>>1050683I disagree. Axes were very common in the nordic regions. It was a common item produced by blacksmiths. So while they may not have had a lot of hatchets, the had a lot of axes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_Age_arms_and_armourAlso, the pic is the world boreal map. You'll notice most of Sweden and Norway are the same as western Canada (south of the territories anyways). So no, not that different.
So, my opinion is that batonning for general firewood processing would have been avoided because of the risk of breaking your knife. Steel was hand smelted. Do you have any idea how labor intensive that is?
Steel tools are precious when you need them and they're not easily replace.
This modern meme warrior idea that you baton through big logs, and with no regard for knots or grain straightness is completely a modern idiocy.