Tell me what is proper batoning technique?

[snorkem]

Time and time again i see people say things about how you should always baton properly, how bad technique caused this, and how batoning incorrectly is bad for the knife. What is the official proper batoning technique?

 

[MikeJackmin]

People have different opinions on this. My opinion is as follows...

1) Limit yourself to straight-grained wood with a diameter no more than half (I prefer one-third) the length of the blade.

2) Keep the handle slightly higher than the tip. This helps to prevent the forces involved from focusing at the base of the blade.

3) Do not allow the handle to bind against the wood, even a little. This is very important.

4) Do not press hard on the handle, let the baton do the work.

5) Remember that you can use the knife to start a split, and then you can finish the job by following the blade an expedient wedge. Your wedge might be another chunk of wood, or even a rock, driven by a stick. The less pounding on your knife, the better.

 

[grumpyxtremes10]

Use an axe.

 

[allenC]

I see it like this....

In a survival situation you're knife is one of the most valuable items that you might be lucky enough to have on you.

It would be foolish to do something with that knife that might cause it to break.

When batoning wood with a knife there is ALWAYS a chance that you might damage the knife.
You might break it the first time you baton with it, or you might baton with it a thousand times before it breaks.
But there is always that chance that you will break the knife any time you baton with it.

Why take that chance?

I can only think of one reason to ever baton with a knife:

It's cold and you need to make a fire before you succumb to hypothermia.
But all the wood around you is extremely wet and you need to get to the dry center of some larger limbs.
IMO, that is the only good reason to ever use your knife to baton through wood, and risk damaging the knife.

 

[Mrbladedude]

People make a huge fuss about how u should baton. Its simple really. Hold the knife on top of the wood and hit down on the blade. The knife goes through the wood. Done. Just get a good quality knife and u wont have a problem. My Rc 6 has never failed me and ive battoned ALLOT with it

 

[allenC]

....and ive battoned ALLOT with it

Why?

I've camped and hiked and practiced wilderness survival for well over twenty-five years, and I have never NEEDED to baton wood. Ever.

 

[Zigosity]

The right way of doing it is to not do it at all.

 

[EMT_Lee]

Why?

I've camped and hiked and practiced wilderness survival for well over twenty-five years, and I have never NEEDED to baton wood. Ever.

Me either. I've done it, but it was not needed. I also didn't find it as practical as many people seem to find it.

 

[Ankerson]

Something like this.

[youtube]f-q1Td9rTzE[/youtube]

 

[100eyes]

I don't understand this 'I hate batoning and its wrong' attitude some people have. Everyone has their own preferred methods, based on the tools they have.

I personally find a big knife much more versatile than an axe, and swinging a piece of log is safer than swinging a sharp edge.

 

[singularity35]

If a guy asks for pizza and you have none, you say "I have none". You shouldn't be saying "Don't eat pizza".

 

[ThundarStick]

I split lots of wood very small for my rocket stove and find it much easier to do with a knife than a hatchet. I find all this talk about breaking knives batoning a little silly. I have used a Green River sheath blade to split ALOT of wood with no problems. I also used an Old Hickory butchers knife just to see how it would hold up. Fine till the scales where shook loose, no damage to the blade. I have a Green River skinner blade that I am using as well. These are all 1095 (I think) full tang knives and do great.
No one says you have to split a 5 inch cured pecan log down the middle while using a base ball bat sized baton to hammer the blade! You can take bites off the side of your stock a little at a time. If you are having to beat the crap out of the blade, back up and get a smaller bite! Don't try and split through a knot!
You will probably never have to baton your knife in a "survival" situation, but it does come in handy knowing "how" to use your knife in this manor. On the other hand I find a small hatchet and small knife much more flexable than one big knife. O, You can also baton a hatchet, and I can make shavings much quicker with a hatchet than any knife I have.

 

[tonijedi]

If a guy asks for pizza and you have none, you say "I have none". You shouldn't be saying "Don't eat pizza".

:thumbup: Exactly!

If you only have a knife you might need to baton in a survival situation. It may be because the wood is wet or because the wood you collected is too thick to start a fire. Does this happen often? I don't think so, but none the less people might want just to practice it, or haven fun doing it.
If you're out and just want to carve a wooden spoon you may want to split a small branch in 2 (batoning?)



Axes are nice, but not to carry in a bag and walk around the forest...

 

[BryFry]

It would be foolish to do something with that knife that might cause it to break.

When batoning wood with a knife there is ALWAYS a chance that you might damage the knife.
You might break it the first time you baton with it, or you might baton with it a thousand times before it breaks.
But there is always that chance that you will break the knife any time you baton with it.

Why take that chance?

Anything CAN be broken. An axe can be broken with improper technique just like anything else.

Why?

I've camped and hiked and practiced wilderness survival for well over twenty-five years, and I have never NEEDED to baton wood. Ever.

Good for you. :thumbup: The OP didn't say he "NEEDED" to either. He just asked about the best way to do it.

Some people just do it for fun, some for simple convenience, either way it doesn't hurt to know and practice the skill, who knows when it might come in handy.

 

[tonijedi]

Some peolple just do it for fun, some for simple convenience, either way it doesn't hurt to know and practice the skill, who knows when it might come in handy.

Exactly!

 

[allenC]

If a guy asks for pizza and you have none, you say "I have none". You shouldn't be saying "Don't eat pizza".

Maybe so, but when you see someone using a tool in a manner that you know could easily break that tool, would you just stand by and watch (or worse, actually encourage them ), or would you warn them?


If you want to baton then that's no skin off my nose.
Just be aware that every time you baton with your knife you have a very good chance of breaking the knife.
I've seen it happen too many times.

 

[tonijedi]

Never broke one batoning, but you have to choose your knife carefully. You can go around the web and see tons of videos and pictures of people batoning with a Mora. I've done that too, never had problems. Of course not on a thick piece of wood...
I think the point here is how it should be done with a knife that can handle it.

 

[marcinek]

Never broke one batoning, but you have to choose your knife carefully. You can go around the web and see tons of videos and pictures of people batoning with a Mora. I've done that too, never had problems. Of course not on a thick piece of wood...
I think the point here is how it should be done with a knife that can handle it.

No. If you can baton with a Mora it's not because it "can handle it"...it's because your technique is correct.

Heck, you can baton with a slipjoint if your technique is correct.

Tip below the handle. Simple.

 

[Preacher Man]

You can baton with a SAK if you have no alternative. Just like in knife throwing, in batoning the proper technique makes the difference between failure and success. MikeJackmin (the first response) got it right. Some experts advocate the knife to stay as leveled as possible instead of slightly handle high, but that's the only detail. Maybe this following PDF document will help.

 

[tabeeb762]

No. If you can baton with a Mora it's not because it "can handle it"...it's because your technique is correct.

Heck, you can baton with a slipjoint if your technique is correct.

Tip below the handle. Simple.

And hands off the handle. Blade unlocked if its a folder.
That's pretty much all there is to it.

There is a proper technique to batoning. Follow it and you will be fine, get lazy and your knife will suffer. Some people that should know better would like you to believe otherwise.