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Comment by Tobias Gibson on November 9, 2015 at 10:01

Howard, I loved the Richtig article!

Featured Comment by Jeremy B. Buchanan on November 4, 2015 at 20:28

Tobias - Very well spoken and right in line with my thinking on the matter of battoning. I want a knife that can perform in an emergency situation. I have tried battoning with the Colonial Defiant to see how it would perform. I do not intend on using it for this purpose often. Thus the reason I started asking about a good choice for an ax. I do have a small folding saw and would like to have a decent, small ax or hatchet to complete my camp tool kit. At this point I will be carrying my TOPs B.O.B. knife and my Corona folding saw. With my current budget, I am leaning towards the Husqvarna Carpenter's axe. If I come into more money before I order that one, I may go for a Hultafors Hatchet or axe.

Comment by Jan Carter on November 4, 2015 at 18:12

Howard,

That happens to be one of my favorite knife related articles of all time!

Tobias,

That is what I was thinking while seeing all those videos LOL

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on November 4, 2015 at 14:30

Hitler, Grandpa, knife abuse, batoning; a little historical perspective.

https://clarksonhistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/secrets-of-the-dea...

I think Tobias makes a great point about axes.  You just gotta think of them as an essential tool to pack, as is a collapsible saw like a Sven saw, and a knife or two, along with a file to sharpen your axe.  

 

Comment by Tobias Gibson on November 4, 2015 at 9:32

Here is my thoughts on batoning with a knife.

Knowing how to baton with a knife is good skill to know for any woodsman. It is also good to know if your blade is capable of doing it before you get into a situation where you have to do it in order to survive. If your lifestyle puts you in a position where this is a real possibility, then having a knife that is capable of batoning is a good idea even if you have no intention of doing it.

That said, if this knife is not going to be suitable for all the other things you will be relying on your knife to do then this knife will be a secondary back-up for your main knife and your hatchet or axe. It should not be your primary or only tool.

Most people, even most people who camp regularly will never, ever have to baton with a knife unless they intentionally put themselves in that position or were to stupid to pack an axe..

However, the smart woodsman will have some type of axe or hatchet or even a saw with him!  To leave it behind would be kinda silly. Axes and hatchets should be tools of the trade for a woodsman.  Knives are a poor substitute for an axe just as an axe is a poor substitute for a knife.

Intentionally using a knife for a chore your axe or hatchet should do and/or using your axe for a knife chore should left to the posers on reality TV or truly for emergency situations.

Even Neanderthals realized you could chop wood better if you put the blade on the end of long handle!  After 70,000+ years of knife and axe evolution we're suddenly playing with the idea of one blade, one tool, for all chores?  I seriously doubt this is true, except for the people who are marketing bushcraft knives.

Why baton with a knife?  So we can pack lighter?  Maybe the better idea is dump the 600 ft of "emergency" paracord bracelets, belts, and handle wraps that you're never ever going to unravel because they look too cool to use and instead pack about 60 feet of 50lb fishing line wrapped around your flashlight which doesn't look cool but you'll find extremely useful even in non-emergency situations!

Paracord and batoning!  They follow in the footsteps of such dynamic duos as  Hope & Crosby, Martin & Lewis, and Abbot & Costello.

Comment by Shlomo ben Maved on November 3, 2015 at 23:17

Hitler Against Battoning

YouTube clip

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on November 3, 2015 at 14:13

Hahahahaha.  Kinda brave, except for the "turned to off" part.

Comment by Tobias Gibson on November 3, 2015 at 13:58

Howard, to be honest, I'm not too concerned.  I use it when I need to make little sticks out of big sticks.  It is in the shed next to my $20 shovels, rakes and other yard implements.

I wanted an axe with a handle between toe or three feet long and this one seemed to fit my needs perfectly.  I recall removing a paper sticker from it that read made in USA.  I could probably go back to the my neighborhood hardware store and find another one still there.  Some stock doesn't move that quickly.  Heck, I took his Mint in the box, Big Mouth Billy Bass off his hands about a week ago.  It had been there since they first came out!  Had a $15 sticker on the box, told him I'd give him $5 for it.

When he asked why I wanted it, I told him so I could annoy my wife with it!

He laughed, told me to take it and said he hoped my wife would kick my *** when I played it! It is in the man cave with the switch turned to off! 

Okay I've digressed, Big Mouth Billy Bass have nothing to do with axes unless you use them as a target in an axe throwing contest!  Wonder how long the stupid fish would sing "Don't Worry Be Happy" if that were the case!

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on November 3, 2015 at 13:08

Tobias,

Some Collins Boys axes, and other axes, were stamped on the axe head near the poll with "Collins".  Paper labels were used a lot as well - with no stamping.  I'm not an expert on axes, and don't know if the stampings covered certain years, or if they stamped willy-nilly whenever they felt like it.  Since you bought your Boys Axe around the time that Mann stopped making them, you might have a Mann made Collins instead of a Mexican made one.  Fit and finish might be the best judge unless someone here at iKC is an expert on axes.

Comment by Howard P Reynolds on November 3, 2015 at 11:30

The Mann Edge Tool Co. bought out Collins in 1966, and moved their equipment to Lewistown, PA (Mann Axe HQ).  In the liquidation of Collins, Mann got the U.S. plant, but The Stanley Works of New Britain, CT. bought the 4 out of country Collins plants (Mexico).  Mann Edge Tool ceased production of the Collins brand in 2003, and the Collins axes you see today, I think, are made in the old Collins Mexico plants now owned by Truper Herramientas.

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