Batoning is hard on the knife and on the hand. Even high quality knives can snap in half from the extreme leverage that batoning puts on the top-front of the tang. It would certainly not a first choice method for firestarting, but it is one tool in the woodsmans toolbox. A person who is on a well prepared camping or backpack trip would never abuse a knife this way. In a survival situation however, a medium to large sized full tang knife could be used in the absence of an axe by batoning to cut down a tree, split some cedar to repair a canoe, make a flat splint for a companion, make some snowshoes, or fashion a paddle. The old woodsmen will tell you to never enter the woods without an axe. There is a reason that the more primitive and remote the area is, the bigger the knife the locals carry.