Would you baton your only blade?

I've batonned a 3/32 Nessmuk with a crack in the blade cross grain into a 2" dry hickory limb 2.5 times before it broke.

More than likely if you're careful, batonning can be done without harming even the thinnest knives.
 
Fiddleback said:
More than likely if you're careful, batonning can be done without harming even the thinnest knives.
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I agree. Any knife you would call a survival or bushcraft should be expected to handle this easily. Batonning, even across the grain, is not abusive if done with just a little common sense. You have a sharp edge in a stable position, and you can control the force you apply to the spine. Lay the workpiece on something like a stump so it doesn't wander around, and your knife doesn't dig into dirt or stones when you get through it. Don't use a rock to hammer on it. You're a lot more likely to damage your edge by chopping with it; not that I'm against chopping, either.
 
++1 totally agree. I use my Camillus Becker BK-7 for batoning when out especially since for the past couple of months we have received alot of rain. I totally agree w/ kgd that you have to get a feeling of what *your* knife is able to accomplish. I also have a Busse FFF Battle Mistress w/ a .32¨ spine that is made to take abuse!:eek::D

kgd said:
I baton every one of my fixed blades knives, so yes I would. By using my blades regularly I get a feeling for what they can do. In the field and under survival situations I'd be a little more cautious in the jobs I take on, but that wouldn't stop me from batoning. If you do the activity often enough you get a good feeling about when wood is going to give you a hard time or not. It is just as easy to make your decision to stop batoning when you feel that you are dealing with a stubborn piece of wood. Why go so far as to refrain from using your knife that way in the first place?

Anyhow, using YOUR knives (not just basing it on some test you saw on the same model of knife that you have), but actually hammering away at your own knives under regular activity should give you a feeling about their relative ability to take on punishment. I try not to buy knives that I can't fully depend on. When I get one I make sure it lives up to that claim. I'd rather have it break in my backyard or out on a dog walk playing around than when I really need it. If it has bad heat treat, I want to know before I take it on a trip. I don't do this to try and make a warranty claim, or abuse a warranty claim. I do it so I can understand how the chunk of steel in my hand performs and whether it meets my expectations.
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I'm sure it's been said before but it really depends on the knife. Each tool has it's limits, it's up to the user to know what to do with it. That's why knowing all the different ways of splitting wood is beneficial even if you don't use a certain technique normally. I try to NOT baton normally but if in a survival situation with the right tool, that sucker is going to be pounded through a log so fast, it'll make your head spin.:D
 
I would baton my Mother if she would give up dry firewood. :eek:


But, than again, I baton with everything and anything, in fact my dogs are scared.


I have no problem using the baton on any knife I carry,

...granted proper technique is important on more fragile handle configurations,

...but in skilled hands batoning is not abuse.


That said, I would not let my Mother baton my knifes, she’s brutal. ;)




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
I personally wouldn't take a knife into the field I wouldn't feel comfortable using with a baton. Like someone else said, that should be one of the purposes of any fixed blade field knife.

Also, even if a knife breaks, you still have the blade-- or you might even have two! Damaging the edge is far worse than breaking the actual knife.
 
Obviously if we had to, not one of us wouldn't. But that's if we had too.
 
I use an Aurora - so I baton often - I would not baton for fireWOOD - per se'. I would baton for Kindling. If one is careful and has a strong knife - you can do this without a worry.

TF
 
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