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Thread: Fatwood

  1. #1
    Dont worry about shitting yourself
    Gunfixr's Avatar
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    Fatwood

    I was in Food Lion earlier this week, shopping for the week's groceries. I normally go to Chinamart, since they are cheaper, but I hate the place. So, if the list is fairly short, I'll hit the food kitty, as it's closer, and has less idiots in it.
    Since I don't shop there much, I don't know the store as well, so often I'll end up going down most of the aisles, looking for what I'm after. This time, I just went down them all, as seeing them like that will ingrain the store layout to me after several times.
    In one of the "other items" aisles, where the grilling stuff is, I saw a box labeled "Fatwood". I had walked by it, before it fully registered, and I backed up.
    For any who might not know what fatwood is, it's wood from the stump of a recently fallen pine tree. The sap, which is a very flammable resin, collects in the stump of a pine tree, especially as it dies. It collects also at the trunk where a limb meets it, but in much less quantity.
    This wood is virtually wet with resin, being damp and sticky in the hands. It burns readily, easily ignited with a match. If shaved up kind of fuzzy with a knife, it can be ignited with just sparks.
    I think it's usefulness can clearly be understood.
    Once a tree falls, cutting into the stump will yield this fatwood, which is ever shrinking as the stump slowly dries out, and it is finally gone.

    To see it in a box, on a store shelf, was kind of shocking.

    It doesn't give a weight, but it feels like a pound or two. For $5, no less.

    The weeks shopping budget was tight, so I only bought one. But I will be back for more.

    I opened the box, and they are just loosely packed inside. If you get some, be sure to seal the box or pieces in something more airtight, to keep the resin from drying out too quickly.
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  2. #2
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    I got a box of that at WallyWorld a few years ago and it works great. I packed it in a ziploc bag and have it stored in a compartment in our camper. Makes for quick fires.

  3. #3
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    Don't cook over it, that turpentine is nasty. Down here, we find it in the woods. We call it liter wood. It is the heart of the pine, and as I understand it, the tree had to have died naturally or the tree will just rot. The turpentine collects in the heart and it is the best firestarter ever. Smokes black and gets real hot.
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  4. #4
    Dont worry about shitting yourself
    Gunfixr's Avatar
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    Really, you just use it as a starter, so it's going to be pretty well burned up by the time you have a good fore going and you're cooking.

    But yes, cooking over a resin fire wouldn't be advised.
    Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers.
    Liberty is a Man-Of-War, and we are all crew.

  5. #5
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    Brownwater Riverrat 13's Avatar
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    For you Florida, Alabama, Georgia folks if your the woodsy type. I used to gather the pine trees that were hit by lightning. Many to be found in Florida. I'd sliver them up using a hatchet (after cutting the tree or logs into manageable pieces) this made some serious starter wood. I guess somehow the lightning had a way of "flashing the sap" it can be distinguished from other fallen pines by noting that these suckers are hard as a rock compared to the other fallen/dead pines. At least that's how I found them. That stuff worked great! You could light a cut with a match and it would take off like you soaked it in jet fuel. Just my roll-a-quarters................
    Be safe.............the night is your friend.

  6. #6
    Wants you to "look at what he's holding tonight".


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    We call it pine heart here, and it can be found all over my property. Every rotten pine tree laying on the ground has some. Just kick it open and grab all you want.
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  7. #7
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    I love the stuff. I've got cans of the shavings in every pack that I have. Just a few shavings and some tinder does the trick.
    Amazon has fatwood for dirtcheap in bulk for the people not wanting to go hunting for the stuff.



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  8. #8
    plenty of extra room "down his pants"
    ElevenBravo's Avatar
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    I find fatwood in the woods when I can, in SW VA pine trees are real common.

    However, I had bought a box of fatwood about a year ago, its still good today.

    I use about 2 sticks to insure I build a good fire, once the black smoke is gone, the fatwood is burnt up and the camp fire has already roared into action... ready to cook, etc... then.

    I was very impressed with the quality of the fatwood I bought and plan on getting more for stocking... Vac bags or mylar, something to keep them from drying out.

    EB
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  9. #9
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    Down here it is called rich pine or pine knots. I see it for sale once in a while here at Walmart or the feed stores. I have never bought it out of a store. It is very plentiful here in the woods. Just have to go get it. It doesn't go bad, well not for 10 years or better anyway, if you leave it whole and don't split it up.

    We have used it as a fire starter in our wood heaters as long as I can remember. You don't want to burn too much of it cause it makes creosote build up quick.

    Anywhere there are pine trees you will find it. It seems to make better out of short leaf pine though. I think that has something to do with the higher resin content in the trees.
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  10. #10
    Dont worry about shitting yourself
    Gunfixr's Avatar
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    Just isn't any woods where I live, so it's buy it or not have it.
    May be able to go to the big park in the adjoining city, but it's most of an hour drive, and they'd probably jump you just for hacking on a fallen tree.
    Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers.
    Liberty is a Man-Of-War, and we are all crew.

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