- Joined
- Nov 5, 2009
- Messages
- 538
Hello everyone,
It is winter in my part of the world, and this season brings a whole host of harvests and activities!
It is a time to flake some stone tools, to carve, and also to make some pitch!
Pitch, or sap resin, is the premier, easy to make, and most readily available natural glue out there. Hide glue may be the stronger, but it doesn't coat like pitch. Pitch glue has been used for eons, from the Arctic to Rome to Australia, as it comes from many sap yielding sources.
It's use is multi-fold. I use it to haft stone blades or tips to wooden or bone implements, I use it to patch cracks or seal holes, seal knots, and it makes an excellent fire igniter. Mixed with the sap of Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) and natural dyes it is an excellent waterproof paint or sealant for sinew, cordage, and more.
Because of it's versatile use and function, I always carry some with me! I put it in seashells, acorn shells, or wrapped on sticks.
The making of pitch is very easy, and requires very little in the way of ingredients. Once you understand the basic concept in mix, you can experiment with a whole variety of different natural substances. There are many recipes, but few that could be called 'all-around use' pitch. For this reason, many consider pitch to be weak, or too brittle. Yet, there are always better ways to make it, and have it be flexible to mold, hard when dry and durable so as not to chip or snap.
The Recipe for Today:
-Pine sap (can be from Douglas Fir, Birch, etc. as well, Birch yields a very fine, thin resin) that I placed in a tin with a perforated bottom,
-wood charcoal from the fire,
-dry deer scat (A spring cake but still dry! This is among the last of my dry herbivore scat from early in the year. Dry crushed grasses, leaves, sawdust, bone dust will all work as well. And yes, I do stock up on dry deer scat, but can't keep it in the house!
)
-In addition, I will be adding beeswax. Fat can also be substituted but gives a somewhat different consistency.
The Tools:
-a tin with holes poked in the bottom (pitch goes in this one and sifts out debris),
-a larger tin that holds the first, to catch the melted resin
-a billet/digging stick,
-a pointed stick to gather the final product with,
-and a stirring/scraping stick.
The Process:
I begin with the preparation. Prep is my 'ritual time' if you will. The more I put into the preparation, the more assured I am of the quality. It is a time to gather all tools and ingredients.
Mashing and grinding the dry scat and charcoal to fine powder, breaking the beeswax into smaller pieces, and heating up the pine sap.
Note: I am going for a certain type of consistency and look with this batch. I have been making a few indigenous Australian tool replicas and want to imitate the warm, rich, colorful resin they utilize from native resin yielders like Spinifex and Xanthorroea...
More to come!!!
It is winter in my part of the world, and this season brings a whole host of harvests and activities!
It is a time to flake some stone tools, to carve, and also to make some pitch!
Pitch, or sap resin, is the premier, easy to make, and most readily available natural glue out there. Hide glue may be the stronger, but it doesn't coat like pitch. Pitch glue has been used for eons, from the Arctic to Rome to Australia, as it comes from many sap yielding sources.
It's use is multi-fold. I use it to haft stone blades or tips to wooden or bone implements, I use it to patch cracks or seal holes, seal knots, and it makes an excellent fire igniter. Mixed with the sap of Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) and natural dyes it is an excellent waterproof paint or sealant for sinew, cordage, and more.
Because of it's versatile use and function, I always carry some with me! I put it in seashells, acorn shells, or wrapped on sticks.
The making of pitch is very easy, and requires very little in the way of ingredients. Once you understand the basic concept in mix, you can experiment with a whole variety of different natural substances. There are many recipes, but few that could be called 'all-around use' pitch. For this reason, many consider pitch to be weak, or too brittle. Yet, there are always better ways to make it, and have it be flexible to mold, hard when dry and durable so as not to chip or snap.
The Recipe for Today:
-Pine sap (can be from Douglas Fir, Birch, etc. as well, Birch yields a very fine, thin resin) that I placed in a tin with a perforated bottom,
-wood charcoal from the fire,
-dry deer scat (A spring cake but still dry! This is among the last of my dry herbivore scat from early in the year. Dry crushed grasses, leaves, sawdust, bone dust will all work as well. And yes, I do stock up on dry deer scat, but can't keep it in the house!
) -In addition, I will be adding beeswax. Fat can also be substituted but gives a somewhat different consistency.
The Tools:
-a tin with holes poked in the bottom (pitch goes in this one and sifts out debris),
-a larger tin that holds the first, to catch the melted resin
-a billet/digging stick,
-a pointed stick to gather the final product with,
-and a stirring/scraping stick.
The Process:
I begin with the preparation. Prep is my 'ritual time' if you will. The more I put into the preparation, the more assured I am of the quality. It is a time to gather all tools and ingredients.
Mashing and grinding the dry scat and charcoal to fine powder, breaking the beeswax into smaller pieces, and heating up the pine sap.
Note: I am going for a certain type of consistency and look with this batch. I have been making a few indigenous Australian tool replicas and want to imitate the warm, rich, colorful resin they utilize from native resin yielders like Spinifex and Xanthorroea...
More to come!!!
Last edited:
Sorry for butting in so quickly, Joe.
