I came home from work early this afternoon on a beautiful fall day. Thought I would process some wood for a fire in the evening. Then a nice sized log came along and I decided to make an effort at a baton using my Junglas. My starting piece. Forming the club head. Handle shaping up. This work was all done with chopping motions. The Junglas chops better than any blade that I've ever used. But I intend to try this same project again with a hand hatchet or small ax and see how it compares. Secondary benefit, making lots of good kindling shavings for starting the fire. At this point I was using the blade almost like a spoke planer. I would grasp the top of the blade on one end and the top of the handle on the other and push cut the wood down and away from me. I didn't want to chop and then start boogering the hammer head. So I just pushed into the head. I wasn't quite finished here but my forearm was really getting tired. I would like to thin the handle out a little more. On the other hand, I don't want to get too thin and break off the head portion. I spent about 40 minutes making this silly thing. But I've never done one before and always thought it looked pretty cool. Frankly, the practical side of me says just use the log in its raw form and save the work effort. But I'm glad I tried it. And the best part is I got to know my Junglas a lot better.
It's always worth the time to slim down the handle vs. using a raw log. You'll tire yourself out more holding the thing than you will swinging it if you don't.
Good job JAD. I've never added a handle to my baton, most of the time I'll just find one that I can comfortably grip and baton with. Good practice of knife skills making one of these though! Did you use that Junglas?
@91bravo -- Yes, the Junglas and nothing else. I guess if I was making a camp and had a lot of wood processing to do for fire making it would be time well spent. An ancillary benefit was a lot of wood chips for fire starter. And I appreciate what @FortyTwoBlades said about comfort and fatigue. This club feels very comfortable in my hand. I also batoned with it after finishing the shaping. It swung nicely. It was like having a rubber mallet. But I wonder if you could get more than a weekend out of it. The mallet head took a beating pounding on my Junglas. For anyone thinking about trying this, there was an additional benefit. I learned some things about using my Junglas. Chopping at the best angle. Chop enough and you will find your mind, eye, and muscles zeroing in on precisely the best angle to strike your object for maximum wood removal. Shaving with the knife. It occurred to me to use the blade as a spoke planer using a two handed grip. The size of the Junglas makes this easy to do. Not so for most smaller knives. Even a 6 would not work as easily with a two handed grip. It is not a 6. That might sound obvious. But when I bought the Junglas I asked myself do I really need this knife if I already have and really like my 6. It is such a different knife in hand. Do I need it? Hell no. But I really like having it.
Next make wooden wedges and use the Junglas for pointing the wedges when they wear and for scoring the initial splits. You'll be amazed by the performance of the wooden wedges, and you'll massively extend the life of your baton.
Nice mallet! I like to make these things out of different woods, typically when splitting logs for making spoons. Two things I would do that speeds up the process and helps make a more "finished" smooth handle. First would be to use a mallet with a little more head and shorter handle. I find a ratio of 1/3 head and 2/3 handle swings real well for tasks that will be closer to your body. Second, make the first cut with the Junglas a cross grain stop cut all the way around the log. Then standing the log on its end you can baton with the grain to create the handle. Depending on the size of the log and the thickness of the handle you want you may do this process several times. If you are just practicing chopping you may not go this route, but you can make a quick mallet with a fairly smooth handle with this method.
