Survivalist's love of "batoning" with a knife seems abusive & impractical

Splitting wood won't normally hurt a knife as long as the piece is about 1/2 of the blade length or less.

Don't need to pound it through either all of the time, sometimes the knife can be pushed through the wood without much of a problem, rock the blade a few times to get it started and push it the rest of the way.
 
I agree survival situations are just a fantasy for people who never leave the concrete jungle... But I find it amusing there's people who claim there's no such thing in our modern society - the same people who never leave the concrete jungle. People die from exposure all the time.
Not meaning having a knife and knowing how to use it would save them, but you never know.

Surviving while waiting on help or rescue can depend on a few hours, or even minutes. The longer you can stay warm/cool, dry, hydrated, nourished, rested, etc, increases your chances. A knife may, or may not play a part in this, but is the most basic of tools to help out.

When not having the proper tool(s), and not being in a situation to aquire proper tools (axe, machete, saw, chisel, hammer, etc), batoning a knife blade through something might be the only way to do the needed job.

It's always good to have one that you're confident will handle whatever you might use it for, imagined or not.
 
I'm not saying batoning is bad, but.. I've spent a lot of time in the woods and I have NEVER seen a scenario where there was ample wood available for batoning but no smaller wood for kindling. (I.E. twigs, small branches, deadwood). I'be built many woods campfires and never had any trouble finding deadwood to "prop & stomp" into smaller pieces. Using force to basically smack what may be the ONE sharp tool one may have available through wood seems a bit chancey to me, although on a recreational, non-survival situation, I suppose to each his/her own. I'd bet some money that batoning is HIGHLY recommend as a way to "test knives", lol, of course,it falls under "abuse" and guess what happens during failure? The user can buy another knife. :D If ANYONE can show me even ONE guarantee of a knife being "baton proof", I'd like to see it, but you won't find it. So, if makers/companies show these videos but WON'T offer a "baton guarantee", what does that tell the end user? Put on the thinking caps, folks. ;)
 
Last edited:
kaotikross said:
I'm not saying batoning is bad, but.. I've spent a lot of time in the woods and I have NEVER seen a scenario where there was ample wood available for batoning but no smaller wood for kindling. (I.E. twigs, small branches, deadwood).
Click to expand...

I've been out there where all the smaller stuff was wet as hell.
My favourite place to camp around here is a bit of a drainage area, which makes it hell for mosquitoes in the summer, but also means that it's often quite damp around there.

You don't have to baton logs though; it's simply a matter of getting enough dry wood to get the fire going well enough that the wetter stuff can be used. :)
 
Wilderness survival is typically in the wilderness.

Most people in the wilderness went there voluntarily.

If you go into the wilderness, you ought to take "appropriate" tools. What's "appropriate"? Depends on conditions and opinion. (See "Everyone has one.")

Still, things rarely go wrong according to plan.

You might want to know how to do needed tasks without the "right" tool. It's called adapting or adaptation. Or not. Suit yourself.

I was taught how to "split wood with a knife" in survival training over fifty years ago. Don't hold your breath for the "fad" to go away.

Somehow Mors, who teaches batoning, doesn't seem to be the type who worries about Zombies from a stuffed chair. But who knows? We all have secrets.
 
stabman said:
I've been out there where all the smaller stuff was wet as hell.
My favourite place to camp around here is a bit of a drainage area, which makes it hell for mosquitoes in the summer, but also means that it's often quite damp around there.

You don't have to baton logs though; it's simply a matter of getting enough dry wood to get the fire going well enough that the wetter stuff can be used. :)
Click to expand...

usually there's a place to look for dry deadwood, under the canopy, but locations differ, of course.
 
kaotikross said:
usually there's a place to look for dry deadwood, under the canopy, but locations differ, of course.
Click to expand...

When the area is dry enough, then it's easier to just bust up a bunch of twigs and stuff, or grab standing deadwood and such.
When it's moderately damp, then the old cotton ball & Vaseline trick keeps a flame for long enough that the twigs will catch. :)

One time I went to camp there and brought my dad along, it was wet enough that I saw a red spotted newt for the first time outside a zoo.
That time took every fire making trick to get things going, and we had to use fire to dry the ground for a place to sleep. It was fun, but a whole lot more work than when it was dry.

A bonus though was that the ground was still warm in the morning, so being too cold was not an issue. :thumbup:
 
Why batonning? It gives the knife reviewers something else to do besides making feather sticks, opening packets of noodles, and cutting cordage.

Understand that most of the survival related stuff you see online is pure escapist fantasy / gear fetishism. Instead of going out and starting a garden or raising some goats (which would be hard work), or perfecting their shelter and stove-craft (which takes thought and practice), people delude themselves with magic totems. The ultimate-whiz-bang survival knife is a totem, a single item to focus your attention on so you can ignore all the other complexity of the situation. There is no such thing as the ultimate survival knife because it takes more than a knife and delusions to survive in the woods. :)

The average camper would be better off swinging by a costco on the way to the camp ground to pick up some extra food, water, and shelter items. The fact is that no matter what knife you have it is going to suck at improvising the food, water, and shelter you need. Smoke signals are bad communications equipment too, so having a charged cellphone and telling a reliable person where you'll be and when to expect you home helps.

Now then, lets get back to discussing those sexy, pointy, shiny bushcraft knives. :D
 
Well yeah...
america-fitness-s.jpg
 
I've spent ally of time in remote places Yukon,Alaske , NW Territories , BC and Asia and I can count the times I've seen someone baton a knife thru wood

The more remote you are the more you have to respect your tools
 
It's fun!


Esee said they make tough knives. Trust but verify!


Now I know my 6 will tolerate being pounded through firewood with gusto. I wouldn't know that if I used my hatchet
 
The axe might be the better tool for the job. But how much money do you need to invest to get a good quality axe?
 


Done right, I can imagine it's useful for those without an axe or anything bigger to limb lengths of tree and make kindling etc.

But it's those Rambo guys that pack a 12" bladed knife that insist on chopping at everything then splitting big ass rounds with it that makes sensical baton-ing sound ridiculous.

And even a swiss army knife saw is enough split a 4" round with a half cut in the middle then bashing one end to cause a split down the middle. Repeat and whittle the dry innards out until you have enough. Problem solved, put the sword away! lol
 
if in a survival situation, and i only have a small fragile folder, i will not risk breaking it by batoning. i can leave out what big thing needs to be cut, split, or halved, and just look for something of the right size. :rolleyes:
 
In the world of backpacking there are smart people and then there people who carry 70lb packs. The right tool for the job is the one that you have with you. It’s easy to say take an axe or a saw and maybe you will your first time or two but anyone who backpacks with any frequency soon learns to go as light as possible. In this situation not only is batoning reasonable but it is appropriate! It’s not an unrealistic survival situation it’s just the weekend.
 
Tuco23 said:
In the world of backpacking there are smart people and then there people who carry 70lb packs. The right tool for the job is the one that you have with you. It’s easy to say take an axe or a saw and maybe you will your first time or two but anyone who backpacks with any frequency soon learns to go as light as possible. In this situation not only is batoning reasonable but it is appropriate! It’s not an unrealistic survival situation it’s just the weekend.
Click to expand...

Exactly

It's just a weekend

Get dumped off on a gravel bar in Alaska with only a backpack a rifle and some supplies and not have a way out for two weeks and the last thing you will do is beat on your knife with a stick

I fnd it funny that this new generation of outdoorsman think they have invented anything
 
Some people “Get dumped off” some people hike. When you actually have to carry “some supplies” you get realistic about what comes along. That means double duty for certain tools. Nothing new about it.
 
hank_rearden said:
if in a survival situation, and i only have a small fragile folder, i will not risk breaking it by batoning. i can leave out what big thing needs to be cut, split, or halved, and just look for something of the right size. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Why do anything you do not have to do in a survival situation? If you need - need - "the right size." I would hope you found it, If not, you would have to do something else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top