Do you baton?

[Notredame11211]

Hey guys, do you baton with your knives; if so, why? I personally would never dream of batoning with my knife;for me a knife is a cutting tool not a splitting/chopping tool. It is not, nor will it ever be an axe or a pry bar. I understand that it may be called upon for your knife to perform these duties in a pinch and in a light manner, but it should not be your go too tool. Isn't this why we carry an axe, a shovel, ect?

[JonnyP]

If any tool will perform other tasks than it was designed for, without the tool being damaged or the user getting hurt etc, then I see no problem.
I baton with all my fixed blade knives, but only on branches that the knife can handle ok. Obviously, you do have to be careful that you tap the blade on the top and not a sideways hit, and the thicker the blade, the better it will split the wood, but even the thin Mora's will split you down some good kindling.

[feebullet]

I only batton to get to dry wood in a pinch, thats where it ends for me. I can't see an issue with it personally.\

[CanadianMike]

I love to baton, is much safer to make smaller pieces of wood than using an axe. As far as my knifes being cutting tools, yes, and if they can't handle being batoned without damage, doesn't exactly make them very strong cutting tools worth risking your life on if it came down to it.

[mahikan]

Any Bush knife I buy has to handle being struck with a baton this allows me to carry,when necessary, less gear when hunting or backpacking etc
If it cant handle the abuse of a baton it becomes a carving knife.
My Bush knife needs to be able to take down a conifer tree at least 15cm in diameter with the aid of a baton.

[garethw]

Hi there
I often baton smaller pieces of wood to get it really small & fine for fire lighting. Often it is the only way to get it fine enough to take. I normally carry a small axe for the bigger stuff, that I've cut down with a hand saw. For the smaller pieces an axe is too cumbersome to handle so I find batoning with my Mora a good way to get fine wood to get the fire going.
Except for real necessity I see little need to baton big pieces of wood, when a axe is the right tool. But for 99% of my outings I carry a saw, an knife and an axe...
cheers
Gareth

[CanadianMike]

Batoning technique increases the use of any blade, without the addition of weight, like adding an axe to your kit. And it's use is very precise too, unlike using an axe of hatchet. Safer too, especially in a survival situation.

[Notredame11211]

Batoning technique increases the use of any blade, without the addition of weight, like adding an axe to your kit. And it's use is very precise too, unlike using an axe of hatchet. Safer too, especially in a survival situation.

It may be safer.....but would you do it if your life depended upon that one knife? I have found that a quick forage around the bush provides suitable wood, the forest is full of small stuff...............medium stuff.........large stuff........take your pick.

[CanadianMike]

Yup, I'd be more concerned about making my knife dull than it actually breaking though, but if I only had one knife, it'd be a 1/8" minimum blade thickness (is why I make my knives out of that stock, moving to 3/16" soon to see how they turn out).

Batoning is also helpful in carving across the grain, taking branches off a tree or cutting a notch in a branch for whatever use, so isn't just about making split wood smaller.

[Notredame11211]

Batoning is also helpful in carving across the grain, taking branches off a tree or cutting a notch in a branch for whatever use, so isn't just about making split wood smaller.

True enough......

[comanighttrain]

What's lighter, an axe or a whetstone?

Yeah sure, I wouldn't use it if I was cutting wood all the time if I had a wood fireplace in the house... on an expedition though you feel every single kilogram.....

[JonnyP]

What's lighter, an axe or a whetstone?

Yeah sure, I wouldn't use it if I was cutting wood all the time if I had a wood fireplace in the house... on an expedition though you feel every single kilogram.....

I think James is more worried about breaking or damaging the knife while in a survival situation, so a whetstone would not replace a broken knife.

[comanighttrain]

Depends if it was HC or SS really... Stainless steel there is a small chance... HC I dont even think its physically possible?

[Notredame11211]

I think James is more worried about breaking or damaging the knife while in a survival situation.

Exactly, or just breaking a knife in general when batoning.

[JEEP]

I do. All the time....





....I am getting strange looks on the bus though :p