Lightest knife to baton small pieces of wood?

I'm also on the east coast, and use a knife to get to dry wood – since the outer bark and 1/8 to 3/16" of the actual wood is typically water logged.

I fondly remember living in the north west, where it also rained a lot – but had pine trees of various sorts that always had dry twigs attached to the trunk down near the bottom. The only time I've seen an evergreen tree on the AT within a 3-4 hour drive of my house is at the entrance to the state park – where they are planted for ornamental purposes.

The state and federal forests and AT in my area are all very mature hardwood trees, whose lower branches fell off decades ago. Now the branches start 40 ft up where the canopy is. As a result, the dead wood is always laying on top of 6" of wet leaves and in the shade…

I split 1" thick branches into quarters to get kindling, and whittle a couple into slivers to get tinder. I occaisionally have to split 3" thick branches into 1" pieces because all the hikers before me have used the smaller branches on the piece of blow-down already.

For splitting branches up to 1.5" thick – I use a standard 3.5" Swiss army knife :). I've done this for several hundred splits and have no changes to the hinge of the knife. The Swiss army blade is so thin that once you get it started by wacking it with a baton, you can just hold the handle with 2 hands and force it down through the wood like you were cutting. Most of the time, you only have to go down a few inches, and the wood splits the rest of the way by itself with a big cracking noise. You just have to avoid twisty knotty wood for this to work.

For 1.75-3" thick wood, I use a mora clipper (4" thin fixed blade, weighs 3 oz with thin sheath). This allows you to wack the tip of the blade sticking out the other side of the branch downward. The thicker wood doesn't split nearly as easily… The extra fibers seem to provide a lot more "glue" to hold the piece together.

I've tried a couple of Mora's and found that the thinner blades split wood way easier. The composite blade (hard core with stainless wrap) is too soft and bends when the blade splits the wood near a knot. The high carbon blade stays sharper longer than the stainless blade.

I'd also suggest a small pruning saw. Splitting wood is pretty easy with a knife. Cutting it into fire-sized lengths is really really hard. Notching the wood and then snapping it looks easy on the Internet – but boy is it hard to notch seasoned dry wood :(

I noticed that victorinox brought out a heavy duty series for the Army a few years ago. They were all 4" folders, and most had a saw. I've used that model once. The handle is way more comfy for splitting small sticks without a baton, way more comfy for notching branches to make a tent peg when you lose one, and feels very sturdy at the hinge. The blade is still thin, so it cuts well- but since it's thin and longer it feels like it could snap easier if twisted while batoning. The saw works well in the 4" size though :). The 3" saw is just a little too short to move back and forth without it leaving the cut.

I wouldn't recommend a neck knife for batoning or splitting wood by hand. The 2 things you need are a handle that is wide enough to push down on hard without it biting into your hand, and a blade that is long enough to stick out the car side of the branch so you have something to hit with the baton. I think a neck knife might be handy for general purpose use though :). Although I think the 1.5" victorinox Classic I use for general use is handier due to the scissors, nail file, and tweezers.

If you cut 1" to 2" stuff in small sections (3-5" long), you can baton them much like you make shingles with a froe. Stand the wood upright, position the blade, and give it a sharp wrap with another stick.

By using shorter sticks and giving the blade a blow instead of pushing with the grip, you can split wood with a smaller, lighter (!) blade.

I make am 11 gram hand saw that works pretty well on 1-2" diameter stuff. Where I live, the spruce trees have lots of lower, dead branches that stay dry than anything else around. Because they're still attached to the tree, it is easier to cut them and to cut them into small pieces. For aesthetic reasons, I use a branch completely and leave it trimmed off at the tree trunk.

This thread might give ideas.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/68254/index.html

Well, to actually answer the OP's question- about the lightest I'd trust to baton with are something like the Moras. They're a perennial favorite here among those who want a "real" knife but want to keep it light.

I wouldn't try to baton with a locking blade.

Thanks for the informative posts guys. Some new stuff to think about and experiment with.

Also lol at the meme. I always enjoy those commercials but can't believe I worded it that way without recognizing it. I'm blaming it on a long day at work and sticking with that :)

Thank you again!

I have experience with Moras and appreciate what they can do. I started this thread with the hopes of something lighter being used with success out there. If however Mora is the best tool for the job still that will be fine by me.

Is there a unanimously agreed upon lightest model that is up to the task?

At .75 oz a Vic Parer is the lightest knife I would take along to baton wood along the grain. I consider battoning with any knife a last resort and cross grain battoning is abuse with any knife,IMHO. That is work for axes and best yet, a saw.

I"ve run the Vic parers in tests side by side with Mora Companions that weigh four times as much .Other than a little waving in the blade edge after going through knots, no ill effects. The handles hold up fine. I will take that level of performance from a 20 gram fixed blade knife at $8 or less.

Probably the lighest UL "wood processing kit" is a Vic 3.25" straight edge parer with a good wire ring saw that can be fashioned inro a bow saw.. Such a rig would be under 2 oz.

Jimmer wrote much of what I was going to say – a Little Vicky paring knife is awesome – light, cheap, a great fillet knife for trout, fine for smaller (10-pound) salmon, dominates with cheese and salami, holds an edge, you can get it really sharp, you can baton wood if you avoid knots. I've dressed a caribou with one (plus a small bone saw).

But if you don't want to be careful while batoning, the smallest Mora is a great value and you can literally beat it with a stick.

Not the lightest, but the Esee Candiru is small, fairly light, tough as, and with a relatively thick blade suited to wood splitting.

I've had good luck batoning with a standard mora, wooden handle, high carbon laminated steel blade. for $20 you can't beat it.

Pick a stainless Mora Allround. That will get your fingers out of the way and the low cost wont make you cry if you break it.

I *could* split small stuff with a Vic paring knife, but it would be pushing itvand just asking for a bent or broken blade. I don't advise it.

At least so far ,nobody has suggested a razor blade wrapped in a cardboard sheath..

Yet.

:)

Mora Clipper, Cut off the belt clip..
Simple easy solution. But since we're on BPL drill some holes in the sheath, maybe you can get it lighter.. ;)

I have an old Gerber Parabellum lock blade. I've never used it to baton "wood-in-the-wild" but I've practiced with it at home for the time when I may need it to make dry wood for my TD Sidewinder/Inferno wood stove.

Out west at my southerly latitudes (Nevada & mid to S. California & Utah) it's unlikely I'd need to do this but a trip to Washington or Oregon would change all that.

Depending on your budget, Bark River Knife & Tool makes a nice little knife called the Ultra Lite Bushcrafter.

I have one and like it a lot–it's performed marvelously at splitting small wood and all other manner of camp chore. My knife, with a home made sheath (milk jug and duct tape), weighs right under 3 oz.

I'll caveat this by saying that it is several orders of magnitude more expensive than a Mora. I do think, however, the Ultra Lite Bushcrafter will stand up to more abuse than a Mora, simply because it's a full tang (albeit skeletonized) knife.

My biggest beef with the knife is the sheath it comes with. If memory serves, it actually weighs more than the knife does. I think they could have a good bit of business within the UL community (and beyond) if they'd have just done some minimal market research. It's criminal to make such a nice, lightweight, nice looking, medium-sized knife and then stick it in that sheath.

Good thread but let's post the weight of the knife with sheath for comparison purposes.

I have the Es Ka Bar necker 14. I wouldn't steer someone towards or away from it. It's a decent enough knife and weighs in at 4oz with the sheath. Batoning wood with it would not be my first choice but it'll get the job done.

There are a lot of great responses here and all have given me something more to think about, thank you! I have a mora clipper laying around so I'm glad to see I have decent option already.

As my goal is to lighten up this piece of the gear list and another member just posted here today a thread about flyweight titanium knives with a positive review I decided to try one of them. .77 oz in its sheath for a 2.75 in blade on a 6.5 in total length. Knife weighs .5 oz and sheath is .27 oz for .77 total and $35 shipped.

Here is a link to the guys knives currently for sale: http://www.ebay.com/sch/g.r.e.g.w./m.html?item=231495086646&hash=item35e62eb236&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Unfortunately I got the last one of my specific model but his stuff looks pretty good. I will report back when I get it. Might even post a pic or two of it batoning :)

Thank you again to everyone posting it has been very helpful!

You are now ostracized and will be the official firewood processor on all future UL group trips! :D

I use a #1 Mora with a wood handle, slightly less than 4" carbon steel blade, and 2.9 oz including the cheap plastic friction-fit sheath.

You can use anything, but IMO the one that will last and take some punishment would be the Becker necker then add the Micarta handles althought he blade is a tad short.

Mine weighs 3.6oz for just the knife with the handles.
Blade is 5/32" thick so a bit chunky. 5oz with sheath and micarta handles.

Alternatively if you are talking tiny pieces of wood like 3/4" like to split up into twigs you might be able to use a Becker Remora and wrap the handle with paracord. I think it weighs around 1.5oz with sheath.
Blade is 1/8" and 2 1/4" long.

Mora will work. The bushcraft model has a 4.2" long blade and is 1/8" thick. Wieghs 5.7oz with sheath, 4.3 without.

The Mora FT0001 wood handle knife weighs about 3 oz. Blade Length 3.85" thickness and just under 3/32" thick so less than 1/8".

I wouldn't expect the titanium blade you bought to split wood. Titanium knives are sort of like a more useful, more robust version of a razor blade.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=82597

Nathan from Kestrel made a custom knife for me a couple years back, which turned out to be his SUL Minimalist knife. Nice guy to deal with, reasonably priced, and the knives are so light it's almost hard to believe. Worth noting that these are relegated to light duty stuff.

He actually asked me to reply to that thread with my experiences and I never did because I spaced on it…I guess you've already bought a knife, but for anyone else who wants something for light duty work, I'd suggest checking Kestrel knives out.

+1 (or is it +3 by now) on Mora Allround and Companion. The Bushcraft model is a bit heavier and tougher. But all of them should handle the type of batoning you want to do and have a great ergonomic grip. The Companion and Allround are also super inexpensive, the Bushcraft model about 3X as much.

FYI according to Ragnar the owner of Ragweed Forge, a Mora dealer, the Sandvik 12c27 stainless steel used by Mora is equal in toughness to their carbon blades.

Another poster above was referring to their laminated blades, called Triflex. Wouldn't use those as they are softer.

I have a Bark River Bravo Necker 2, 3.5 in. 12c27 blade, a very tough yet light knife that weighs only about 1.77 oz, with the scales about 2.5 oz. That's the heaviest knife I typically carry, and would easily handle batoning, but I'd sooner sacrifice the Mora as Bark Rivers are more expensive, even used. There's another slightly smaller and lighter model called the Necker as well. If you want a Bark River, try to buy used.

Also wouldn't use a Ti knife – way too thin and soft. Stick with a quality stainless steel or carbon blade. Otherwise for general cutting they are sharp enough and super light, but a light carpenter's knife should do what a Ti knife can.

Also, you should be aware that there's an article here on SUL in which Ryan J himself is pictured carrying a hatchet to split wood. So, don't forget about the SUL hatchet option! ;-)

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/sul_wanderer_episode_1_gear.html#.VQiNZ47F98E

Edit: added link to article

Thanks again all. I'm definitely confident Mora will get the job done based on all of the info here.

Regarding the Ti knife, I don't have incredibly high hopes. But at the price point and weight I'm happy to give it a try. Even it is just my go to UL knife for most trips when not interested in fire building. I will report back either way.