Although hacking knives were originally designed to remove hard old putty from window frames, people have found other uses for them.
Batoning wood
Batoning wood is the process of splitting small logs down for kindling using a knife. The hacking knife is placed on top of the piece of wood and the top of the blade is struck with a hammer or large stick, driving it down through the wood..
This is done in-line with the grain so that as the wedge-shaped blade is forced through the wood it splits it along the grain into smaller pieces. This is repeated until you achieve pieces of wood small enough to be used as kindling for starting a fire.
Batoning is a safer method of splitting small pieces of wood down for kindling than using an axe or hatchet as the blade is not being swung, giving you more control.
Cutting thick cables
Hacking knives are also used by engineers working with thick cables that have a protective metal sheath built into the cable, such as on PILC (paper insulated, lead covered high voltage mains power cables).
The hacking knife is used to cut through and strip back the protective metal sheath when splicing or replacing these cables. Specialist plastic or insulated hacking knives are often used for this type of work
Cutting lead
The sturdy design of the hacking knife, which makes it suitable for striking with a hammer, allows it to be used to cut through many materials, including lead. For more information on how hacking knives can be used for this, see What is a lead knife?
