Just got back from another weekend in the woods. The last time I went with this group, I was splitting wood using my large 'chopper' RD-9 knife to baton with and a folding saw to cut smaller diameter trees. This time I took a small knife and an axe, and was posed an odd question- I was asked if I had given up on the other method.
The truth is, I prefer batoning and I feel it is safer and more effective in certain situations than using an axe, but I chose to practice a different methods of performing the same task for a reason. Using one skill over and over makes you really really good at getting results with that one skill, but in the event that you can't use it, it also means you have not built up your other skills with which to replace it with.
In this case I felt it was important to practice my technique splitting logs with an axe, and making feather sticks rather than batoning through thick logs.
This concept carries over to all other skills as well, for instance- starting one fire with fatwood, one with birch bark tinder, or one with feather sticks.
Practicing different skills each means that you're more adaptable when the situation in not favourable to one particular condition giving you more tools to use in an emergency if needed.
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