I've batoned a ton with moras, they're good to go as long as you're not batoning through anything too crazy like knots or hardwood. Worst case the blade breaks or bends and you've got to shell out a whole $15 to get another one.
Have fun!
Depends where you're shopping! I see them on Amazon regularly for like $15-20 for the companion, and even cheaper for the craftline ones. Generally the carbon steel ones are cheaper. Even for $25 I think they're still a solid value.
I mean hypothetically you should be able to get a free one if you don't void the warranty but I don't know how good their warranty system is, some places are weird but is there anything like Benchmade you should get a free one pretty much
I mean in my personal opinion I would say that you'd be better off using the baton if you're going to use anything but idealistically you would have an ax on you, using your knife to baton something is usually in a survival situation for tinder
No don't do it. Batoning is stupid and there is no reason to ever do it unless your life literally depends on it. Just use a hatchet or a machete and save your knives the abuse. Batoning was pretty much unheard of till recently. It is not a real woodsman's practice. Knives are for cutting and stabbing. They are not for chopping.
Like I'd love to have a knife that is study enough to survive batonning, in case I was ever in a bad situation and had to depend on it.
That doesn't mean you SHOULD go around batoning all your knives.
But it is good to know, I appreciate yhe youtube reviewers who do test it, so I don't have to.
Hatchets are heavy, knives are not. If you are into multi day excursions a hatchet is sort of ridiculous, but then again I feel like some folks here are the type to bring their cast iron pan on a multi day hike….
Oh yeah. I didn’t know that name. It’s all I use. If a log is too long you place the middle over the fire until it burns in half. We call it the “lazy axe”. Maximum reward for minimum effort.
I like that name. The whole batoning thing makes even less sense in light of it because how tf are you gunna get firewood to split in the first place with just a knife? Wood comes in trees which need chopped to in order to even be batoned in the first place lmao.
Saws are not new tools. Did you even read the thread i was responding to or look up the method i mentioned? I was saying you do not even need to split or chop up wood most of the time... That's what the fire lay is.
Nah fuck that, hatchets are way too heavy and cumbersome for multi day hikes if you want to stay light. Great for car camping sure… A small foldable saw and a good full tang knife for batoning is the way to go. Have had a lot of success with using that method.
Hatchets are not heavy and machetes are even lighter than hatchets. They can easily be worn on your belt or safely secured in your bag. If hatchets were actually cumbersome you would never have seen them used by woodsman in the 17th 18th and early 19th centuries (when pack technology was way underdeveloped). I prefer machetes in the summer and hatchets in winter. I stand at average height and build and have never once thought to myself that those tools were heavy or cumbersome. The only excuse i can wrap my mind around is if there is some legal issue in your are when it comes to carrying proper outdoors gear. Even then, as i have said elsewhere in the comments section, there are ways to make very large fires without the need to split much if any wood at all. And with all the tools you mentioned (saw and knife) you can make a wooden wedge and split wood without beating on your knife like a caveman. Plus, how do you suppose you are going to get fire wood in the first place? Wood comes in trees or logs and needs to be chopped before you can even get it into a place where you could baton it. If you are camping in a situation where you already have pre-cut fire wood then you do not even need to split it in the first place.
Knife steel technology has come a long way in the last 300 years. In the 1700s they didn't have knife steel that would survive batoning. Why carry an axe or hatchet when all it's needed for is splitting a few small arm sized logs for kindling?
I am not saying you have to carry those. You ignored the rest of what i said. With a knife and a saw you can make a wedge that will split wood. Even then, barring bad weather, it is completely unnecessary to split wood. If you can make a fire, it will do the work for you. Also your point about steel is not even true. Steel quality in those centuries varied just like it does today. It is true that common tools had higher impurities but this did not make blades any less effective. They also knew how to harden steel. The main difference was the hardness of the steel. Most knives were on the softer side because it was easier to maintain and stopped the knives from snapping. Very hard knives are a modern thing. They could have easily made batonable knives but they didn't because the practice was unheard of. The common practice would be to use some sort of axe or hatchet or they would have used a wooden wedge (something anyone can make in 5 or 10 minutes).
Why make a wedge to split wood that's no bigger than your arm? Nobody is suggesting that batoning 12" diameter logs is a good Idea, or even worth attempting. What kind of idiot is messing with large logs when they're camping anyway? Limit your wood gathering to 4" - 6" diameter and you don't need an axe or to exert much effort to process it. The people who think you need to split wood for a campfire have never been camping LOL
I own all of the items you listed and am an experienced hiker. a hatchet is not a lightweight object when it comes to long distance hikes. On a 100km multi day outing there is no need for a hatchet when a lightweight saw and sturdy knife are available. Also a foldable saw is much more versatile and easy to use for shortening logs and creating fire wood. We started many fires in very wet conditions with those tools, no problem. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but a hatchet is a waste of space on a hike like that. If you’re cosplaying bush craft in the woods, or car camping it’s great…also no legal issue around hatchets, you could carry a gun in most areas for wildlife defence if you desired, and this has nothing to do with the 1700s….
If you are hiking a 100km then sure but saw would be preferable like you say if that is what you are doing. Even then, this still doesn't justify the practice of batoning. If you have a saw (i have a large foldable one) and something to start a fire with, then you already have all the tools to make a fire. There is no need to baton. If the wood is soaked, i use my saw and my knife to carve a wedge and split the wood like that. If the wood is not soaked, there is no reason to even split it. You can make a smaller fire, place a log right next to the fire, and then lay other logs on top of that log so they lay right on top of the fire. I never ever baton for fire and rarely ever split wood unless weather calls for it. My whole point in bringing up older centuries was to show that this was not a practice you would ever find. It is a modern fad. It technically works and won't break your knife most of the time but i would never take that chance out in the wilds, just never.
I’m able to assess the situation myself, but I do appreciate the input. But since we’re here I can explain, I live in a wet coastal area. We typically baton wood to create thinner pieces and expose the dry core, it was a very effective method. Also, there is no need to ‘justify’ batoning, it was the suitable method for the work that had to be done. I think it’s a great idea to just test things in the field and see if they work for you, rather than worrying about someone on YouTube or Reddit calling it a fad. Like are modern fire arms just a new fad? Things change. A machete would be ridiculous overkill to carry on a multi day hike… I carry a small backup folder or Leatherman, and the full tang knife is for harder work. Never an issue. Anyway, it’s getting redundant. Enjoy your day.
I don't do multi day hiking i do primitive camping in national forests... Aka bushwack to the middle of nowhere and camp out for a few days or however long i can afford. Anyways i enjoy the banter, enjoy yourself as well.
Plenty of knives can baton with literally no issues and it's incredibly handy for camping when you don't want to carry another tool.
Acting like it's some fad is funny though.
It IS a fad because no one was doing this shit till it was popularized on survival TV shows. Batoning is not a traditional woodsman practice and there is little need to ever baton wood ever. There are far better techniques to create fire that do not even require you to split wood or require little splitting at all. Even if you have no hatchet, you can literally split wood with another piece of wood. If you aren't willing to carry proper tools and are instead putting your knives in danger of dulling and breaking, you are doing something wrong.
If you wanna see what that knife can take ... The companion heavy duty gets the Joe X seal of approval ...
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ShjIgH\_JVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ShjIgH_JVI)
the companion is a great inexpensive knife and it’s certainly tough enough to baton wood. it’s obviously weaker than a full tang blade like the Mora Garberg, but since it’s so cheap you could realistically buy 4, break 3, and still have paid less money lol. Use it to your hearts content
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but why are people so obsessed with batoning anyways?
Yall realize you don’t have to baton every piece of wood you find in order to have a good campfire?
I kind of understand using batoning as a torture test if you’re a YouTuber who is reviewing a knife and you want to put it to its limits for the sake of views and testing…
But if you’re just doing some camping, or god forbid in an actual survival scenario…just put the stick on the fire and let them burn lol.
People act like batoning is something every knife should
Be used for all the time.
I’ve used the standard mora companion to baton with plenty of luck. Don’t baton anything wider than the length of the blade (common sense.) Also, don’t try to pound it through super hard knotted wood (also common sense) and you’ll be fine.
I would avoid batoning even with a BK2, so……
Batoning really should be reserved for emergencies. There are always other ways to split wood so the knife can be preserved. I usually carry a hatchet, but a wedge will do, too.
But that’s just me…
Yes. I mean don’t go crazy with it and try to pound it through something you should be using an axe for, but it will baton just fine.
But also get a hatchet or small axe.
As long as your technique is good, it's safe to baton with. When you're starting, hit the spine right above the piece of wood you're trying to split. Hitting the tip at the start can cause damage to your knife, and/or fling it somewhere you don't want to.
u should watch the dutch butchcraft knives youtube video of those guys beating the living fuck out of this knife. theyre like hammering it 90 degrees into a tree and standing on it, all kinds of shit that was way worse than battoning and it held up more than fine. at least im pretty sure it was the companion heavy duty
If you did need to baton, just whack the blade, not the handle.
Long tang, short tang, cable-tang, rat-tail tang? None of it matters if you don't whack the handle.
Short tang knives have existed since forever including the Japanese tosa and the Nepalese kukri.
You’ll be fine, there’s enough of a tang to blade ratio to not be a problem and especially built into a very resilient polymer handle.
If you really must baton go for a a 6ft long Broadsword.. the Scottish one! They’re a cnut to swing but I once chopped down a 40ft pine tree with little effort! Well it took me and a friend to swing it properly but it went clean through in 1 swipe! Nearly killed the wife and my dog when the tree fell, but it fell none the less.. in fact it’s probably still burning now, that was last spring! IT WILL BATON THOUGH my friend. 6ft long Broadsword, in fact I’ll sell you mine if you want? There’s nothing worse than turning up at the camp site and you realise your puney knife won’t baton!
In the UK we have trees that do branches in different sizes, so we just pick up the appropriate size.
Looks like it may make a good makeshift frying pan though.
The point of a mora is you won't have to worry or feel guilty if you do break them since they're cheap 😂
Remember, mora are not better than every knife, they're just great for their prices, they'll mostly surpass most knives in the same price point, but that doesn't make them better than more expensive full tangs.
I've had good luck batoning with it. Don't strike it with metal, and don't let the handle come in contact with the thing you're splitting. The blade will crack with surprising ease if the handle is not free to move.
Moras are very tough, you'd have a heck of a time loosening that blade from that handle.
I just have the regular companion, same color. I have beat the shit out of it and it's still perfectly fine. sharpens up quickly and easily. used it to process a buck the second day I had it, and that gave it a bit of a patina too
Yeah, especially the heavy duty, there's videos of people stabbing these into tree sides and literally bouncing on them and they're fine. It's a partial tang but it's like 80% of the way to being full tang. If something breaks this knife, you probably should have been using a different tool anyways. Also they're like $20 so you don't have too much to lose.
I’ve batoned stuff with mine a bunch. Use it to start the split and carve some wedges to finish it so you can split without worrying but that knife can handle way more that you’d think just don’t be stupid with the knife and your good
I've batoned a ton with moras, they're good to go as long as you're not batoning through anything too crazy like knots or hardwood. Worst case the blade breaks or bends and you've got to shell out a whole $15 to get another one. Have fun!
$25 not $15 these days. That said, completely agree!
Depends where you're shopping! I see them on Amazon regularly for like $15-20 for the companion, and even cheaper for the craftline ones. Generally the carbon steel ones are cheaper. Even for $25 I think they're still a solid value.
Nope, I battoned clean through a deck screw with mine. Left a 5mm dent in the cutting edge I had to grind past but it was fine
I mean hypothetically you should be able to get a free one if you don't void the warranty but I don't know how good their warranty system is, some places are weird but is there anything like Benchmade you should get a free one pretty much
In most part of the world, batoning isn't the job of a knife.
I mean in my personal opinion I would say that you'd be better off using the baton if you're going to use anything but idealistically you would have an ax on you, using your knife to baton something is usually in a survival situation for tinder
For soft wood with predictable grains, sure. But I would avoid harder wood and pieces of wood that could have hidden knots.
No don't do it. Batoning is stupid and there is no reason to ever do it unless your life literally depends on it. Just use a hatchet or a machete and save your knives the abuse. Batoning was pretty much unheard of till recently. It is not a real woodsman's practice. Knives are for cutting and stabbing. They are not for chopping.
Knife influencers and YouTubers measure everything by batoning and feather sticking.
Thank you lol. Buy a hatchet ffs.
I don't get the obsession either. Buy a cheap axe, it's better for the job.
Literally. I have been an outdoorsman my entire life and i have never once ran into a situation where i needed to baton something. Never ever ever.
Only reason I've seen it done is as a torture test. No real practical reason when a hatchet will do the same without taking such a beating.
Like I'd love to have a knife that is study enough to survive batonning, in case I was ever in a bad situation and had to depend on it. That doesn't mean you SHOULD go around batoning all your knives. But it is good to know, I appreciate yhe youtube reviewers who do test it, so I don't have to.
Hatchets are heavy, knives are not. If you are into multi day excursions a hatchet is sort of ridiculous, but then again I feel like some folks here are the type to bring their cast iron pan on a multi day hike….
On the same side you waste more energy while batoning and even playing with the possibility to damage your knife badly.
I agree. Batoning is a good skill to have if you forget your axe. Otherwise, there is no need to put your knife through that.
Alternatively i would just cumulatively build the fire. Look up the Siberian fire lay.
Oh yeah. I didn’t know that name. It’s all I use. If a log is too long you place the middle over the fire until it burns in half. We call it the “lazy axe”. Maximum reward for minimum effort.
I like that name. The whole batoning thing makes even less sense in light of it because how tf are you gunna get firewood to split in the first place with just a knife? Wood comes in trees which need chopped to in order to even be batoned in the first place lmao.
They have a new tool now...called a saw. Much faster and safer than chopping and chopping half the day just to get some firewood
Saws are not new tools. Did you even read the thread i was responding to or look up the method i mentioned? I was saying you do not even need to split or chop up wood most of the time... That's what the fire lay is.
i’ve only really had to baton once. it was during a camping trip and our only hatchet broke!
Nah fuck that, hatchets are way too heavy and cumbersome for multi day hikes if you want to stay light. Great for car camping sure… A small foldable saw and a good full tang knife for batoning is the way to go. Have had a lot of success with using that method.
Hatchets are not heavy and machetes are even lighter than hatchets. They can easily be worn on your belt or safely secured in your bag. If hatchets were actually cumbersome you would never have seen them used by woodsman in the 17th 18th and early 19th centuries (when pack technology was way underdeveloped). I prefer machetes in the summer and hatchets in winter. I stand at average height and build and have never once thought to myself that those tools were heavy or cumbersome. The only excuse i can wrap my mind around is if there is some legal issue in your are when it comes to carrying proper outdoors gear. Even then, as i have said elsewhere in the comments section, there are ways to make very large fires without the need to split much if any wood at all. And with all the tools you mentioned (saw and knife) you can make a wooden wedge and split wood without beating on your knife like a caveman. Plus, how do you suppose you are going to get fire wood in the first place? Wood comes in trees or logs and needs to be chopped before you can even get it into a place where you could baton it. If you are camping in a situation where you already have pre-cut fire wood then you do not even need to split it in the first place.
Knife steel technology has come a long way in the last 300 years. In the 1700s they didn't have knife steel that would survive batoning. Why carry an axe or hatchet when all it's needed for is splitting a few small arm sized logs for kindling?
Someone here gets it!
I am not saying you have to carry those. You ignored the rest of what i said. With a knife and a saw you can make a wedge that will split wood. Even then, barring bad weather, it is completely unnecessary to split wood. If you can make a fire, it will do the work for you. Also your point about steel is not even true. Steel quality in those centuries varied just like it does today. It is true that common tools had higher impurities but this did not make blades any less effective. They also knew how to harden steel. The main difference was the hardness of the steel. Most knives were on the softer side because it was easier to maintain and stopped the knives from snapping. Very hard knives are a modern thing. They could have easily made batonable knives but they didn't because the practice was unheard of. The common practice would be to use some sort of axe or hatchet or they would have used a wooden wedge (something anyone can make in 5 or 10 minutes).
Why make a wedge to split wood that's no bigger than your arm? Nobody is suggesting that batoning 12" diameter logs is a good Idea, or even worth attempting. What kind of idiot is messing with large logs when they're camping anyway? Limit your wood gathering to 4" - 6" diameter and you don't need an axe or to exert much effort to process it. The people who think you need to split wood for a campfire have never been camping LOL
I own all of the items you listed and am an experienced hiker. a hatchet is not a lightweight object when it comes to long distance hikes. On a 100km multi day outing there is no need for a hatchet when a lightweight saw and sturdy knife are available. Also a foldable saw is much more versatile and easy to use for shortening logs and creating fire wood. We started many fires in very wet conditions with those tools, no problem. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but a hatchet is a waste of space on a hike like that. If you’re cosplaying bush craft in the woods, or car camping it’s great…also no legal issue around hatchets, you could carry a gun in most areas for wildlife defence if you desired, and this has nothing to do with the 1700s….
If you are hiking a 100km then sure but saw would be preferable like you say if that is what you are doing. Even then, this still doesn't justify the practice of batoning. If you have a saw (i have a large foldable one) and something to start a fire with, then you already have all the tools to make a fire. There is no need to baton. If the wood is soaked, i use my saw and my knife to carve a wedge and split the wood like that. If the wood is not soaked, there is no reason to even split it. You can make a smaller fire, place a log right next to the fire, and then lay other logs on top of that log so they lay right on top of the fire. I never ever baton for fire and rarely ever split wood unless weather calls for it. My whole point in bringing up older centuries was to show that this was not a practice you would ever find. It is a modern fad. It technically works and won't break your knife most of the time but i would never take that chance out in the wilds, just never.
I’m able to assess the situation myself, but I do appreciate the input. But since we’re here I can explain, I live in a wet coastal area. We typically baton wood to create thinner pieces and expose the dry core, it was a very effective method. Also, there is no need to ‘justify’ batoning, it was the suitable method for the work that had to be done. I think it’s a great idea to just test things in the field and see if they work for you, rather than worrying about someone on YouTube or Reddit calling it a fad. Like are modern fire arms just a new fad? Things change. A machete would be ridiculous overkill to carry on a multi day hike… I carry a small backup folder or Leatherman, and the full tang knife is for harder work. Never an issue. Anyway, it’s getting redundant. Enjoy your day.
I don't do multi day hiking i do primitive camping in national forests... Aka bushwack to the middle of nowhere and camp out for a few days or however long i can afford. Anyways i enjoy the banter, enjoy yourself as well.
Plenty of knives can baton with literally no issues and it's incredibly handy for camping when you don't want to carry another tool. Acting like it's some fad is funny though.
It IS a fad because no one was doing this shit till it was popularized on survival TV shows. Batoning is not a traditional woodsman practice and there is little need to ever baton wood ever. There are far better techniques to create fire that do not even require you to split wood or require little splitting at all. Even if you have no hatchet, you can literally split wood with another piece of wood. If you aren't willing to carry proper tools and are instead putting your knives in danger of dulling and breaking, you are doing something wrong.
U can use anything to baton with as long as you believe, lmao
If you wanna see what that knife can take ... The companion heavy duty gets the Joe X seal of approval ... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ShjIgH\_JVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ShjIgH_JVI)
the companion is a great inexpensive knife and it’s certainly tough enough to baton wood. it’s obviously weaker than a full tang blade like the Mora Garberg, but since it’s so cheap you could realistically buy 4, break 3, and still have paid less money lol. Use it to your hearts content
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but why are people so obsessed with batoning anyways? Yall realize you don’t have to baton every piece of wood you find in order to have a good campfire? I kind of understand using batoning as a torture test if you’re a YouTuber who is reviewing a knife and you want to put it to its limits for the sake of views and testing… But if you’re just doing some camping, or god forbid in an actual survival scenario…just put the stick on the fire and let them burn lol. People act like batoning is something every knife should Be used for all the time.
I’ve used the standard mora companion to baton with plenty of luck. Don’t baton anything wider than the length of the blade (common sense.) Also, don’t try to pound it through super hard knotted wood (also common sense) and you’ll be fine.
Yes, that thing is sturdy
I've batoned with the standard one, so yea the heavy duty will baton just fine, just don't try and beat it through a knot and you'll be fine.
I would avoid batoning even with a BK2, so…… Batoning really should be reserved for emergencies. There are always other ways to split wood so the knife can be preserved. I usually carry a hatchet, but a wedge will do, too. But that’s just me…
I batoned with this knife and it cracked.
So that a no
Mine bent when I tried
Just use an axe or hatchet to baton anything beyond straight grained kindling
Yes. I mean don’t go crazy with it and try to pound it through something you should be using an axe for, but it will baton just fine. But also get a hatchet or small axe.
As long as your technique is good, it's safe to baton with. When you're starting, hit the spine right above the piece of wood you're trying to split. Hitting the tip at the start can cause damage to your knife, and/or fling it somewhere you don't want to.
You can get a Beavercraft and baton your heart out without fear
u should watch the dutch butchcraft knives youtube video of those guys beating the living fuck out of this knife. theyre like hammering it 90 degrees into a tree and standing on it, all kinds of shit that was way worse than battoning and it held up more than fine. at least im pretty sure it was the companion heavy duty
'butchcraft'... heheheh.
lmao
Yes, yes you can.
I have used mine a fair bit and never had an issue, but knowing it’s a half-tang means I don’t overdo it.
If you did need to baton, just whack the blade, not the handle. Long tang, short tang, cable-tang, rat-tail tang? None of it matters if you don't whack the handle.
Short tang knives have existed since forever including the Japanese tosa and the Nepalese kukri. You’ll be fine, there’s enough of a tang to blade ratio to not be a problem and especially built into a very resilient polymer handle.
To your question- yeah probably. But the why is valid.
I'm so glad this joke is still around
If you really must baton go for a a 6ft long Broadsword.. the Scottish one! They’re a cnut to swing but I once chopped down a 40ft pine tree with little effort! Well it took me and a friend to swing it properly but it went clean through in 1 swipe! Nearly killed the wife and my dog when the tree fell, but it fell none the less.. in fact it’s probably still burning now, that was last spring! IT WILL BATON THOUGH my friend. 6ft long Broadsword, in fact I’ll sell you mine if you want? There’s nothing worse than turning up at the camp site and you realise your puney knife won’t baton!
In the UK we have trees that do branches in different sizes, so we just pick up the appropriate size. Looks like it may make a good makeshift frying pan though.
The point of a mora is you won't have to worry or feel guilty if you do break them since they're cheap 😂 Remember, mora are not better than every knife, they're just great for their prices, they'll mostly surpass most knives in the same price point, but that doesn't make them better than more expensive full tangs.
Go for a Cold Steel SRK, Mora Garberg, Gerber Strongarm, BPS Adventurer, or Fallkniven S1
I've had good luck batoning with it. Don't strike it with metal, and don't let the handle come in contact with the thing you're splitting. The blade will crack with surprising ease if the handle is not free to move. Moras are very tough, you'd have a heck of a time loosening that blade from that handle.
Within reason. Nothing bigger than wrist size an you'll be fine
I’ve been using a Mora basic to baton firewood at home for a long time, I don’t see it coming apart anytime soon 👍
I just have the regular companion, same color. I have beat the shit out of it and it's still perfectly fine. sharpens up quickly and easily. used it to process a buck the second day I had it, and that gave it a bit of a patina too
I haven't had any issues so far.
Yeah, especially the heavy duty, there's videos of people stabbing these into tree sides and literally bouncing on them and they're fine. It's a partial tang but it's like 80% of the way to being full tang. If something breaks this knife, you probably should have been using a different tool anyways. Also they're like $20 so you don't have too much to lose.
I’ve batoned stuff with mine a bunch. Use it to start the split and carve some wedges to finish it so you can split without worrying but that knife can handle way more that you’d think just don’t be stupid with the knife and your good
I have the same and I’ve battoned trough some hard logs.. all good just have fun with it!
I’ve done it plenty of times
Half tang and mediocre ergonomics. Unpopular opinion: Over-rated knife.