Fatwood?

tgreen812

tgreen812

Joined
Feb 2, 2013
Messages
251
Hey all me and some beckers are going on the hunt for some fat wood this weekend any tips?
 
Take a big knife or a pack axe. Most of what I've come across, the outside is greyed wood and once you get past that layer, that fatwood abounds.
 
x2 on the axe----I have been finding fatwood since I was 5 and I didnt even know it. lol. My grandpa showed me what it was when I was little. Up until a few years ago, I thought it was just a very specific type of pine tree that smelled like that. (I am not sure this is even accurate, but its what I remember him telling me years ago. I havent been out looking since I found out what he was showing me was fatwood-)He taught me to look for stumps with jagged break lines because pines break more jagged than hardwood. Then He said to rip off an outer piece. According to Gramps, the stronger the smell is on the outside of the stump, the more potent and resiny (if thats a word), it will be in the center. Can anyone tell me if this is accurate?
 
OutdoorsFamilyMan4 said:
I thought it was just a very specific type of pine tree that smelled like that.
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My dad assumed it was a specific tree and he grew up in Ohio. Maybe it's a state thing. :D

To the OP: Do a search in the wilderness section(where this thread really should be) and you'll get all the info you need. If you want a great tutorial search for mistwalker as the user name.
 
We always referred to long needle/longleaf yellow pine as fatwood (from near the stumps, and the center of the tree - sometimes also called heart pine). None of the other pines were nearly so resinous.
 
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I grew up in the south and I always thought fatwood was from the southern pine (pine knots), but since living out in the Pacific Northwest I discovered (just recently, LOL) it is apparently most evergreen trees (stumps). The way I was taught was the stumps should be old (maybe 15 to 20 years old). Tap on the stump in different places along the top, if you hear your blade make a ringing sound, then bingo, that's the area you want to exploit. Take an axe/hatchet/tomahawk to break through the dead stuff in that area. You''ll know where the fatwood is because it will be a sort of red color and the pine smell will be very strong (smells like pine-sol to me, LOL) and it will be (if its a good batch) oozing sap. Also, the sap will stick to everything. Important: wear some gloves when harvesting it. That's about all the tips I can give you as I am new to finding it myself. Good luck
 
Ok cool I already have a 2 on the b.o.b. Oh Crap There's no Becker Content!!!
Here Ya go:
 
What you are looking for is often a softwood stump that was cut down or fell down in the spring/summer what happens is the root system is still pumping but has no where to go so the sap going up the middle of the tree hardens and gets thicker and thicker with no place to go, fast forward 2-10 years (depending on weather) and the softer wood on the outside of the stump will rot away leaving the much denser center portion of wood exposed like a stalagmite coming out of the stump. So when you see things like that there is a reason and its often highly flammable.

You can also just come to the next Beckerwest Gathering and bribe FAL'er with a beer, bacon or both and have him teach where to find it.

Other things that are good but not as good as Fatwood (which is more prevalent in the Fir forests of the NW) is Pine knots, a fallen Pine tree has very dense and resin filled knots, that can be a pain in the ass to chop out with a knife so an axe is best for this job in my opinion, well if you cut out a Pine knot it will smell like turpentine (same as fatwood), burn really bright and slow in a fire, and put off some really black smoke.

Hope that helps some.
 
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Good thread......

To jump in on Widerstand's comment........In the southeast a fallen pine in the last stages of rot will frequently yeild a bunch of pine knots that can be havested with a club.......In bad weather a dozen or so resiny pine knots will get almost any thing, no matter how damp, to burn.......If the wood is soaked it is still problematical.......A club or baton is still a helluva tool and not just to use to beat a knife thru stuff......

Ethan
 
Yeah if I was going to use a Becker to harvest Pine knots it would a BK2, maybe a BK4 but I don't own one.
 
Moosez45 said:
I take a Campanion. Its brought in more fatwood than all my other knives combined.

Moose
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^This^ You may need to do some prying, and the BK2 is a prying machine. The 9 is the chopping machine...particularly in the hands of the Moose :)
 
I used my tomahawk and my 2 this past weekend to harvest a batch. They both did great and were totally covered in sap after I was done. Great times.

Thanks again Fal'er and BL.
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
I used my tomahawk and my 2 this past weekend to harvest a batch. They both did great and were totally covered in sap after I was done. Great times.

Thanks again Fal'er and BL.
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You got it bro, turpentine, paint thinner or denatured alcohol to that pitch off.
 
just curious.. does anyone have any pics of the trees/stumps etc and the fatwood itself being harvested?
 
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