A well balanced, well spoken point of view. I saw a video by a guy who very single mindedly ruled out any use for battoning, but then proceeded to spend 5 minutes carving a huge wedge to do what he could have done in a minute, with less wear on the his knife edge by battoning. P.S. where I live in Australia all I have to do is look at some leaves the wrong way and they will spontaneously burst into flame.
Good demo Larry. Great example of why battoning causes less knife edge wear and helps to preserve your knifes sharpness. Your close up image of the knife blade in the split wood was great…
After watching and listening to several people, I believe that the subject of buttoning is very argumentative and to prove superiority of skills. Everyone has opinions on the subject and like you said if you don’t want to do it don’t. If you are concerned about your knife maybe it’s time to think about a better tool. JMHO
Good info on whittling down a large piece of wood Larry. Good demonstration. Thanks for showing that batoning can be done correctly. Take care and Happy New Year
Good points. I was looking at these vintage axes that basically build my country(Finland) and was about to buy and restore them. Specifically Billnäs 12.3 axe heads would be perfect for a small bushcraft axe. They were the lightest ones but still pretty heavy compared to some new ones. 1.1kg extra weight on hiking and fishing trips. Made me think why I feel the need for one. I usually just boil water for my coffee with camping gas and don't even bother with fire and the smoke. Saw weights like 250g's. I don't know... might still do one since they made millions of them way back and those can be found from flea markets for 5€'s.
Awesome video. I just got done rewatching season 2 of Alone and I can't help but wonder how many of these tips you filmed on Vancouver island that never made it on TV. Glad I get to see some of them here.
Couldn't agree more - saws may not be as 'sexy' as axes, but they are far more versatile in my experience, not to mention safer to use in the backcountry after a long, hard day when you may be tired, etc. I rarely ever even bother carrying a small hatchet, much less an axe, but a saw is a no-brainer.
Great video, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I carry a larger machete for wood processing and a mora for the finer work. I know that the mora can handle the work load but the machete works so much better and can handle bigger diameter wood. I’m always impressed by your videos and hope to see you again sometime soon.
First, that thumbnail is hilarious. Second, I agree with your take on batoning. I recently used a carbon blade Mora to baton a 2" piece of dead pine to get to the resin-rich center, but when the blade got down to the curved and whorled grain by some small branches, I switched to my 13" Husqvarna axe to split it completely. In this case I wanted to expose the dry interior to help with a small fire, but the 2" diameter was too small for my axe. The Mora held up fine, even though it's NOT full tang. Thanks for the video, Larry.
In the rain forest jungle down here in Costa Rica an axe is not useful, I normally carry a knife (Bushcraft or Survival) and most of the time a Parang, baton is a need to get dry wood.
I agree ...A saw is better for harvesting wood...very seldom do you need to batton wood with a knife. Yes great for making a fire board Etc. Great to see ya uploading Larry!
Larry- do you ever just baton your axe/hatchet? I carry a tomahawk in conjunction with a bahco folding saw and use it to process firewood and it works great. I saw down manageable pieces and baton my hawk to split. Saves the edge on my scandi so it will remain sharp for knife tasks. Interested in your thoughts. Great video, as usual. I really enjoy and appreciate your channel. Use what you've got!
Absolutely I baton my hatchet or hawk. If you are carrying a tool like that, you for sure use it and save you’re knife. I will baton a knife over a hatchet if I’m doing work that needs to be precise, like for a bowdrill fire, but if I’m carrying a chopping or splitting tool I’ll use that.
Great video Larry. my thoughts exactly. If your knife can't handle the job get a knife that can. We've came along way with blade steels since the iron age. I don't batton much but still know which tools are capable of such task.
I battoning sometimes with my mora. I try to do small stuff and use my hatchet for bigger pieces. I've broken a few Mora's on some big pieces of wood and my solution was to get a new mora. :) Thanks for the video. - Josh
I sure like the looks of some of the custom knives I've been seeing... all kinds of scales on the handles... just beautiful !! From time to time I see handles made from pinecones imbedded into a resin of some sort. Just that type of handle was put on a knife on the "Forged In Fire" tv show... and during the testing of the blade, the battoning part, his handle cracked in two places... right where the brass pins went through. So, even though the blade was up to task, the handle wasn't. And as I think about what materials I might use to make my own handles, I'm leaning toward basics that are more durable... like steel, hardwood, and leather. I have a few cheapo machete's that came with handles that were defective or just stupid looking. Their steel is good, so they're worth fixing up. Have you noticed any other handle materials that have proven not to be durable... or perhaps the epoxy within the handle hadn't had time enough to cure properly ??
Well said. I totally agree with you. Side note. I'd trust a L T Wright or a DCWO knife to do anything I could ever ask of it. Also as you stated. A mora will do it just fine. Because if it was that hard on a knife the mora rat tail would give out. Great explanation. Glad to see you doing well old friend.
Rat tail knives do not break any more often or easily than full tang. That is a myth. Just like most people baton like idiots, most people yap about full tang without any clue or experience. So sad.
never heard of batoning, until 3 years ago , when i got a computer, What i really want to say is i am thankful that your channel name dosent say prepared this survival that....so misleading....they just push gear to gearheads, mostly knives, anyway cheers
Mate I've been testing my big Larry and it hasn't faulted yet, thanks for a great blade but as you said it has to be quality, look at the Jessica X, first run gold and then crap, you stand behind your mouse 😀
