A Grumpy Old Man Learns to Baton

[Pondoro2310]

I was a youngster in the '60's and early 70's. A Boy Scout and a Sea Scout. My dad was raised in the woods. (I called him "The Old Man.") If you treated knives and hatchets and axes right you were allowed to use them. I never would have thought of pounding on a knife. So all this batoning struck me a silliness at best and stupidity at worst.

Till this weekend. 11 of us rented a huge log cabin - women upstairs and men down. I was assigned to cook pork roast on Friday night (in Dutch Ovens) and omelets on Saturday AM. Being a minimalist I only brought the utensils that I had to have - included was my Old Hickory knife from my camp kitchen. The women cut up too many potatoes and onions Friday night. They came up with the stupendous idea of combining the extra potatoes and onions with the pork drippings from my two roasts, refrigerating them, and frying them Saturday AM. Awesome idea, and you can use a large Dutch Oven as a frying pan.

Except that I had only brought two silicon rubber spatulas! You cannot fry taters with a silicon spatula, you need to scrape the crisp parts off the bottom of the pan! Not a metal spatula in sight!

But we had firewood, professionally prepared and split into one-foot long billets that were roughly pie-shaped. (Someone had split the large logs into sixths.) I looked at them. I looked at my Old Hickory kitchen knife. I found a baton. I split the sharp part of the "pie shape" off of a nice piece of firewood. The narrow side of the "pie" was about 1-1/2 inches wide after I removed the point. Then I split a 3/16 inch thick slab - it looked like a hardwood paint stirrer - 12" x 1-1/2" by 3/16" thick. I sharpened one end with the knife and by rubbing it on concrete. Voila! A crude wooden spatula. It worked. The Old Hickory kitchen knife was undamaged and the fried potatoes were a great addition to my omelets.

The moral of the story? Even if I had a hatchet the knife was better for this operation. A froe would have been better still but I would never have brought a froe camping. So I concede batoning in some circumstances.

 

[bush-haus]

Great story. I will admit, although I have an axe and a few hatchets (and plan to use them much more extensively while out camping), I have to this point only used large knives to process wood. This includes chopping down trees, cutting them into logs and then splitting the logs.

It may take considerably more time but I find it somewhat cathartic. My most favorite activity is sitting around the campfire, but the journey to the flame is half the experience.

 

[Roguer]

Botactitoning Tyrannical Botanicals is always good!

But really Batoning your fire wood lets one make the more controlled and thinner pieces one may need.

I also learned its a safe way to split wood when you are COLD AND TIRED and first stages of hypothermia and such. And in winter settings where one has to dig down in the snow to a solid base to use a hatchet or axe, batoning lets one split wood in a more controled and safer manner than swinging a hatchet or axe about when cold, tired, hypothermiated or what not.

My favored batoning blade is my SP-51 made from 5160 steel. With its saber grind it works really well at that. And its short heavy machete action makes it a great woods clearer, in the woods. I prefer the SP-51 in the woods do to its straight edge and easier to sharpen in the field. My next favorite is the SP-53, its my main woods chopper and trail clearing tool, edge is no problem as I use it where I am near a good support base/facilitates on my wilderhood endeavor and can spend more time on sharpening the bolo blade.

For Wood processing and chopping and the Batactitoning of the Tyrannical Botanicals, I prefer 5160 spring steel, it gives me extra assurance it won't break with the abuse I do to it. I went about 5160 OKC crazy and got most of their 5160 RD series (RD7 is my main woodsy knife) where the RD has a great choil for fine work, it maybe FFG (its what those who are in the know of knowing of such terminologies knowing of such known things as full flat grind (OK I just wanted to sound like I was on the in on the inside circles of the terminology tosser arounders ) but the 1/4" spine that it starts with makes the blade a great all round woodsy knife I find and balance for me to carry. I got other knives that can also do batoning and some times use them if I forget to bring one (SP-10 is next great all round tool!) I admit and there are other blades and brands that can I some times use also. But OKC so far is my main wood processing blades. If I don't forget them that is.

Yes I use axes and hatchets and the most important woodsy tool...a SAW!

 

[GrReaper]

Batoning is for people who don't like carrying an ax or hatchet. Do it carefully and always carry a backup knife.

 

[19-3ben]

and safer manner than swinging a hatchet or axe about when cold, tired, hypothermiated or what not.

I've always found that by using this technique I keep things very controlled with a hatchet. I go camping with my young kids and theres no way I'd swing an axe with a 3 yr old running around. This technique, I have no problem with.

Edit: To save the bother, for those of you who have already seen it, it's the old video of Ray Mears, where he puts the edge of the hatchet up to the wood, and then smacks them down together onto a fallen log and splits the wood like that.