Batoning
Technique of splitting wood
Batoning is the technique of cutting or splitting wood by using a baton-sized stick or mallet to repeatedly strike the spine of a sturdy knife, chisel or blade in order to drive it through wood, similar to how a froe is used. The batoning method can be used to make kindling or desired forms such as boards, slats or notches. The practice is most useful for obtaining dry wood from the inside of logs for the purpose of fire making.
01Tools
Tools used in batoning are: a strong, fixed-blade, preferably full tang knife or machete with a thick spine, and a club-sized length of dense or green wood for striking the knife's spine and tip.
02Technique
The basic method involves repeatedly striking the spine of the knife to force the middle of the blade into the wood. The tip is then struck, to continue forcing the blade deeper, until a split is achieved.
03Uses and advantages
This technique is useful for the simple splitting of wood for kindling, to access dry wood within a wet log, and for the production of shingles, slats, or boards. It is also useful for cutting notches, or making clean crosscuts against the grain of the wood. The technique is also especially useful when a chopping tool is not available.
04Hazards
Care must be taken to avoid damage to the knife. Breakage of the blade is a common result of striking the spine of the knife at an angle. If this happens the broken blade can become irretrievably embedded within the split. In a survival situation, this can be catastrophic.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Batoning”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Batoning.jpg by Asugar, CC BY-SA 4.0
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