Everyone knows how to baton a knife and why we do it. As far as the fire making aspect of batoning, you can split wood without batoning and, you can get by without batoning or splitting any wood at all. Lets have a look at these methods.
Batoning wood with a knife is only popular because of survival shows. It's only necessary if a knife is the only tool you have in a survival situation. But do you really want to risk losing your only tool when you're already in a survival scenario? I don't! These tips will save both knives and lives! Thanks Dave and Nick!
Was batoning with whatever I had since childhood, and my grandfather too, to make the fire in stove, campfire, etc. In Russian villages back in time was popular big machete-like knives which woman used to split small pieces of firewood for stove (and also for many other purposes).
Batoning a knife has been around forever. It's in Mors Kochanski's book "Bushcraft" from the 80's. It's a knife technique of ancient times. It's nothing new at all. Obviously, you don't want to risk damaging or breaking your only tool in a survival situation. It's better to have more than one tool and the appropriate tools for the tasks at hand. Reality is though, in a survival situation, you're usually only ever going to have one tool on you (if you're always prepared and lucky). This is the benefit to modern "survival knives" that are built thicker and tougher for such abuse. A perfect option to have a 7-10" survival knife that is still just small enough to easily be able to be packed and hidden inside a small EDC bag or backpack. That you carry on you all the time, every day. Survival situations rarely occur when you have all your woods gear and large pack ready for adventure, otherwise, it wouldn't be a survival situation, but an inconvenient, extended camping trip.
@@pennsyltuckyreb9800 Man, you are wrong. You broke the leg and guess what, welcome to survival. Its not inconvinient camping at all. This winter in local mountains a woman hiker was surviving 2 days (it was below zero temperatures, - 15 C at night) before she was found by rescue team, after falling from trail at very popular hiking spot. Without fire (she lost her matches while falling). This is not rare but people often found dead.
@@voyager667 Well, yeah, we can play the what if game all day. I think you missed the entire point of my original post, though. Obviously, even being Uber prepared, things can still turn south fast. I've been living in the mountains my entire life, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, bushcrafting, etc. I'm also a post-9/11, U.S. Marine veteran with lots of hard experiences there too. I've been there before myself. Not a fun place to be. But most of my days aren't spent with my entire tool shed on my back nor would I want to or can even physically do so anymore from various service related injuries. Especially with rifle and ammo in tow. I try and stay as minimalist and lightweight as possible. So, for me, and I'm sure many other folks, the "one tool option", while not as desired and efficient, is where many folks tend to be. It's not practical carrying around a massive pack and gear all day in daily life. It is most practical to carry an easily packed and concealable knife or two. I'm reminded of a story of a (Cherokee?) woman Native back in the day that had to escape into the wilderness of the Appalachian Smokies to survive....even through the winters. She had nothing but a wool blanket and large knife and she was able to survive like that. Skills, knowledge, and experience are infinitely more important than the tools at hand. She obviously knew the limits of her one tool and how to work around it to keep her going and yet still effect her survival.
I was born on a pre-grid farm. Remember well when REA brought power lines across our land. We cooked on a castiron stove. Heated the house with wood, as well. Whether in the woods, backyard or the kitchen, we never used a knife to batton wood. In fact, I didn't learn about battoning until I started watching YT videos, once we finally got broadband. Still don't understand why some feel the need to beat and batter their innocent knife, when there are alternatives readily available. One example is that often dry tinder can be found under an Eastern Red Cedar, even after a heavy rain. Another, is that if you carry flint and steel and/or a burning lens, carry some char cloth (or bird nest equivalents), as well. If you see rain clouds on the horizon, fill your cookpot with dry tinder and kindling.
@@MountainGoat69696 Yep! I also use an axe and/or hatchet, when they're available. Before I was old enough to use an axe, I was taught how to spit kindling with a hatchet.
Yep, mainly is done just for show or when you don't have an axe/saw and "need" one, and for whater reasin can't find dry/dead wood laying around , which prob will never hapen lol. But still a nice little thing to know how to do (please don't baton your knife if you don't need to #KnifeLivesMatter) 😂
A farm usually has a tool shed or another form of storing all the tools. When I go into the outdoors I don't bring a tool shed. I like to travel light so I hardly ever bring an ax or saw. Now it makes a lot more sense to learn how to baton a knife. Also batoning is a lot safer than chopping.
I have to tell you. I started watching about 5 yrs. ago. Your videos just popped up on my RU-vid. I have learned so much from your videos. You were the one that made me put together go bags for me and my family. I also made them for my Grand kids. So they would have them in their first vehicles. And put together tool bags for their cars as well. With jumper cables and air compressors for airing up tires. So Grandma didn't worry about them on the road. Their parents showed them to change tires and things. The kids already know how to camp and set up tents. I caught small tents on sale and each had a tent. A whole small camp set up. The girls still have their setups and use them. They have had them about 5 yrs now. And have used their camp setups to teach their girlfriends as well. So thank you for all your videos and knowledge you have given to us all. But you were the first one to really make me get down to business to actually put those bags together. Thank you, and to really think about what to put into one. And give me the knowledge to use these things safely. Your information did not fall on deaf ears. And I was able to prepare my Grands as well.😊
Fantastic to hear that! I think it's great that not only are you prepared for anything but now your family is too! That definitely made my day. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching
Hi Nick & Dave! Practice in the field takes a woodsman from theory to reliable skill. You're demonstration in this video illustrates that point beautifully. Great content! Blessings to you both!
Always great to see you guys working with knives and machetes. I did like that carved wedge splitting those logs. A clever idea. I never enjoy batoning with a knife and ended up buying a really thick one for this very job. Watching how long those curl's burnt for was surprising and a tip to remember. A great video from you both and great tips. Hope you managed to get out of the way of that giant bug and tree clearing machine 😊. Many thanks again, both of you.👍
Thanks Spencer! We are glad you liked it. Always remember, make thick curls first then thin ones for the ferro rod to strike and theyll last longer. Thanks for watching
The things you show are more realistic than other channels because I find that things that I see myself in the field never go the way that these other channels show them going. I remember that guy Colhane, and I wonder what happened to him.
Good video. The thing with batoning is, once the edge of the blade makes the initial cut the blade functions more like a wedge anyway. I think the wood wedge method is better.
The wood wedge method is better but takes longer to make. If you only have one knife take the time to make wedges. Also if you have to split a bigger log for any reason, like making a bowl. In most cases batoning is just for thinner wood for your fire, lets say wrist size. Easy to baton even with a budget camp knife. So if you have a back up pocket knife you can make wedges if your knife gets stuck. It saves the time of making them beforehand.
Great information and demonstration Dave! And many helpful hints also like, “you don’t ever want to carve on a rock”. Thanks for your down to earth teaching which works perfectly for people like me!!
Besides an axe or small hatchet, I think I would bring a small metal wedge to split smaller pieces of wood for fire starting. Perhaps using a tomahawk or the hawks head as a wedge.
Great video Dave. Did you see the video where Lonnie from FNBS made like 5 big wedges and leap frogged them? He was splitting these huge long logs doing that😂. I really like the idea behind Canterburys Woodsmans wedge too. Woulda saved a lotta knives years back😂
I am very grateful to YT for teaching me all the knife/ferro rod skills that I now have BUT.... Ive made a LOT of camp fires in my life with nothing more than a box of matches lol.. Having said that... A full tang knife and ferro rod is now part of my EDC..
Great video Dave. Wedges, for being such a simple tool can be a tremendous force multiplier. I love how you show the proper use for your knife and use techniques to enhance what it can do without damaging it. I suck at sharpening any edge but I’m definitely going to learn how to add a carving edge to my machetes. My gear for going to the woods always includes a knife, machete and a saw. You’ve shown over and over what can be done when they’re used properly and what you can fabricate with them in the way of tools. Hey-oh to Nick!
Thanks Steve, Im glad you liked it. Yep, those three tools can handle any chore and you really dont have to push a knife to its limits. Heres a year old video on how to sharpen that scandi section in case you havent seen it.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ugve3kjT5wY.html Thanks for watching
Since this comment is only 10 months old according to YT, Let me encourage you to watch Daves sharpening videos for outdoor tools if you haven't done it already😁
You are the best channel for sharing real, practical skills that will make a difference in someone's enjoyment of the outdoors. Thanks for this video. I learned a lot about obtainig & preparing wood for cooking, etc.
One thing you could add to your repertoire is using your saw to start the split and insert the wedge into the cut before batoning. It takes the pressure off of the brittle edge of the wedge. Love your videos, Dave.
Great video guys. Y’all never fail to impress. I loved the carved wedges especially the the carved stumpy anvil. That dog will hunt . Thank you gentlemen
This is how I spend my mornings before work while drinking coffee Learning from probably one of the best n most knowledgeable bushcrafter/camper not so much survivalist but does pretty well at it, one of a kind genius who can adapt n overcome many things, n use his creativity to make things easier not harder RU-vid video maker along with Nick aye oh... I say it all the time I love you videos. Thank u fo all the work n effort u put in to these videos. And until now I thought batoning was a part of bushcrafting n survival. But seeing how u can split wood differently so u can save ur knife is great. I take what I learn n try to practice them in my future adventures
Great video man. Realizing that you can do stuff in the woods with stuff you find in the woods like wood to split wood shows that it's not about whether you can do it, it's about how much effort you're willing to put in to the task and how creative you are with the materials at hand. Thanks for sharing, Was waiting for that bug to jump on Nick. Great camera work Nick.
What a great class in survival in the woods and it's complimentary too. That scandi on the machete is such an excellent mod. Thank you Reallybigmonkey & Nick. We would appreciate it if you & Nick can do a video on putting a scandi grind & other grinds on machetes. Cheers from Australia.
Thanks! Im glad you liked it! Actually I did a video on that about a year ago, heres the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ugve3kjT5wY.html
I only Baton knives that I own specifically for batoning. My models that I Baton with are the same toughness as a small axe or hatchet. I also learned using wood wedges, and Batoning with small axes. Thanks for your excellent instruction 💯👍😎
Thank you once again for educational entertainment. You and Nick are friends I just haven’t met face to face yet. You two have a relationships that should be cherished, and I hope it serves as an example for others to develop. Beating on a knife is a practice I avoid. Your examples show that beating the knife has alternatives. I especially like that short fat wedge. One of those could serve you well while camped for an extended stay in a single location. One more thing-you both work well without appear to have a script. You both make good public speakers and educators. Thanks again.
You are very welcome McCoy and we are glad you liked it! And thanks! We never use a script or stage anything. Whatever happens just happens. Thanks for watching my friend!
Love your giggle , you enjoy what your doing even when things don’t go as you plan , you seem to enjoy the journey , and the process , it’s so fun to watch you even enjoy the bugs it reminds me of my childhood , thank you for giving me confidence to just enjoy life , you give me hope for humanity to know there’s easy going people such as yourself . Thank you for your channel
Some additional points if I may Dave: One very crude method to access dry wood is to smash open a branch with a pre-split in it using a heavy rock. It's quite brutal and using gross motor skills (caveman bushcraft), but it does work Perhaps obvious, but the other thing is to pitch a tarp up first to process the dry wood under. To stop the rain getting to the newly accessed dry wood. I try to use a hardwood wedge whenever using a baton-wedge. Ideally the wedge ought to be tougher than the wood you're processing. I bring a small premade wedge made from ash in my kit. Size approximately 1/2" x 2" x 6" If the branch/log does not have a natural split; you can saw the end of dry piece of cut branch about three-quarters of an inch into the end grain. Then use a wooden wedge to split down the middle. I know you know all this. I'm just sharing to help others.
Thanks for the video Dave and Nick. What an excellent idea with adding a carving or chisel edge to the machete, now it's a multi purpose tool. I am definitely going to do this to mine. Cheers 🍻🇨🇦
Fantastic to hear that! Hey, if you have time watch this other video on how to sharpen that edge. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ugve3kjT5wY.html
Excellent and fun video. Nick was busting your chops on the forest fire potential! 😂. Your video some years ago on batoning was one of the first things I saw when I started watching RU-vid some years ago. It was also funny and informative. I have a Cold Steel Bushman Bowie, basically a wide flat blade with a tubular handle, all one piece of steel. I’ve beat the crap out of it, works great and was only $16. We camp on National Forest land, have a site hidden off in the woods no one goes to but us. Keep wooden wedges and a baton there, save the steel! Can’t wait for you next video, whatever it is!
That was awesome Dave!!! I learned so much from this video today !! I never thought of making wedges! Great informative video as always Dave! Take care and stay safe my friends !!!
Hey guys appreciate the video. All great points and tips. I always looked at it the same way, whether camping, or working in the shop, when you start beating on tools, the chances are good that something bad can happen. Agreed, if you only have a knife and no other options, baton away. Just be prepared for consequences. If you're intent on batoning, at least get a good quality, full tang knife. There are those that will argue both sides, and will not change tgeir minds. But in both sides there are ones that will listen and learn other ways. Knowledge costs nothing and just makes you better prepared. Great to see Dave and Nick together again. I really enjoy and appreciate all of yall's videos. God bless ya guys and stay safe out there.
Thanks Brian, we are glad you liked it. I'm on both sides of the fence here. I'll baton within reason if I have to but I try to not too often. Thanks for watching and may God bless you too
That's something I never saw the point of doing was beating my expensive knife just to split wood. I have always had an axe with me to split or even use like a knife to make shavings. Now if I lost my axe and saw and all my gear like in a river or some other way and only had my knife then I would baton in a survival situation but not when I'm just camping. A friend of mine last year put a slight bend in his expensive knife batoning after I told him not to. He was mad the whole time we were camping. Great video and a great idea to sharpen the part of the blade no one uses to use to make feather sticks. I may try that on mine. Thanks again. Kelly from Texas !
I agree 100% Kelly! I'll baton if I have no choice but I'd rather not and I certainly won't push the limits of my knife. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching
Kelly, glad you mention travel risk w small tool falling into River. Small line or rope can utilize hole provided in hatchet or knife, or two loops clove hitch slipped about a tool can tie tool to thwart or cleat on a boat.
I actually learned why you split wood instead of just burning it round. Had to watch the video thru freshly broken phone screen 😢. Goo to see Nick back with you.
Appreciate that you don't edit out how things really work, or don't work. Completely staged videos can be useful but are often unrealistic and less helpful than yours. Thank you Dave and Nick!
Personally, I carry a folding saw and a hatchet/axe however to each their own. I prefer a very sharp knife for protection, breaking down game/food, etc.
I gotta say that I appreciate the fact that you just let the camera roll and you show the different obstacles that come up having fun in the woods. Because that's what really happens, having to navigate options when the first idea doesn't happen right away. Thanks to you both for taking the time and effort to post these videos when some of us can't be out as often as we would like!
Awesome information. You got me thinking about adding a second grind on a machette. I'm sure the people who have only a machette have already discovered doing that as the use their machette to do everything.Thank you and Nick for sharing.
Thanks! We are glad you liked it. I've always figured that section near the handle is never used for heavy chopping so it's the perfect spot for a razor edge. Thanks for watching my friend
Chisel grind is helpful. Its why the Japanese use it for their wood working knives like the kiridishi. The only real issue is that they are designed to be biased towards one hand or the other. Whereas the centered edge is just as effective in either hand. I do carry a small chisel ground knife myself though.
Thanks so much for all the different ways to baton properly whilst keeping one's knife edge sharp. The two handed machete technique for shaving wood is terrific especially for those of us who may not have great hand strength. May not be a bad idea to include a small chisel with good steel in one's pack. God bless.
Thanks, Im glad you liked it. A small chisel is a good tool, just sometimes hard to get enough pressure behind it. Thats where using two hands on a machete really works! Thanks for watching
Thanks for another great video!!! Really liked the wedges. The insect that kept hanging out was a European hornet. They nest in hollow places in trees. You can usually hear a nest before you see it. Thanks again to you and Nick for making these videos for us.
I agree. I was attacked by a ground nest of some kind of yellow jackets when I was mowing and weeding the yard. I was stung multiple times and the little buggers actually chased me. I went into town and bought some Raid and came back and sprayed the h*ll out of the little suckers. Then I set fire to that corner of the yard, & raked & scraped it up until I was sure there was nothing left.
nice vid guys. i love the outdoors, i used to live in Canada. but moved back to the Netherlands. many years ago. now the Netherlands do not have many large forest arias. but where i live, we have some small forest, where i practice my skills. have learned a lot, just by watching your channel throughout the years. to me it is all about having fun. i am not a great knife collector, but i own 3 knives, a pocket barlow, a mora no 1, and a 40 year old kukri from Nepal, i got me 40 years ago. and with that kukri i have batond everything. kuri,s are great, 40 cm long, 10 mm thick. razor sharp. it is like a small hatched, do not have to worry about breaking. thank you for sharing your great videos, all these years. greets from the Netherlands
Fully agree we don't have much forest left in The Netherlands and everything is restricted. That's why I travel. But your knife setup is the same as mine. Pocket knife, small fixed blade camp knife and a short machete (in your case kuhkri).
When I was growing up, if any adult would have seen me batonning a knife, I would have gotten my butt blistered. It's knife abuse. I hate all the videos that show the fad of batonning a knife. I'm glad there's someone out there who agrees with me on this. I know those of my generation would agree with me on this. Keep up the good work.
I agree Years ago all knives were stick tangs and battening would break the tang and the knife Also we all carried hatchets Now many knives are full tang therefore much stronger
Yes, many knives are full tang and some aren't. I have bought and assembled knife kits with full tang knives. That doesn't mean that I want to beat on it with a branch.
Excellent video as always guys! Tons of great stuff packed in here! I really enjoyed seeing you use the wedges Dave. I personally always cringe a little when I see someone using a high quality knife to baton when they don't really need to. Sometimes it's necessary though I suppose. That short wedge that you used for splitting wood sideways was a new one on me... so learned a new trick from ya man 👍 Thanks! You and Nick take good care my brother!
Thanks brother, I'm glad you liked it. I hear ya, anytime I see a nice knife being bashed through a large diameter hunk of wood I'm always expecting it to break. These wedges work and are kinda fun to use! As always thanks for watching Brother John!
@@Reallybigmonkey1 You're more than welcome my Brother! Yeah, it would be bad to see someone break a good knife when they could easily just use wedges instead. I'm heading up to the mountains for a few days and plan to have a good ol' campfire... with wood split with... wedges! 😉 Take good care buddy!
Glad you did this video, I have not been very much into batoning, really learning here, enjoy seeing you demonstrate your methods, I really like making the wedges, great non batoning methods, nice to have the forest to do your videos in, thanks again to you and Nick always making these videos interesting and educational, btw, really nice curls and fire starting
I'm a Fudd, what is considered "bushcraft" by so many, was how many of us, diminishing numbers, were raised. I do roll my eyes sometimes at your gadgets and collections, not sure, given a different set of circumstances, I might have the same collection. Really appreciate how you treat quality blades and equipment, some things shouldn't be scripted on.
You roll your eyes at my gadgets and collection but think about that for a minute, how boring would RU-vid if there were 10,000 videos of people showing only common everyday camping items?
A very useful video because a knife and maybe a saw is what most people will have (should have) with them out walking,but not usually an axe or hatchet.
Great video, Brother. Very informative and enjoyable to watch. The thick, short wedge reminded me of Dave Canterbury’s “Woodsman Wedgie”. God bless you both. John
Thanks Brother John! We are glad you liked it. I remember that wedge he marketed. Even with it available people still loved batoning. Thanks for watching and may God bless you too brother
Thank you Dave & Nick. Brilliant. Comprehensive and to the point as always. Nick is naturally comical.....having a sense of humour is a sign of good mental health. The great debate: 'To baton a knife or not'. For me, it's straightforward - only baton using a blade with the following criteria: 1/. Minimum 6"/150mm in length blade 2/. The blade has a minimum 4mm spine 3/. It is a fixed blade, preferably with a full tang 4/. It has a quality strength blade In preference, I always carry a minimum of two blades - a wood machete/long knife (with convex angles) + a smaller back up carving knife. So in effect, I never need to baton my smaller fine crafting (bushcraft) type knife. So there's no real argument. I make sure my fine carving knife covers the four above criteria. Only in the rare occasion, I lost my wood machete, I could use my back up knife in an emergency.
Alright you know Dave I've been with you for a long time ever since before you made your classic machete video and I know that some of the machetes and knives you have they cost up to $100. Now I have gotten some very good deals on some of the blades that I own, but at full price, I only have one knife that costs more than maybe $50. A lot of people on RU-vid promote blades that cost a lot more because they claim durability, but many people get by with a mora companion, not even a garberg and they are able to process wood. If you don't abuse your tools and use them with a little bit of care and Common Sense you don't need to have the thickest most overbuilt tools out there and you proved this here.
I agree, if you baton stick not great than the width of your blade then how could it hurt it? People banging through large sticks of firewood is what blows my mind. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching
Outstanding video Dave and Nick. When I started camping as kid a long, long, long time ago all I knew about splitting wood was by using an axe or hatchet. Started watching Bear Grylls, Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundeen a number of years back then discovered some bushcraft channels on YT a couple years ago. I think I get the idea that batoning wood with a knife is a last resort type of thing. If I have an axe or hatchet that is what I'll use unless I get one of those Terava Scramas. I like the looks of that tool.
Thanks James! An axe will do a lot but in a knife only situation? You gotta try what you need to. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching brother
Great info. I have always sharpened my kukri in this manner after being shown this by a person at a blade show back in the late 80's. I enjoy your vids more than most others because you fail and show it. Your information is always unique and never fails to impress me. I did know about the wood shim method but not the method of using the short wedge to split the wood. Thanks for all you and your son, Nick, endure to make these. Take Care and Stay Safe.
Thanks, we are glad you liked it. That's great you've had that edge on your kukri so long! Amazing how many different ways there are to process wood. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching my friend!
@@Reallybigmonkey1 I've also worked out a way to have a floor/ground sheet in that tipi you once did many shows ago. Connect if you want to know. It works for most tents too. I have yet to make it for my tent, but the theory is sound and too easy for most.
G'day Dave, Nick, I thought long and hard as to how to reply, .... since there was so many cross over aspects involved, ...... besides how, not to baton a knife to get fire. Suffice to say, appreciate you showing it as it is in reality + provoking a great deal of thought along the way, in terms of material selection, methodology and tool choice. And a great vid for an array of skill/experience levels too. Btw; haven't seen the ol' upside down wedge in, must be at least 20+ years, many thanks for the reminder, very valuable to have up one's sleeve. Cheers Duke.
This was a great video and as always I learn something. For your chisel grind you might try just the 20 degree on on side and no angle on the other side. I do this with my basket making knives for shaping splints and carving rims. Thanks.
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I usually used 15 to 20 degrees on my carving edge. The chisel edge is something new so I might try what you mentioned on the next one. Thanks for the comments and thanks for watching
Thank you, Dave and Nick. That was great. I like the idea of using wooden wedges. It could save your knife from possible damage if in a situation. I hope you gentlemen have a great weekend.
Love your shows!!! ❤❤❤ Got “burnt” out, 👀🤣🤣, subject matter here was two, maybe three vids worth … not complaining too much. [I usually watch at 1.25-1.5 speed with captions 😂] 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I normally carry a knife in my pack that was designed for baton use , because it is not my first choice as a knife .Yes it is a sharade 27 or 36. Pretty good for chopping not as good for cutting. They appear nearly indestructible. Like I say, pick something else for a knife. Love the videos of you and Nick. Thanks Tommy
Old School wedges are some great options to learn how to not baton. It's not PC to say anymore but in that environment there is ample Squaw wood available where all you need is an ignition source, AKA - BIC (ha) and don't even need a knife/tool to make a camp/cook fire, wet or not. Thank you for posting.
