Batoning Enuff 2?

[JoviAl]

I'm going to second the suggestion that a K390 Delica (regular version, not that wharncliffe nonsense :p ) is the perfect companion.

[AutoRock]

And there I was, thankful that my first thread didn’t start a holy war…

[rakers]

hello,
I'm facing a dilemma of buying a k390 vs vg10. It's supposed to be a camping knife and sometimes a campfire. I don't know if it makes sense to use a k390.
I have chaos in my head
I only have experience with cruwear in another fixed blade model.

[sal]

Hi Rakers,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[WilliamMunny]

hello,
I'm facing a dilemma of buying a k390 vs vg10. It's supposed to be a camping knife and sometimes a campfire. I don't know if it makes sense to use a k390.
I have chaos in my head
I only have experience with cruwear in another fixed blade model.

If you can sharpen K390 then it’s worth the upgrade it will hold an edge significantly longer. While camping you don’t want to have to worry about sharpening your knife.

[vjb.knife1]

I was a Boy Scout and later a Boy Scout leader while my 2 Sons were in the program (both are Eagle Scouts) for a combined time of over 20 years. We had a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, caving etc. and I never had the need to baton any wood. I tried it a couple of times but I used a Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have no use for it; it's not efficient and basically a waste of time and hard on a knife, especially a folder. Sorry but I got through many many campouts without doing it, so I see no point in it. Batoning is neither easier, quicker or more efficient than using a hatchet, a saw or just breaking the wood.

[vivi]

I was a Boy Scout and later a Boy Scout leader while my 2 Sons were in the program (both are Eagle Scouts) for a combined time of over 20 years. We had a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, caving etc. and I never had the need to baton any wood. I tried it a couple of times but I used a Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have no use for it; it's not efficient and basically a waste of time and hard on a knife, especially a folder. Sorry but I got through many many campouts without doing it, so I see no point in it. Batoning is neither easier, quicker or more efficient than using a hatchet, a saw or just breaking the wood.

But if you're in the woods with just a knife, batoning wood is quicker than going home or to the car for an axe

It's still funny to me how controversial this subject is. Batoning is just another way of processing wood.

[vjb.knife1]

I was a Boy Scout and later a Boy Scout leader while my 2 Sons were in the program (both are Eagle Scouts) for a combined time of over 20 years. We had a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, caving etc. and I never had the need to baton any wood. I tried it a couple of times but I used a Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have no use for it; it's not efficient and basically a waste of time and hard on a knife, especially a folder. Sorry but I got through many many campouts without doing it, so I see no point in it. Batoning is neither easier, quicker or more efficient than using a hatchet, a saw or just breaking the wood.

But if you're in the woods with just a knife, batoning wood is quicker than going home or to the car for an axe

It's still funny to me how controversial this subject is. Batoning is just another way of processing wood.

Sorry but I have been in the woods many times without needing to use an axe, saw or hatchet to start and keep a fire going. I just consider batoning as abuse of a tool. There are plenty of other easier ways to make firewood.

[vivi]

I was a Boy Scout and later a Boy Scout leader while my 2 Sons were in the program (both are Eagle Scouts) for a combined time of over 20 years. We had a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, caving etc. and I never had the need to baton any wood. I tried it a couple of times but I used a Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have no use for it; it's not efficient and basically a waste of time and hard on a knife, especially a folder. Sorry but I got through many many campouts without doing it, so I see no point in it. Batoning is neither easier, quicker or more efficient than using a hatchet, a saw or just breaking the wood.

But if you're in the woods with just a knife, batoning wood is quicker than going home or to the car for an axe

It's still funny to me how controversial this subject is. Batoning is just another way of processing wood.

Sorry but I have been in the woods many times without needing to use an axe, saw or hatchet to start and keep a fire going. I just consider batoning as abuse of a tool. There are plenty of other easier ways to make firewood.

No more abuse than swinging a hatchet lol.

I made a fire last night with pine needles and a match. doesn't mean saws etc. are useless.

batoning is one more tool for the tool kit. no reason to be weird and stuffy bout it.

[R100]

I was a Boy Scout and later a Boy Scout leader while my 2 Sons were in the program (both are Eagle Scouts) for a combined time of over 20 years. We had a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, caving etc. and I never had the need to baton any wood. I tried it a couple of times but I used a Cold Steel Trailmaster. I have no use for it; it's not efficient and basically a waste of time and hard on a knife, especially a folder. Sorry but I got through many many campouts without doing it, so I see no point in it. Batoning is neither easier, quicker or more efficient than using a hatchet, a saw or just breaking the wood.

But if you're in the woods with just a knife, batoning wood is quicker than going home or to the car for an axe

It's still funny to me how controversial this subject is. Batoning is just another way of processing wood.

Sorry but I have been in the woods many times without needing to use an axe, saw or hatchet to start and keep a fire going. I just consider batoning as abuse of a tool. There are plenty of other easier ways to make firewood.

No more abuse than swinging a hatchet lol.

I made a fire last night with pine needles and a match. doesn't mean saws etc. are useless.

batoning is one more tool for the tool kit. no reason to be weird and stuffy bout it.

100% agree. I spend a couple of months per year outdoors and always cook on a fire. I rarely need to baton for firewood but always carry a knife suitable for that purpose and sometimes do need it.

One good case is travelling on a motorcycle or a horse or on foot because a tomahawk is just too bulky to be worth carrying. It's fairly common for National Parks in Australia to have sawmill offcuts left for firewood and if you don't have a way to split them you are out of luck.

Another case when being able to baton is useful is starting a fire when when everything is soaking wet and you can split some timber up to get to the dry bits in the middle. To me, a tomahawk or hatchet is just a car camping sort of thing when space is not at a premium. If that's the case, why muck around? Get an axe for goodness sake!

You could use an Enuff 2 for batonning but you would be better off with a more obtuse grind. A scandi is great.

Dan

[vivi]

yep. i can split wood with my temperance, but my srk does the job more easily. saber grinds and scandi grinds often take the pressure off the cutting edge once they're hammered deep enough to start wedging the wood.

I use to baton more when I lived up north and all the dead wood would be covered in snow and ice. It's a lot faster to pick one nicely seasoned log and split it for dry wood than scavenge around for dead wood that was protected from the elements.

axes are a lot faster but like you I usually don't have one of those when hiking and camping. they get used when I'm out clearing my personal trails but when hiking I roll with a light folding saw and 4-6" fixed blade. But a stout camp knife is easy to carry and can handle food prep and other utility work well enough.

[xceptnl]

I have to back up the recommendations to get the VG10 Enuff along with the K390 folder companion of your choosing (whatever will fit your hand best). Even in a FFG, it should be plenty stable enough for batoning, assuming you use good technique and judgement. I carry my Spyderco Dayhiker, and though it is a convex grind and thus has more meat, in my experience N690 tends to be on part with VG10 for toughness. YMMV.