To baton or not, that is the question

Do you baton???

  • I never ever baton, my granpappy told me not to hit my knife and I never will.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I've considered batoning, just never had the need to do it.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I've batoned on occasion but prefer to use an ax for such work.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I baton regularly, sometimes even when I don't have to.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I baton so much my wife thinks I have a problem.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
I would prefer to use an axe/hatchet, but don't want to carry the extra weight on longer treks. Batoning allows you to carry a single bladed tool for both cutting and chopping. If I felt that I needed more I'd carry a Silky folding saw instead of a hatchet unless the trek was short and/or the stay would be long.
 
kgd said:
You can't dissect a frog with a wetterlings :p
(I've had to do so with my EDC before to get the liver though)
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I don't think that would be any harder with a small axe than with a massive knife like a battle mistress!

To me, the advantage of batonning is the ability to make a small tool work like a big one. There are times when that's useful, and times when it doesn't matter. As has been pointed out, there are ways around batonning, and there are ways around having an axe - batonning is one of them.

If you end up in a situation where it's easier to baton, you might as well do it. If you never have the need, then there's no point, unless you just enjoy it, which is as good a reason as any.

But I do find it funny when some people want to invent extra work to avoid batonning, just as I find it funny when people take complex, roundabout methods of using a knife as an axe when they aren't pressed for weight to begin with. I think it's worthwhile to be adept with a wide range of tools, personally.
 
Carrying an axe and splitting with it isn't the first alternative to batoning with a knife. Batoning with wooden makeshift wedges is the closest alternative. I feel much better doing that than beating the spine of my knife. But of course I've batoned just for the heck of it.
 
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PatriotDan said:
Carrying an axe and splitting with it isn't the alternative to batoning with a knife. Batoning with wooden makeshift wedges is the closest alternative. I feel much better doing that than beating the spine of my knife. But of course I've batoned just for the heck of it.
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It certainly is an alternative...any method of splitting wood is an alternative to batonning.
 
foxyrick said:
I have to ask, why did you want a frog's liver? Around here (not far from Pendle Hill) things like that could get you accused of witchcraft :eek:;)
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I'm a toxicologist we do things like that from time to time. Student forgot the scalpel.

Misanthroposit - if I had a battle mistress - I wouldn't be batoning - I'd be chopping because those things do that particularly well ;)

He Who Say - if batoning dulls your blade - then you are carrying some crappy steel :confused:, cutting cardboard will dull your blade far faster than batoning wood will. Most people don't shy away from cutting cardboard with their knife though.
 
kgd said:
I'm a toxicologist we do things like that from time to time. Student forgot the scalpel.

Misanthroposit - if I had a battle mistress - I wouldn't be batoning - I'd be chopping because those things do that particularly well ;)

He Who Say - if batoning dulls your blade - then you are carrying some crappy steel :confused:, cutting cardboard will dull your blade far faster than batoning wood will. Most people don't shy away from cutting cardboard with their knife though.
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Fair enough - I mention it only because it is in the post you quoted in reference to the Wetterlings. I guess, also, that there are quite a number of people who think that batonning is okay provided you do it with a Busse. But I am in complete agreement with you that if you have a small knife which will do a good job of disecting a frog, you can also baton it and get part of the utility of an axe in a much lighter package. I also agree that there is no reason to consider batonning abuse. I have never had a knife dull as a result of batoning, nor can I see why whacking the spine with a wood baton should hurt the knife at all.

Hell, I have a thread someone can dig up if they like where I batoned a cheap mora through about thirty feet of 3/16 wall lead pipe with a small sledgehammer, intentionally jamming it all along the way, and afterwards I spent about 1 minute with a pocket stone and it would shave your face again. There is no good reason NOT to baton, unless you just don't want to, which is fine. I like axes a lot and rarely baton myself. But there is definitely no reason you SHOULDN'T!
 
I love batonning the holy terror out of my Busses. The problem is, I find it difficult to stop once I get going. Given enough time, I will turn an entire round into toothpicks with my Battle Mistress. :D :cool:
 
I would if the need came up. I really do like to use the right tool for the job though and if I had an axe, hatchet, or a good hawk I would put those into play first,
 
JMO: It's good to know how to baton, it's good to know you can, but I believe in the right tool for the right job.

But if it's fun for you, then baton away. Turn those logs into match sticks.
 
gruntinhusaybah said:
my thing is this, axes are heavy, and rather limited in thier uses, my thoughts are, well I can chop a tree down, or filet a fish, or make a spear, or split kindling, or cut my cheese, or limb a small tree all with a medium to large camp knife.

not sure I could do all that with a axe or hatchet, that I love knives and using them.
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very valid point. however, i've seen Ray Mears do some isht with a small hatchet that most people wouldn't dream of, including use in the camp kitchen...
 
misanthropist said:
It certainly is an alternative...any method of splitting wood is an alternative to batonning.
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I wasn't clear enough. I didn't say "an alternative", I said "the alternative" followed by further explanation.

The point I was trying to make is that the first alternative that comes to mind shouldn't be from batoning with a knife to splitting with an axe.

Having a extra tool, an axe and using splitting which is a different technique from batoning where as splitting using wood wedges is much the same as batoning with a knife. And no extra tools other than the knife is needed. Very safe, very effective and doesn't hurt the knife one bit.

I've seen enough broken knives from batoning. Then again, I've seen broken axe handles from chopping. Maybe chopping is bad for axes...
 
SPXTrader said:
Works in a pinch, but I really don't like doing it to the knife. Give me a hatchet or an axe.
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Thats my thinking too.

It's kind of like using a Knife as a Screwdriver.

The only reason I split wood is for the woodstove and of all the times in the woods I have never had to split anything. Maybe it's where I'm at, there are all sizes of wood at the ready just laying around in these woods.:)
 
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To split logs into halves or quarters, I tend to use an axe. Faster and less energy expended. The red handled axe below is designed just for splitting, and I find it takes less energy to split a log than with a traditional axe.

CGASHandSplitter.jpg


Axes2.jpg


However, when I want to make kindling, I find it easier to baton a large blade. It's harder to hit a smaller chunk of wood with an axe and split it in half easily. In this case, batoning is both safer and easier IMO.

I do use a blade that is well suited for this task. Usually thick and long.

ErgoPyro2.jpg


Choppers2.jpg


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I know people who split wood all the time and never split anything by hand.:D

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