I have got to ask a question which has vexed me for some time. Why baton at all? I gather one of the more common reasons is to get at the dry interiors of branches for dry firewood.
When I build a fire, I start out with small stuff, generally snapped off of standing trees, up to about wrist size, Even in rainy weather, these are always quite dry. If I want larger pieces, I will prop a long so the middle is unsupported, and either stomp on with my boot, or drop a large rock on it. Very quickly I can produce enough wood for an all night fire, if necessary.
I have never felt the need to beat a poor knife through wood, nor have I ever witnessed it. What gives?
Hikermor, you have to get out of the CA environment <G> Remember the entire state has been a drought since I was born - the pine is fairly dry, with pine cones and needles all over the mountains. Or scrub brush in the chaparrel. Or joshua trees in... Joshua Tree. My point is, lots of dry (or drier) tinder, and little precipitation to soak it.
Since moving from CA, I've tried batoning a few times. Usually the vegetation is lusher and harder to light than the stuff you and I are used to. Birch, cattails, etc are all "wet weather" types of plants, which implies that the weather tends to be, well, wetter. Even the moss and leaves are usually somewhat damp, in comparison to the bone-dry CA environments.
To summarize, yeah, a hunk of redwood, or pine, or walnut, or oak in CA is usually dried out and fairly easy to light. Picking up a hunk of wood from anywhere west of the Rockies and it's likely to not be "dried," harder to keep going, and harder to start.
One more thing - you shouldn't be snapping branches or twigs off living trees! Smokey would bite you for that.