Lightest knife to baton small pieces of wood?

I normally use my mora #1. Weighs about 3 ounces, long enough to split down some kindling. You can also use the mora 2/0 which is smaller and lighter at 1.9 ounces. Just depends on how much length you want. I also have a 7 inch old hickory butchers knife I use for serious splitting.

I prefer longer/skinnier blades over shorter/thicker blades. You do need to be a little more careful with hardwoods. Don't baton through knots, flip the piece over and baton from the other side and you can usually get it to split without touching the knot.

a Mora 2 is tough to beat, especially factoring in price; I recently purchased a BR UL Bushcrafter- it’s a very (very) nice knife- the 3V steel is wonderful, the grind is very interesting- “scandi-vex” a cross of a scandi and convex- it carves and slices nicely like a scandi, but is a bit more robust

it’s the first small knife (of many!) that I’ve owned that doesn’t feel small, mine weighs 2.7 oz, the supplied leather sheath is 1.1 oz

I have a small ti knife from Kestrel, nice for slicing, cleaning trout, making fuzz sticks, but I would only baton w/ it in a pinch and it would have to be very small dia stuff

this small snag I fell was really knotty and gnarly, I beat the knife very hard through about 8-10 pieces of it and it wasn’t fazed at all- I’ve used the knife a lot in the last couple of months and it’s still will pop hair- I keep thinking I’m going to have to give it a light stropping, but the hair on my arm just keeps flying off :)

I didn't remember the Barkriver UL Bush Crafter's sheath being that "light," but maybe I got an older one and they've updated the sheath? I'm not really sure, but I agree it's an absolutely fantastic knife.

they make at least two different sheaths for it- one is square bottom w/ a firesteel loop- that one is heavier, the other is fairly trim- more of a "pointy" bottom- that one is 1.1 oz

I do think the small Mora is a great choice and very hard to beat, but the UL Bushcrafter is a really bombproof little knife

Man that UL bushcrafter looks sweet! It is more than I'm willing to spend for this type of specialized item currently, but knowing me I'll own one sooner than later. I like knives and gear in general :)

To update the purpose of this thread I ended up receiving my flyweight ti knife and I also ordered an Izula. I intend to use the ti knife for UL duty where most people use razor blades or something comparable and the Izula if I think wood work might be in the forecast. I've had my eyes on an Izula at various points in my gear collecting career so this seemed like a good time to pick one up. Especially at $43 shipped from an authorized Esee retailer as they were more expensive last time I looked.

The flyweight is very cool and I'm very impressed with it in just about every aspect. As many mentioned and I suspected, it isn't quite stout enough for batonning. I could definitely get some light wood work done with it, especially for some stubborn small stuff or shavings for kindling, but it is a .5oz ti blade after all and shouldnt be counted on for that stuff.

Thanks again for all of the contributions to this thread. They really helped me figure this out and I am very pleased with my selections.

^ very nice :)

I think you'll be happy w/ the Izula too, nice knife (sad, but I think I've owned damned near every lightweight fixed blade on the market :))

Logan,

What us the weight of the Ti knife abd sheath combined?

I can't believe I left out such an important detail on BPL! The knife is .5 oz and the sheath .27 oz for .77 total weight.

ETA: That was perfect to spec in the ebay ad.

Logan,thanks for the weight specs.

What is the sheath made from?

+ 1 for the Candiru. Its a small fixed blade that can take a beating, and comes in under 3oz with the sheath.

A Mora comes with me on day trips and overnighters.

On longer trips I take the CRKT RSK MK6.

Size and weight is very close to the famed Esee Izula, works well for batoning and all sorts of firewood preparation.
Got rid of the ridiculous paracord handle wrap as soon as I got the knife, and added a piece of a narrow bicycle tube instead. My hands have no complaints, the grip is decent.

I think the blade of the Esee Candiru is too short for the task, and a bit too thin. I would not use it for batoning unless it's the only option left.

Jimmer,

It is just hook and loop (velcro) fastened together with the grommets. It can be drawn with reasonable speed by holding the top of the sheath and pulling the handle of the blade away from it. It comes right out, but is otherwise secure. The knife comes with a nice letter detailing these things. He said hook and loop was the only way he could get the sheath to weigh less than the knife.

We took the pop up camper out last weekend and I found this in a drawer.

A D. H. Russel #2 Trout and Bird knife I've had it since my 20's, I had to replace the handle years ago because the original broke from a brief throwing period I went through. I am not sure of the weight, but it is definitely lighter the the Mora Companion I just got. Pricier too.

I am not sure of the strength in regards to using it to baton, the tang is full through the handle but that is pretty small. I have big hands and find the tiny handle actually gives good control the way it is shaped. A little late posting in this thread, but another nice alternative for a light backpacking knife, and I love the curves. Now, which to pack?

I was in the same boat as you, I avoided researching and updating the knives I've had since I was a kid. I broke the last one so had to get past the moragasm and see what works best.

What I came up with is a Dexter-Russell Fisher. It is a 3oz solid carbon steel blade that I keep on my person for every project and hike. Only 13 dollars on amazon and should last down to my grand kids. Made a .3oz ducttape holster.

Opinel is a good 1.5oz 4" folding blade that I got too, can handle small batoning but not the best, keeps a scary sharp edge.