Processed Fat Wood fire starters

[GrizzlyetteAdams]

Warning to all! If you are chopping up fatwood beware...knots that are saturated with resin will chip a knife in a heartbeat!

Don't ask me how I know, I don't want to relive it. :(

This is good to know! Never used a knife; I normally use an axe. When I moved onto my bugout land years ago, I found a LOT of fatwood stumps and logs. Gathered most of the logs into one pile and now I feel fatwood-rich!

This thread inspires me to get busy and process portable kits that includes small sticks of fatwood. As much of this stuff I am sitting on, I act like Scrooge does with his gold: I use it sparingly, but I should include these fat-wood kits in my vehicles, backpacks, etc.

[Applejack]

Great info on fatwood.. This makes great fire starters.

[Snow Walker]

Warning to all! If you are chopping up fatwood beware...knots that are saturated with resin will chip a knife in a heartbeat!

Don't ask me how I know, I don't want to relive it. :(

[Skyowl's Wife]

Thanks, guys!

[Diesel]

Fat wood!



You can gather it yourself in the base of pine trees or where branches meet the tree trunk, but the "stump" area is the best

Also you can buy boxes of it in some firewood/charcoal sections of walmart and some grocery stores

It smells VERy piney almost with a hint of turpentine

Lights EXTREMELY well and burns awhile due to being saturated with tree resin, which contains terpene you can read up on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terpene

I presize some of mine in for my fire building techniques

[Stitch]

How do I recognize fat wood?

One of the easiest ways is by the weight of the wood. If it is full of resin it will be much heavier than a comparable piece of dead wood.

Fatwood can also be used to make pine tar.

[Snow Walker]

Snow Walker,

I am guessing it could possibly be from age. Yours appears to contain more resin. I found this piece on the ground. Maybe yours was more protected fro the weather?

Stitch

Your probably right because mine was actually contained within deeper parts of the wood. I have run into fatwood like yours now that I think about it and it still worked. I was wondering if maybe due to the different types of trees in your location it might make a difference also. I've noticed that the different types of pines in my area can make a big difference in itself.

Bt the way...my wife said your girlfriend/wife has more guts then her about the whole worm eating thing. I tried to get her to do it even by eating one myself and she told me to find a different wife. :( lol

[Stitch]

Snow Walker,

I am guessing it could possibly be from age. Yours appears to contain more resin. I found this piece on the ground. Maybe yours was more protected fro the weather?

Stitch

[Snow Walker]

Just wondering why it looks so dry? The fat wood I dig up from Red Pine stumps are very sticky and "fat looking".

Really good fatwood should feel like wood, but look like pure resin which will require alot less of it to get a fire going.

I agree, fatwood is the way to go, but try to find the resin impregnated pieces.

[Skyowl's Wife]

How do I recognize fat wood?

[Stitch]

Stitch?

Did you make it, buy it, or find it? If so, how, where, or ... where?

Skyowl's Wife,

The Prescott National Forest is full of fatwood from the Ponderosa Pine Trees. I used my SAK to cut a piece about a foot long & then batoned it into about 1/4" sections and then broke those into about three inch pieces. This size lights pretty eazy with a match or lighter.

Stitch

[Skyowl's Wife]

Stitch?

Did you make it, buy it, or find it? If so, how, where, or ... where?

[PT945]

I need to find a source for fat wood near my area, I've never tried it as a tinder.

[Diesel]

Excellent, I have a ton if stored up as well

[Stitch]