Collecting fatwood

Pritch said:
I have plenty of fatwood currently, but it is store bought, so it didn't come with an education. I still feel unsure about exactly where to look for fatwood. I live in the PNW, so there is no shortage of stumps. When I have probed, they are alternately rotted punk or steel I-beams! On bowhunting trips I haven't been willing to make excessive noise to tear stumps apart and I haven't always had the most robust of tools with me.

I'm itching to get out with the intent of learning what to look for, and how to mine fatwood in the field.

So there are plenty of stumps. I assume that only a few are good fatwood sources. Can you tell by looking or is probing necessary? (Details please!)

Bushie, Pit or others: What "club" do you reach for to break apart a stump. I know Joe uses an old baseball bat to smash pines back east, but from what little probing I have done, it looks like a chopper that can handle some prying is in order. I recently acquired a FFBM in trade, but it has been out being fitted with new pants. I hope to get it back today and want to break it in properly.

Bushie, I LOVED the pictures of that deep amber heart-fatwood. was that deep inside the stump? Was it from one considered old growth?

Knowing about fatwood is great. Having some in my kit is wonderful. Being able to identify and harvest in the field could be a lifesaver.

Thanks.
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Good question buddy but quite a tough one to answer !

Virtually every rotted pine stump ya find will contain some fatwood. I usually ' test feel' the tallest stalks at the top of the stump, if they are hard then it is most likely fatwood. You usually have to kick apart the soft rotten punk wood to reach the inner sections of fatwood.This is always fun as ya get to a zillion termites,ants and centipedes running for cover !!!!!
Once you have found it a couple of times it becomes very easy to spot, even way off in the forest or even from your car as you drive past tree covered areas!

As for harvesting it I use whatever I have, if I have a small knife I batton sections off, if I have my knatchet I just chop sections off but very often I just work them with my hands or kick them apart !
 
Pritch, the "steel I-beams" are probably fatwood. As has been said once you know it it's no problem. If in doubt light a bit, the rich stuff will produce sooty black smoke and light very easily with a match.
 
Howdy,

I just hunt around and find it when I need to build a fire. I typically save some and throw it in the back of the truck in case I'm in an area where it's not as common.

To find it, look for old, gray, skelton looking stumps (pines the best) that everything has rotted away, except for the pitchwood. Take a cut on the stump and smell. The stumps are typically decades old and the pitch is hard, not sticky. If you don't cut it, you wouldn't even realize it was there.

DSC04520cropped.jpg


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angle iron said:
Pritch, the "steel I-beams" are probably fatwood. As has been said once you know it it's no problem. If in doubt light a bit, the rich stuff will produce sooty black smoke and light very easily with a match.
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LOL! I tried to kick a piece of a stump and ended up on my butt! (My mental calculator was set on wood, not structural steel!) The Mrs. thought it was very entertaining. :rolleyes:
 
Pritch said:
LOL! I tried to kick a piece of a stump and ended up on my butt! (My mental calculator was set on wood, not structural steel!) The Mrs. thought it was very entertaining. :rolleyes:
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Sure sounds like it might be fatwood to me.
 
I'm looking out my widow and can see at least 10 fatwood stump. I do have a bunch of it cut up but I don't even collect it anymore around here. It's everywhere.
 
I found and got my own, I just went back out to check the trunk... I found the branches at the bottom of the trunk were full of resin.

I figure these branches will be easier to split as well.

fatwood007.jpg

fatwood010.jpg
 
i guilt my single friends into bringing me some nowadays, preferrably while i drink their beer by my fire ring, while they show me their firemaking skills....

works like a charm.

vec
 
hey SKIMO! slice a whole bunch of "cookies" off those branches and make some fatwood pendants and buttons.
 
I might make a necklace, I was actually thinking of using a section as a hand stop on a lanyard for my RAT 7.
 
Yeah, that's very similar, but I'll make mine bigger with shorter paracord . I'll just have to post pics when I do it.
 
thats some high quality stuff skimo! I went out yesterday and found a stump about 10" around that was solid fatwood like those branches..I didnt leave any behind LOL..Good score man!
 
Thanks, I let one of my military buddies in on the stash, he'll be taking his axe and an A3 bag to haul some out.

Great score on a 10" stump that's chock full of resin!

Branches are so nice because they split so easily, no knots. :D
 
I should be able to make some sweet beer coasters from this one.

Come's in right at 6 pounds, 2.72 kilos, 0.43 stones.

fatwood015.jpg
 
Skimo said:
I found and got my own, I just went back out to check the trunk... I found the branches at the bottom of the trunk were full of resin.

I figure these branches will be easier to split as well.

fatwood007.jpg

fatwood010.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice score there. The pictures tell the story for sure!
 
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