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There is a reason hammers are not made of wood.

Wood can generate the force, but it doesn't hold up as well and isn't hard enough to drive steel nails without a slightly harder than nails steel head. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

However, if you were to put a 1" diameter "hardened" steel slug on the front end of a piece of wood that had comparable weight to a hammer, you could hammer nails with a board.

But, for batoning, wood is better for your knife. The force is mostly there - some force is lost to the softness of the wood. And your wood baton just takes a beating and won't last as long as a hammer.
But, your knife will "look" nicer and last longer.

Wood batons are generally disposable enough.

For the record, many types of rocks (igneous in particular) are harder than hammers. SR-77 can break "some" rocks, but know that the steel can and will likely deform at least some.

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