Fatwood's great!

CSG

CSG

Joined
Dec 15, 2007
Messages
1,435
I know this is not news to most of you, especially those of you who use this stuff but I'd never tried it until today. I got a 5# box of StarterStikks from Lowe's yesterday. These are kindling sized pieces about 8" long and up to about 1/2" square. I knew what fatwood was and how to find it but I don't like traipsing around the hills in sub-freezing weather in the snow.

Anyway, I was more interested in trying it as tinder than as kindling (though it's brilliant for that purpose). Using my Vic Farmer saw, I scraped up a pile of finely shaved pieces about the size of a half dollar. Very gooey and sticky with a strong smell of turpentine. Using my recently acquired Going Gear 4" x 3/8" firesteel, I used the awl blade of the Farmer to scrape it. A couple, three scrapes and it lit up and burned for about a minute before I decided to put it out. There was still a pretty good amount of unburned shavings left.

Fatwood. Get you some!!
 
Yep.:thumbup:
Just don't burn a lot of it in your fireplace in the house. 5# should last you a good while.
 
Steel-Junky said:
It's good stuff... It grows on tress around here... LOL
Click to expand...

I gotta hunt for the stuff. I have in laws that live in SE Georgia. They have so many pines down there, they actually a turpentine festival in the little town they live in.
 
If there is one thing we have lots of it's live and dead pines. If you can't start a fire in Georgia you must just be asleep.
 
CSG said:
Using my Vic Farmer saw, I scraped up a pile of finely shaved pieces about the size of a half dollar. Very gooey and sticky with a strong smell of turpentine. Using my recently acquired Going Gear 4" x 3/8" firesteel, I used the awl blade of the Farmer to scrape it. A couple, three scrapes and it lit up and burned for about a minute before I decided to put it out.
Click to expand...

Perfect tools + fatwood = perfect fire!
 
Fat wood is great use it a lot.I like to get out and hunt for it , makes for an interesting walk through the woods.
 
yes to find and spit yur own then make a fire with it is tops in my book. the only thing better is to have some bratwors to cook after the fire is going:D
 
I'm looking forward to seeing if I can find it locally up in the hills after the weather warms and the snow melts. While I bought a box, finding some in its natural form would be like treasure hunting or geocaching. I'm guessing I already have enough to last the rest of my life though. :)
 
oh yeah i geo cacher to sk1ppe77 love that sport give you a great reason to venture where few go:cool:
 
Steel-Junky said:
If there is one thing we have lots of it's live and dead pines. If you can't start a fire in Georgia you must just be asleep.
Click to expand...

I just walk out a door of my house and I run into one. heheheh (Ok I used to, until they got cut down. It's just a few more yards now..)
 
Well, for you GA folks I have to brag that I have absolutely no pine trees in my yard. It's at least 100ft past my property line to the nearest one. The guy I bought my house from hated pines so he cut them all down and planted hardwoods. Why the ba@#ard chose to plant sweetgums I have no idea. I've got about 35 sweetgums within 100 ft of my house. I think I'd rather have pines.


I do have to agree though, there is a certain satisfaction in finding and processing your own materials all the way through to a good fire.

David
 
Echo4v said:
Why the ba@#ard chose to plant sweetgums I have no idea. I've got about 35 sweetgums within 100 ft of my house. I think I'd rather have pines.
Click to expand...

Ah! Then you have an endless supply of sticky balls laying around... Why ANYONE would PLANT sweetgums in georgia is beyond me... they grow like weeds here... I had most of the pine near my house cut down due to the pine beetle problem and I didn't want dead trees falling on my house... And the damn sweetgums have just grown in naturally... I gotta cut like 8 down every year cause they'll start growing up through my deck and everywhere... that is a survivor of a tree... They can grow anywhere with no light and little water... and they grow fast.
 
But those little balls are such wonderful target practice opportunities,who could resist?
By the way,just "found" this forum. Really good stuff!
A.
 
Not only is it plentiful in the South, but it is also referred to by it's proper name: "Fat Lightard." It is procured from a "lightard stump", calling it fatwood around here may result in you getting your @ss clobbered with a "lightard knot." Just a heads up :)

The totem pole on the right was carved from solid lightard by Pops. I don't know how much it weighs, but it squatted the tail end of the 3/4 ton Chevy we used to haul it out of the woods.

IMG_3131.jpg
 
Last edited:
I plan on looking for some fatwood at my camp sometime next week. I never looked for it before...so hopefully I will know enough of what it looks like to find some :D
 
I wen't out back behind work and scored another small batch of fatwood. Maybe 1 Lb from a small White pine stump.

I'll put up a pic tomorrow.

bmilla35 said:
I plan on looking for some fatwood at my camp sometime next week. I never looked for it before...so hopefully I will know enough of what it looks like to find some
Click to expand...

I'll be posting some pics in the next week. For now just look for pine stumps that are about 18" or taller. Break some off, cut into it, check the color and the smell. You'll know when you've hit pay dirt. The stuff is hard, resinous, copper colored and smells like turpentine soaked pine. Don't limit yourself to the big stumps. The one I found today was only 3" across.

Chris
 
Rupestris said:
I wen't out back behind work and scored another small batch of fatwood. Maybe 1 Lb from a small White pine stump.

I'll put up a pic tomorrow.



I'll be posting some pics in the next week. For now just look for pine stumps that are about 18" or taller. Break some off, cut into it, check the color and the smell. You'll know when you've hit pay dirt. The stuff is hard, resinous, copper colored and smells like turpentine soaked pine. Don't limit yourself to the big stumps. The one I found today was only 3" across.

Chris
Click to expand...

Alright thanks bro!

I shouldn't have much a problem then because I hack away at anything that questions me anyways :p

The machete will definitely be my friend :D:thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top