Hello everyone. It's great to find such a dedicated, skilled, friendly group. I've a lot to learn and this is just the place.
I'll hazard an opinion and reasons for it. I've used a Buck 110 more than any other knife in the field and I've prized it for its sharpness and edge retention. Many times, other hunters have commented on its ability to stay sharp while butchering large game, even after being pressed into service on several animals in a row with no touch ups. It's served me well in what little carving I've needed and stayed keen through it. This plus ease of sharpening (and it is easy with ceramics) is a real plus. I've other blades of better steels (440c, ats 34, cpm s30v, etc.) but it seems (non-scientifically) to cut better, longer. The handle is comfortable and doesn't pinch or rub under force. It's also easy to carry and out of the way--meaning it will be on and available at all times.
It's obviously not a fixed blade, and lacks the absolute simplicity and soundness of one. It is, however, mechanically reliable (an oxymoron?) and I have used it to baton small trees in the absence of any better tool--with care, and I add that I wouldn't expect it to survive wood splitting as the forces involved in that application directly stress the lock. Batoning even smallish trees (4" or less) takes time and energy I'm not sure they're worth. Pick smaller saplings (1 to 2") and cut them down.
Overall, I have a strong suspicion that it would be unwise to use any knife (other than perhaps a sharpened prybar...and these usually surrender usefulness as knives) to baton wood in such a situation, If you have but one blade, and if survival may depend on that one blade being able to cut and cut well, risking the knife in hard (non-cutting) use unless absolutely required seems needlessly foolish. Just imagine hearing the high, ringing note of steel breaking on a knot while you're really in the bush.
In general, if you've the opportunity to find nicely grained wood to split, you've time to work out a better plan than batoning, time to find smaller sticks/kindling, time to gather hanging wood, time to find something dry and time to avoid splitting wet wood laying on wet ground in the hopes of finding dry wood inside.
Folks with more experience in the woods, especially in the deep woods, should weigh in here and correct me if I'm wrong. Seriously. But I haven't personally encountered any situation where ingenuity and a sharp blade couldn't or didn't accomplish more work than brute force (and here the blade could be a slipjoint) or a scenario where I absolutely had to baton wood to find something dry enough to burn. Maybe others have, and I'd like to hear about that.
In general, you're going to have the knife you actually carry, and at least for me, that's unlikely to be a fixed blade. I like fixed blades, but I feel stupid carrying one, more than a little self-conscious. I've never needed the "it won't close on my fingers" reassurance.
But that's me--use what works for you and get on with it.
