Minimum blade length to baton properly?

J_Curd

J_Curd

Joined
Jul 26, 2006
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I will be moving to a 5.5 inch knife limit area soon, although they do allow for circumstance (aka a machete is fine there needed).

It batoning really viable under 5.5in or should I just get a folding saw?
 
You can baton a smaller blade, just have to adjust the baton to a vertical position and be sure to take a smaller split out of the piece you are batonning. I have batonned a 4 inch blade with success, although I do bring a saw. The saw saves time and energy.
 
Yes. you should get a folding saw. they are awesome.

You can baton anything the knife fits. a 5.5 inch knife will split a 4 inch log.
 
I assume he brought the saw to cut up the logs, then used the 4" blade to baton, rather than chopping up the logs with a 4" blade.
 
define "baton properly"

I batonned with the Izula and that is pretty short (Blade Length 2.88"). With some thinner wood it works perfectly.
 
skammer said:
How do you split a log with a saw?

Skam
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you can saw half way through the log twice as big as the firewood you want.
then bang it against a rock or tree sideways and it splits. Do it again on the other length, then finish cutting through the log. You end up with 4 split pieces of wood. You can also make a splitting wedge with a saw and hammer it through after getting it started by sawing a little ways into the log.

so yes. Saws rock, get one.
 
Munky88 said:
you can saw half way through the log twice as big as the firewood you want.
then bang it against a rock or tree sideways and it splits. Do it again on the other length, then finish cutting through the log. You end up with 4 split pieces of wood. You can also make a splitting wedge with a saw and hammer it through after getting it started by sawing a little ways into the log.

so yes. Saws rock, get one.
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Own one, own a large blade too and use it to split in seconds without all that work. Saws have place but are limited in their utility.

Skam
 
I have successfully batoned with my RAT Izula no problem. You just gotta' be a bit tricky. ;)
 
I cut a managable size log and baton, then baton the blade thru the log. Saves chopping time. Did it last winter and it worked well.
 
While shorter knives can sure work, I would rather have a five or six inch blade. For small stuff, a shorter blade will work fine. Like for kindling.
 
5.5" is a very respectable size for batoning IMO unless you happen to be burning 10" rounds. It really depends on the wood you use. If you buy your camping wood as a quarter split rounds you can easily use a 5.5" knife to baton the edges and sides to provide kindling. I'm not suggesting that above because I'm calling you a car camper it is just what a majority of people actually do for wood prep. If you are collecting personal wood for a fire than the size of your blade will definitely impact the size of wood you can harvest. A 5" inch knife is good all round size for personal chores and a little bit of wood for fire prep.
 
Consider a BK-2, which is around 5.5" and 0.250" thick. Should be good for batoning, and its not spendy.

So you are leaving KY? At least we can carry anything we dang well please. :)
 
I guess a 1.25 in blade inches was a bit overkill for this kindling stick but that was the knife in my pocket at the time. The small knives can split quite well if the stick is to big just by not battoning down the center. Pick the 1/3 or 1/4 mark and split it there.
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Why are you going to the 5.5" blade length?

Not that I mind lol I love that length of 5.5" the best for my EDC.
But I also carry on my pack a 10" blade to every day.

Staying on topic now You can batton with many different lengths of blades.

Bryan
 
You can baton with almost anything. It just depends on what size wood you want to be able to baton. This past weekend, I made a figure 4 trap using only my green German issue SAK. Sawed a 2.5" branch off a tree, sawed it to the right length, and then used the knife to baton the branch into the pieces I needed. When I was done making the trap, I was very surprised to see that the SAK was still shaving sharp on part of it's edge. I was pretty impressed with this knife. It has been riding in my jacket pocket since.
 
Another possibility is to simply tap the edge into the top of the log to create a deep line across the top. Then make some wooden wedges and baton those into the crack you just made. Using that method I could split any sized log with any sized knife--even though it takes longer. :)
 
J_Curd said:
I will be moving to a 5.5 inch knife limit area soon, although they do allow for circumstance (aka a machete is fine there needed).

It batoning really viable under 5.5in or should I just get a folding saw?
Click to expand...

5.5".....are you moving to Texas :D That's our limit over here unless you are fishing/hunting/have good reason to carry something bigger than that. My fixed blades are 4.5" and under so 5.5" will split anything down here.
 
Dylside said:
You can baton with almost anything. It just depends on what size wood you want to be able to baton.
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What he said. I've successfully batoned with a Case peanut and tiny trapper, just to see if I could do it. Both handled everything I asked of them, no problem. I don't give a second thought to batoning with any of my knives, any knife can handle it if you pay attention to what you're doing. I think 99.9999% of all damage done to knives whilst batoning is due to improper technique. Don't place any stress on the handle, and you'll be fine.
 
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