It seems like lots of people carry multi-tools as part of their EDC. Anyone try batoning with a multi-tool blade? How'd it work for you?

I EDC a multi-tool and when I go into the woods, I bring a full kit. For the sake of preparedness, I like to try stuff out in the safety of my own yard first, so I have batoned with my multi-tools. I know that they were not designed for that, but I rather break one at home and buy a new one than break it when I need it and be stuck.

Enough rambling from me...

I cut branches with the saw of my Wave and Spirit. Both work well, but not as good as the larger Gerber saw I carry in my pack.

Spliting the branches by batoning yielded interesting and not altogether unexpected results. The Spirit is the batoing winner. Splits wood easily and while the lock fails, it remains undamaged after. Splitting with the Wave was much harder and the lock also failed, but the flimsy liner lock was damaged after.

All the more reason to have a good fixed blade on your person when out in the woods.

Interesting. What size branches were you batoning?

-Blast

The branches weren't very thick, only about 1 1/2 inches thick. They were not green, but dry.

I wonder if the liner on the newer models are stronger. Mine is pretty old.

I would never think about batoning with a multitool lol that's a good one! When I read the topic I was wondering if it was a serious thread lol...

I wanted to see if it would work. Now I know I can split wood easily with the Spirit but not easily with the Wave. My urban EDC does not include a fixed blade but includes a multi-tool or SAK. I am more used to a SAK for EDC so wanted to test the limits of the two multi-tools I have.

When I am out in the woods, I carry a Fallkniven S1 with a Gerber saw in the pack. And depending on where I am going and what I am doing, a kukhuri. Camping this weekend. Will not take kukhuri, but my Wetterlings axe for firewood cutting. Sometimes I keep my fixed knife in the pack too and have only a SAK or multi-tool on my person. I already know what the SAK is capable of.

I would welcome suggestions or comments.

I wouldn't normally baton with a multi-tool either. That is why curiousity got the better of me. I have a strange desire to know before I have to find out the hard way.

It seems, to me at least, that the Victorinox Swisstool Spirit is more robust than the Leatherman Wave.

That's cool aloha. Thanks for sharing your experiment.

Frankie

Posting this has led to a couple of tips I haven't thought of.

One is leaving the blade unlocked to baton, thus leaving the lock undamaged.

The second is to drop a big rock on the branch and pick out the kindling.

.... or cut/saw the branch and use it to "beat" the big rock and gather the fragments (of the branch of course!)