking it. But yes, the axe head could shatter. It is the same as using a steel wedge. Don't take my advice on this unless you understand that accidents can happen. I prefer a saw anyway.
 
I'm no expert here, but I'd wager that a steel wedge is not tempered to be as hard (or as brittle) as an axe... especially a higher-quality axe. I wouldn't want shards of sharp steel flying in all directions from a shattered axe.
 
I too, cry out against batoning steel-on-steel. Almost as a reflex. But thumping a hatchet with a small sledge, is a far cry from whacking the back of a hunting knife with a hatchet. I'm no physicist, but it seems to me that a hatchet has roughly 5x as much integral steel as a typical knife; clearly this makes a vast difference in the shock it can absorb. Apples and oranges.
 
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