Gathering Fatlighter With My ESSE-4

[Horn Dog]

Earlier this month while walking the local nature trail, I found some fatlighter or fatwood as some call it. All I had was the HEST. Today I went back with my RC-4 and a Fiskars pocket saw. I went to the old place first.

Then I went down another trail and found the mother load! If I had an axe, I could have filled a rucksack with it easily. But today I did it the hard way.

I used my walking stick as a baton and also sawed against the grain with the saw. This is sap soaked turpentine smelling stuff. Smells like.....victory!

 

[PDE]

The good old South. For a second there I thought you were in my backyard!
Nice find and cool pictures, thanks for sharing!

 

[Horn Dog]

I went to several other prospective stumps first, but this one is the best. Now I know where to get all I need for a while. This old man was tired by the time I finished. I tested it at the camp site on the way back. It burns fine.

The little RC-4 did well. I had to pry pretty hard, and the thinner RC-3 would have likely failed. The ESEE-5 would have done great, but I was carrying discreetly since park rules prohibit knives. The little 4 hides easier.

 

[AKC75]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

 

[hiwa]

Thanks for the pics :thumbup:

Great covert fatwood extraction. I always keep my eyes open for that stuff. It burns real good when you need it the most.

 

[Horn Dog]

Thanks for the pics :thumbup:

Great covert fatwood extraction. I always keep my eyes open for that stuff. It burns real good when you need it the most.

Yes. When the wood is a bit damp, it's a life saver. I got lucky today. I made a mental note of just where it is. I had a pile of it harvested from my own property, but my little angel burned it all up during a teenage backyard campout last year.

 

[adaman04]

Great pics HD, fatwood and the 4.

[Robert Goulet] These are a few of my favorite things..... [/Robert Goulet\]

 

[59Bassman]

...but I was carrying discreetly since park rules prohibit knives...

Holy heck. When my wife asked me why I liked camping growing up, I told her that it was the only time I could freely play with fire, flashlights, and knives without getting into trouble. No knives?

 

[Horn Dog]

Holy heck. When my wife asked me why I liked camping growing up, I told her that it was the only time I could freely play with fire, flashlights, and knives without getting into trouble. No knives?

It is some dumb park rule put up by our local totalitarian rulers. I am quite certain that I am not the only one who violates it. But one birthday a few years ago, I went into town to get the cake and when I returned my littlest one had a panga bigger than she was whacking palmettos for hot dog skewers. She had a bonfire going, too. The black smoke told me that it was all my fatlighter! That's why they camped in my yard. Fun with knives and fire.

 

[ratamahatta]

man I like the terrain that you guys have in Georgia and Florida, thanks for sharing!!!