To baton or not to baton

S

sharpandsafe

Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
275
Okay, there is a lot of talk on these forums about batoning. My preferred method of splitting wood has always been to smack my hatchet or knife into the top of my wood lightly, so it sticks in, and then pick up the whole wood/tool combo using the handle of my tool and hit the bottom end of the wood against a rock or log as if the bottom of the wood is the face of a hammer. Get it? Is this a good technique, or is batoning preferred. I have almost always used this technique to split small pieces of wood of the edge of a bigger log to use as kindling, not to get to dry wood in the middle of a wet log. How do you split the wood at your campsite? Are there other alternatives to batoning in a survival scenario where maybe all you have is your knife, some paracord, the clothes on your back and your wits?

Thanks!!
 
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but seriously here's my take on a survival situation with or without mechanical injuries.
You do what it takes to get home.

your technique is good, and I can think of a load of other ways to get to the center of a piece of wood. I would however avoid using a rock for a cutting block. that is bad practice, with a knife, machete, axe or any edged tool for that matter. I leave knife tests to noss.

I hope more will chime in, actually I'm sure they will.
 
I just burn whatever i find, no batoning needed i could see maybe splitting bigger logs but I usually don't collect much over 3-4 inch dia. anyhow, and it burns just fine. In a survival situation I could only see batoning if everything was so wet there was nothing dryto start a fire with, in that case fine. Normally if there is dry stuff peel off some shavings get a fire going and let it do the work for you.
 
Baton if you want to or don't - there is no right or wrong when it comes to batoning ... it boils down to preference


as mentioned
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If you have to make kindling, and you have to baton, do it from the edge. There's no practical reason to "split" wood. Either way works, but using a baton might be less effort than picking up the log over and over.
You can also get the knife or axe started and then use a wooden wedge to baton through and just split the wood apart. Save the knife which ever way you can.
How many times can you baton a knife till it breaks? Do you want to find out in the field?
 
foxx said:
You can also get the knife or axe started and then use a wooden wedge to baton through and just split the wood apart. Save the knife which ever way you can.
How many times can you baton a knife till it breaks? Do you want to find out in the field?
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Ahh, this is a good suggestion. I will try it. And no, I *don't* want to find out in the field. I am considering buying a BK5, but it's not a good tool for batoning. This is why I ask the question.

Sorry about the dead horse thing - I KNOW, but I couldn't seem to find a past thread at the moment to answer my questions. I know this has been talked about before, so thank you for humoring me.
 
Do you want fire or not? Who gives a crap about the knife. The knife isn't important, the goal is. People think knives are gods around here. They are just a hunk of steel. Personally, I use what I have to achieve the goals I need to achieve. You accidentally break a tool so what. You break a symbol and you fall apart into a puddle of jelly. Probably don't need that knife to break apart the wood anyhow. Batoning never bothered me. But then again, I don't whisper sweet nothings to my blades either.
 
kgd said:
Do you want fire or not? Who gives a crap about the knife. The knife isn't important, the goal is. People think knives are gods around here. They are just a hunk of steel. Personally, I use what I have to achieve the goals I need to achieve. You accidentally break a tool so what. You break a symbol and you fall apart into a puddle of jelly. Probably don't need that knife to break apart the wood anyhow. Batoning never bothered me. But then again, I don't whisper sweet nothings to my blades either.
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First of all, we are talking about a potential survival situation here, so yes, the knife is *very* important. I wouldn't want to damage my most essential tool if I was in a resource-limited situation.

So, if not the using knife, how would you break the wood apart?
 
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kgd said:
Do you want fire or not? Who gives a crap about the knife. The knife isn't important, the goal is. People think knives are gods around here. They are just a hunk of steel. Personally, I use what I have to achieve the goals I need to achieve. You accidentally break a tool so what. You break a symbol and you fall apart into a puddle of jelly. Probably don't need that knife to break apart the wood anyhow. Batoning never bothered me. But then again, I don't whisper sweet nothings to my blades either.
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All I'm saying is there is a way to do it, and there is abuse. Why abuse a tool on an outing, when you will need it again? You might need that knife to build a shelter, start another fire, fight off a bear, etc..
 
Point of survival is to protect your own ass. People around here want to protect their tools and forget about their own asses. I don't get it.
 
... sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and push comes to shove ... stick bangs back of knife ... knife digs hole ..
 
kgd said:
Point of survival is to protect your own ass. People around here want to protect their tools and forget about their own asses. I don't get it.
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There is a time to baton, and a time to gather some small stuff to start a fire. I would baton if needed, and have done it. The debate to baton or not, is not absolute.
I'm not trying to protect my knife, just keep it in one piece. Plenty of knives have been broken due to improper use. Baton correctly and when needed.
In 12+ years of backpacking I've never needed to do it. Nor have I been in a real survival situation, nor would I hesitate to baton if I had to. Even then, I'd take small pieces off the edge of the log, not hammer through the center.
 
foxx, I agree that there is a time and place to baton. Some are just against it. I think battoning is safer and more efficient than raising the wood/tool and dropping it.
 
foxx said:
I'm not trying to protect my knife, just keep it in one piece. Plenty of knives have been broken due to improper use. Baton correctly and when needed. In 12+ years of backpacking I've never needed to do it. Nor have I been in a real survival situation, nor would I hesitate to baton if I had to. Even then, I'd take small pieces off the edge of the log, not hammer through the center.
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Okay, you've probably unmasked my segway for this thread. I think you answered your question. In 5 years of batoning when ever the heck I thought about splitting a stick, I just did it. I never really cared if my knife broke, because I baton and baton and baton and my knife never breaks. Sure some people managed to break their knives, but I didn't. If you are worried about it then maybe you shouldn't do it and your way is as good as mine. I don't worry about it one whip. If my knife breaks, really not a big deal either. I'm not talking some silly SHTF fantasy that people have.

Really, most camping trips I almost have to consciously think up reasons to use my knife. Not having a knife isn't really a big deal. If my knife breaks, is it going to shatter into six thousand unusable pieces? No, there will be a tip, there will be a part of a blade. I can use some of that. Not having a knife means I think out a new strategy and go around for how to deal with my situation. That is what survival training and the survival thought process is about.

Think about ways to protect your gear is simply symbol worship. Should I wash my gortex jacket in hot water every week and continuously impregnate it with DWR reagents. If you really love that jacket, then yes you should do that. Do you need to in order to keep your belly button dry and mould free?
 
You get less control when you lift and drop the wood with the blade stuck in it. If you are cold, in a hurry, pissed off, or otherwise distracted, it could result in some impromptu emergency first aid practice.
 
Bumppo said:
You get less control when you lift and drop the wood with the blade stuck in it. If you are cold, in a hurry, pissed off, or otherwise distracted, it could result in some impromptu emergency first aid practice.
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Yeah, that is a good point. Thank you for your input!
 
KuRUpTD said:
Baton if you want to or don't - there is no right or wrong when it comes to batoning ... it boils down to preference


as mentioned
deadhorse.gif
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+1

I do it because it is fun and I enjoy it. If you don't want to, don't do it.
 
I do it. I've done it to a BK5 too. Several times. I agree you shouldn't bet trying to split 6" logs in half, when you can take off from the outside in. I beat my BKT knives like they stole my cookie in Kindergarten. Never thought once about the knife breaking. Never has.

I have broken knives batoning firewood, oh yessiree, I have. I have never been in a survival situation, and I hope I never am, but I been in some tough spots before, and my mind, coupled with the tools I had, were what made it a tough spot, and not a survival situation.

Good luck, and enjoy that BK5, she's tougher than she looks, promise.

Moose
 
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