Todays Fatwood Hunt !

pitdog

pitdog

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Apr 13, 2007
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My supply of Fatwood for my woodstove had dropped to an alarming low so I decided I'd gear up and head of to hunt some Fatwood today !

My weapon of choice was my Swamprat M6 today, tough enough to do the kill yet still nimble enough to process it afterwards.

I'd not been out long when I spotted some Fatwood in the distance...

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

I drew my knife slowly and quietly and tried to stay down wind of the Fatwood.
I moved so quickly that the fatwood never even saw me coming, one swift strike and it was over !

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

As the beast dropped to the ground the dogs moved in quickly to make sure it was dead. It must have weighed close to 70 lbs, pretty good size for this species.

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

This was pretty good quality stuff...

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

I quickly processed what I could, I know some will say it's a waste just taking the head but this won't spoil and will be there when I next go back. Maybe next time I'll take my Knatchet or Chopweiler and bring back the tenderloin !

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

Nobody ever said hunting was safe !

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-03

To all my fellow Fatwood hunters, stay safe out there and happy hunting !;)
 
Ah, the sweet smell of success. Mighty good hunting there. I hope the scavengers don't get to the remnants before you get back to the kill zone:D
 
Very Well Written!!!!!

:)

Almost felt like I was with you....and SURE WISH I WAS

It's FREZZING HERE NOW
 
I to hunted fatwood today, but its a lot harder to track down here in the hardwood plains.

But I was successful in my hunt, an entire pine pallet made of fatwood! Happened upon it at work, you could smell the resin from 5 ft away!
 
sweet! more fatwood culled from the Wet Coast! darn stuff is like a plague of locusts here.

nice pics Pitty!
 
I am a bit skinned up from a little crash I had. Looks like we both could have used gloves.
 
It looks like you can't throw a rock in BC without hitting some fatwood. Perhaps that is mother nature's way of making sure there is reliable tinder in such a wet climate.
 
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Season started early this year,i found this fine specimen relaying only on his camouflage skills,but it wasn't enough..

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quick cut...and it was over

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it just needed skinning :D
 
great hunt pit, i'm sorry to say but i do'nt think i would recognize the species if i saw it in central tex.i'm not sure but i think these animals went extinct in this area many years back.--dennis
 
If you ever wondered about John of JK Knives heat-treat...wonder no more !

Today I went back to get some more of the stuff and took my JK Knatchet to do the job.I realise John no longer makes the Knatchet but this will apply to all his heat treat.
Let me first say that when I designed the Knatchet it was never meant to replace an axe. It was first and foremost intended to carry out most camp related tasks from slicing up foodstuff ( This is a thinly ground edge from 3/16" stock )to whittling fuzz sticks and pot stirrers. Given the design it could also replace a large knife or small hatchet and perform some small scale chopping duties.

So back to today, for those not familiar with Fatwood it is damn hard stuff. The resin in the wood hardens between all the wood fibres creating something that looks like wood but chips like a cinder block. Not sure exactly how hard it would be on the Janka scale, I guess it varies, but this stuff today was super tough. It seemed to take me forever to get through and there was more pieces than the in the pic, that piece was just the largest.
I had fully believed that there would be at least a little edge damage and that I would have to stone it out when I got back home......there was nothing, nada, not even the slightest micro ding !

Had to share this, hope ya don't mind John !

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By pitdog2010 at 2011-02-04

And incase anyone want's to know, Mark Wohlwend has taken over making the Knatchets and although I don't own one of his I do own one of his wonderful Booshways:D and the heat treat is bang on there as well !:thumbup:
 
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I can tell you that I have fatwood that is dang near bullet proof. It will bounce a maul 20+ times till I even get a crease started. Some, I can't even start a wedge in at all!

I have one big splitter stump that has a bunch of fat wood. It will bounce a throwing hawk right off no matter how hard it is thrown. I have a high carbon throwing knife that I have bounced tip first off of retaining walls with no major damage. When thrown at the fat wood stump, it actually bent the tip about .5 inches down to a 90 degree angle!

I am debating on sectioning up that stump. It will yield a whole mess of fat wood, but big large splitter rounds are harder to come by these days!
 
Bigfattyt said:
I can tell you that I have fatwood that is dang near bullet proof. It will bounce a maul 20+ times till I even get a crease started. Some, I can't even start a wedge in at all!

I have one big splitter stump that has a bunch of fat wood. It will bounce a throwing hawk right off no matter how hard it is thrown. I have a high carbon throwing knife that I have bounced tip first off of retaining walls with no major damage. When thrown at the fat wood stump, it actually bent the tip about .5 inches down to a 90 degree angle!

I am debating on sectioning up that stump. It will yield a whole mess of fat wood, but big large splitter rounds are harder to come by these days!
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chainsaw is your friend! (cut the bar oil by 20% with kerosene)
 
It looks to me like the stump was burnt. When the stump is burnt, some of the resin will darken and harden like pitch in the wood. Near the burn area the wood is much harder.. I'm not sure I would use fatwood in a wood stove. Have you ever noticed the black smoke that comes off fatwood when burned? That crap will clog your chimney darn fast and creates very flamable creasote. I would never cook with it either. Good for starting a fire, but not so much for cooking... Just a thought!!
 
All this information on fatwood. I googled fatwood and went to weki site and learned more. It said that Cutler's resin is still used in making knife handles. The by products listed is amazing and the most important thing I learned was not using this for you home fireplace. Thanks for that heads up!
 
I have had good luck using a sawzall to process fatwood. Not really an option in the woods though, unless you want to tote around a cordless one. I almost would, knowing how much of a pain it is to cut the stuff with hand tools.
 
Rapidray said:
All this information on fatwood. I googled fatwood and went to weki site and learned more. It said that Cutler's resin is still used in making knife handles. The by products listed is amazing and the most important thing I learned was not using this for you home fireplace. Thanks for that heads up!
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I only use a small amount to get the fire going initially. I've done this ever since having a woodstove and my chimney is always pretty clean, YMMV !:thumbup:
 
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That brown dog looks like my Cathoula Pit mix, same color. Not social to strangers but loves the woods.
 
bill_in_tx said:
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That brown dog looks like my Cathoula Pit mix, same color. Not social to strangers but loves the woods.
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Maisy came from England with us Bill, she is an English Bull terrier/ Staffordshire Bull terrier cross. Gotta love a brindle eh !:thumbup:
 
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