How To Baton Wood With A Survival Knife [Video]

Learn how to baton wood and split it into smaller sizes even without a chainsaw or ax in this video guide!

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How to Baton Wood of Any Sizes at Camp

Ax vs. Knife for Wood Batoning

While an ax is the best tool for splitting wood, when you're out camping, you just can't bring an ax with you. That is if you like to travel light and know the best a good survival knife can do.

An ax requires space not only for carrying but for execution, too. When you need to put it into action, you'll need to do it in a wide and open space. So if you're out camping and it starts to rain, you cannot use it in the shelter of your tarp tent.

The Best Knife for Batoning Wood

Splitting logs is important when you can't find smaller-sized wood or kindling to fuel your fire. Sometimes, there is only bigger wood available, and you'll need to split it.

To split wood, you'll need the right knife — the best tool for splitting kindling. It's important to use a big, sturdy knife that's 4mm thick at the minimum.

It should also have a full tang or at least a very sturdy, thick tang. You can check out our Survival Life Store for our survival knives selection.

But in this video, you will also see how you can use different types and lengths of knives in action. You can be the judge of which one is best for you. You can also see the possibilities of working with what you have on hand.

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The Best Wood for Batoning

Along with your knife for cutting wood, you also need a baton. When splitting wood, look for very hard and heavy wood which is great for a baton.

For batoning, the spruce wood is ideal but if you know your woods, you know there is a great selection out there. Look for freshly fallen logs with a diameter of about six inches then cut a piece at the lower portion of the log.

You can make a baton by cutting to about the length of your field knife or longer by a few inches. Test your baton for comfort and ease of handling.

Making a Wedge

Before you split larger types of wood, this video suggests that you make a wedge. It's basically a baton with one end fashioned into a wedge.

The idea is to spare your knife from further stress and probably damage when splitting larger pieces of wood. You can use your wood-splitting knife to make one.

Chip and slash on one end of your baton little by little until it becomes flat and narrower. It will look like the blade of an ax, and it will bail your knife out when it comes to bigger logs.

To see the tutorial in action, check out the video below from InnerBark Outdoors:

Now that you've got your wood, it's time to build a campfire. Sounds easy, right? But there truly is an art to building the perfect campfire.

So, add wood batoning with building a campfire to the set of survival skills you must know and have!

What do you think of the wood baton? Would you prefer it over an ax when out camping? Tell us your thoughts about it in the comments section below! 

Up Next: 

• Properly Collecting Firewood For The Winter Months Ahead
• How To Start and Maintain a Fire in a Winter Survival Situation
• Manix 2 Lightweight Review | Spyderco’s Answer to the Future of EDC

For awesome survival gear, you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 5, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.