How to Find and Use Fatwood. This is a short video on one of the tricks that I use to start a fire when the woods are soaked with rain. Enjoy. John Newton aka snaponjohn100 www.Wilderness...
It’s so cool to learn something in minutes that’s taken years of experience from other people who part with that knowledge so freely. What a great thing to learn and thanks for taking the time to show others.
I know I'm commenting to an "old" video but wanted you to know this is the best fatwood video I've seen. You've inspired me to start my first ferro rod fire with fatwood. I'm feeling pretty confident! Thanks!
Jerry Derr sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this comment. Thank you for your kind words. It is definitely fun to start a fire with Fat-Wood. God bless you. John
I like that you pull the ferro rod away from the blade while holding the blade still and close to your starting material. So many times I see people run the blade down the rod and towards the starting material, hitting it and knocking it around and out of place. 😎👍
I lived in Arkansas for a couple yrs, and the locals called it pine lighter. We got it from stumps, that had been there for many years. My area was timber country, so there was no shortage of old pine stumps. The stuff lights instantly. We just kept a small pile of it around for whenever we wanted to light an outside fire or the inside fire place. Very handy for camping, and if it's ready available in the woods, you don't have to stock pile it.
I have knobbly old dead pines all over Georgia. I never knew those eaten out old trees might provide something useful when wet. Now when kayaking, I have a source of firewood in wet conditions. thank ya
Doesn't really need to be a dead tree. A dead branch on a live tree is good, too. Btw fun fact: Back in the day , at RR camps and mining camps, etc. Pine knots were used as currency, 'cause it burns like Coal.
@ken thomas You do not ingest any of those things on such a large scale. Also, besides terpenes, there could be other things in fatwood that get vaporised and condense on your food. I think the food may just reek of turpentine, but still not a good thing to be playing with?
This video encompasses the true value of RU-vid: Patient instruction of uncommon knowledge with extra tips along the way. I had heard of fatwood but did not know what it was or how to find it. Bonus points for your gear that you carry, how to process fatwood for firestarting once you've found it, the use of a ferro rod....and then finally the pencil sharpener trick. Thank you! p.s. - Also nuggets in the comment section about not cooking food over a fire made exclusively with resin-laden pine wood as the resin off gasses bad stuff while burning....to which another poster said to wait until the fire is burnt down to embers and coals before food cooking to solve that issue as well! TONS of great info all around! Thanks again and God bless!
Instead of sawing the branches off, just knock them with a big baton and get not only the resin filled branch but the pine knot as well. They burn bright for hours.... They would pop right out of that punk wood. I like the pencil sharpener trick. I use one for a contractor or carpenters pencil. It allows you to use bigger pieces of wood that are odd shaped. Great tip. Thanks
Some 'tough guys' might snicker at you when you're wearing gloves. Not me, I'm wearing gloves anytime I'm near any kind of blade (I keep everything razor sharp) you get even a minor cut in wilderness / survival situations you can seriously compromise a finger or hand, possibly leading to infection and other issues.
Yesterday I wasn't wearing gloves. I was using a short 9 inch hatchet on a rotten stump. Last evening I used a scalpel to cut my thumbnail open up the entire length to remove the rest of a splinter 3/4 the size of my thumb nail. It hurt sooo much! I now have my gloves in my bushcraft bag. And a sore thumb
@@joez26 I hope you recover without complications and will spread the word about gloves to your friends. Showing them that thumb won't get much argument, I'll bet. I've still got the end of my middle left finger because was wearing gloves and got crosswise with a power saw. Good leather took the hit, I got a minor cut. Lesson: Don't saw distracted.
Yep- I have one of those Corona folding saws. That blade is so sharp if it so much as touches you, you;re cut. I call it the ritual blood sacrifice to ensure a plentiful firewood season, lol.
Fatwood is amazing fire tinder. I used to carry 6-8 different tinders, but now only fatwood and cotton balls w/vaseline. Fatwood has never failed to produce flame for me yet, and I enjoy hunting for it. Always carry a piece of fatwood in your pack as it is waterproof and takes up lottle room. Guaranteed fire!
Thank you for your excellent video very informative lacking all arrogance and ego which Seems to be uncommon lately so again thank you I think you may be my favorite RU-vid site Huge thumbs up!
Pine comes can also explode with no warning, sending burning & molten particles and resin into your face. One actually hit the corner of my eye and forehead from a distance of over 4.5'.
@@daphneraven9439 Well, Daphne, there's just no accounting for the bad luck that befalls some people. Especially those who sit within five feet of an open fire. Kind of hard to happen if its under some kindling. In 58 years I have yet to be felled by an exploding pine cone. I'd be more likely to take damage from an exploding cigar, and I don't smoke.
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry May you always be so fortunate! This was a campfire that I'd started on a particularly soggy evening; the couple of cones that I used were well and truly inside plenty of kindling, with (wet) firewood outside of that. I'd obviously heard cones explode before, but it had never occurred to me up to that point that it could have any real velocity or distance. How far do you sit from your campfire?
@@daphneraven9439 6-8', if I'm not roasting marshmallows. We don't camp when it's so cold that we NEED a fire to stay warm. That's what inside the tent's for.
@@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry I live in a climate that gets very cold for long periods of time, and days can be quite short; most of the time, when we build fires, it's to be warm. Sometimes, it's for social reasons, but even then, it's usually also about the heat.
I grew up camping and learned many skills from my dad. Fatwood was not one of them. I had no idea this gem was hiding all around us. I watched your video and immediately went out back and located/processed 7 beautiful peices of fatwood. I counted 5 dead/rotting pines just steps away from my door. I will be processing more and giving them to friends as gifts. Thanks for the video
Sounds silly, but I keep a metal cannabis grinder from a dispensary in my fire kit. It makes fine powder out of plant materials. Takes to a ferro rod well. 🔥
OMG, I just stumbled across your video..1st of all, ty for the tutorial on fatwood. I am fairly new to bushcraft, and learning any and every tip I can find to help me along my learning curve is appreciated. Then to top it off, I found a bushcrafter who lives in NYS!!! I also, am in NYS. I live in the Rochester area. SO glad to find someone who lives in my area, where the videos will show the same terrain and resources I am likely to find. How awesome! Although I have gained a lot of knowledge from other you tubers, none have been in my area, using the same resources I Will be using. It DOES make a difference! I am not going to find the same resources here, that someone in NC or Georgia, or even Northern Canada, will find. Canada will be similar though, more so than those from the deep south. Hardwoods are not hugely different, but the species of trees and plants will vary somewhat. Ya got a new subscriber!
Tim Gannon Hey thank you for the kind words. Almost all of my videos are from NY. I did move to southern Missouri a couple of years ago, so my newest are from there. Don’t miss out on my give-a-way! Check my latest videos to find it. Dave Smith from HighCarbonSteel Love is in Mendon Ponds area. He is a great guy!! Check him out as well. God bless. John
I know this video older, but I wanted to comment how cool this is. I first learned a similar trick in another video, in regards to the branches. You can even harvest the knot from the branch in the stump, if possible, and increase the amount of fatwood you get. This is due to the sap collecting in the knots when the trees die.
Thanks for the info. With this method in 90% of the cases find fatwood.On your channel I first saw this method and for a while I use it and I recommend it to others.
I get good sparks from a flint striker with less effort. The striker is extremely lightweight, and a small tin will hold hundreds of flints. Some magnesium and a ferro rod are useful, and can even be added to your kit to augment this fatwood process. I was successful starting a fire during a cold January downpour, using a flint striker and a small cotton ball soaked in vaseline. For kindling, I gathered small twigs from downed trees. I focused on twigs that were vertical, so water had run off instead of laying on top and soaking the wood. I had a rocket stove made from a soup can and had my hot chocolate going in no time. I didn't have a tarp to go overhead, so I had to work a little bit to keep the falling rain from extinguishing the fire, but once I got my small pot over the fire, it sheltered it. It was one of those days when I decided on a whim to trek out into the nearby woods just to see if I could get my rocket stove going and make some hot chocolate. In my haste to get going, I forgot to take a tarp for setting up an overhead cover from the rain. But I learned that I could do it even without the tarp. Now, I am confident that I can do it. It's one thing to do it on a warm day, but to do it on a cold and rainy January day, that builds confidence tremendously. Don't be fooled though. A person can get hypothermia in the summer also. A cold rain during a summer night can be just as disastrous.
I heard 'fatwood, fatwood, fatwood" but had no idea what it was. I assumed it was something you needed to purchase. Thank you for explaining where to find it, what it is and how to use it. Great video. Now, I will search for my own.
making "Fuzz sticks" takes me back to my bushcrafting days in the late 60's to early 1970's in BOY SCOUTS good old flint and steel firemaking... Ferro rods make it soooo much easier these days!
I grabbed a pallet at work one hot day and was surprised to find it was made of green pine heart....literally dripping resin. Yes l took it home. Have started many fires with one piece of one board. Will begin teaching my grandson soon.
When I started my job many years ago in the paper mill finishing dept. One of my tasks was to pallet wrap stacks of sheeted greeting card stock . I never could understand why I would itch all over from handling the new pallets with still green wood . But after reading this maybe it was the resin in the wood .
I'm just finding your videos for the 1st time; it's super nice to find such a good source of info, patiently & clearly explained & demonstrated, using clean, respectful language. It might be necessary to subscribe! :D Tyvk!
You made a feather board with fatwood. Good job. The idea is to add oxygen,then pitch is great. I live in oregon doug fir forest. We have loads of pitch or fatwood, the pencil sharpener is genius. Thanks. Like and Subbed.
I haven't had any luck finding fatwood in stumps, but have founds lots in branches. I carry some with me because in wet conditions it is the best natural tinder there is. If you have no pine in your area, buy some at Walmart or online. Hunting fatwood is addictive, so beware! Thanks John for a great demonstration.
csh 62 Thank you for your kind words my friend. What state do you live in? I found at the further south you go the more likely you’re going to find it in stumps. I think it has to do with how hot it is and the growing season.
Awesome video, I noticed in my neck of the woods some trees are better for finding fatwood than others. Around here Red Pine is a sure bet for fatwood followed by White Pine. Also when hunting for Fatwood take a container along to put pine sap in if you find it, pine sap combined with fatwood is sure dry twigs off on a rainy day along with pencil size wood.
Hi my friend thank u for the video. Also u can use a small hatchet & chop off that dead punkwood from along the sides of the branch & saw the branch off a good few inches longer than that. The branch goes down to a point eventually at the heart wood of the trunk, that way u get way more fatwood.
Great information, that makes total sense when you think about it. Thanks for posting it, I'm amazed that there are thumbs down... can't imagine who would dislike knowledge.
So, I have a bunch of red and white pines on my property. I've been meaning to trim some lower branches to make it easier to mow. I was going to trim the branches to the trunk. Instead, if I cut the branches 8 to 10 inches from the trunk will this eventually create fat wood? What would be the best time of year to do this? How many could I do without damaging the Tree? It's fall, going to start experimenting.
I just use the Corona saws. The Bahco is great, and so are the silky saws, but there's something to be said for being able to pick up a new blade at any local hardware or feed store.
Here in the South, we have an abundance of Loblolly Pine,and when you find a dead one, you will have no problem having plenty of " lighter knots" as we call them. An old stump is also a great bet.
Love gathering fatwood. And I love the smell of it when it's burning. Where I live in Ohio, we have white pines just about everywhere. Once that fatwood catches a spark, it burns nice and hot. Great tutorial video.
Been hearing about "fat-wood" since my days as a scout, but even the grown-ups were clueless...Mystery Solved!! ..Many thanks (now) and, most likely, the thanks of my fellow campers in the future. There's a Donner party joke in here somewhere, but I'll leave well enough alone...
Many thanks, I love the pencil sharpener idea that's a really very useful thing to carry it's small and looks very effective I must try that so often I go out with very little in my pockets but try not to forget my knife . knife = life to me and is so important to live and make fire my knife so useful just to eat little bits of meat on my travels
Good video, Thanks Just learning about finding and using fatwood. Pines are not native here in E.central IL. but now days there are small groves that have been planted,the last 50 years.
Nice John. Fatwood has become my favorite tools to start fire lately. Although I have to admit John, I've given up on the using the back of the knife for striking the rod. I simply cannot direct it as well as when using a smaller tool. Great for emergencies, but for regular use, the small hacksaw blade or striker works better for me.
I agree with you. I was using the knife because I was testing out the notch. I had just gotten it in the mail before I left the house. I use the strikers from firesteel.com. I carry two of them all of the time. I mentioned you in my last video. I had sausage. I think I'm hooked on it. lol Be blessed my friend. John
have you tried hitting close to the bottom of the limb (breaking the knot out)with back of an ax or hatchet toward the top of the tree i find i can get much more breaking the knot out that way
Great video, and good idea with the pencil sharpener. I never thought of trying that, I'll have to get one for my gear bag. I just made a campfire yesterday using fatwood to start it & saved the video on my RU-vid channel. That wood burns like crazy.
Way COOL...never knew this before. However here in SW Texas we don't have any Pine Trees, only Old Oaks and Elm Trees. I have a wind-blown Elm Tree down on the back of my property here, I'll go and see if I can find any Fatwood in those branches. Great tip tho if I am ever in a Pine Forest.
ladybug Vue If you live in the South (warm temps. ), you can find it in stumps. I moved to southern MO, so now I am finding it in the stumps. God bless. John
Great piece of knowledge thank you and God Bless. I am sure We'll be doing things like this very soon.So once again God Bless ............and Survive with the Lord Amen
Hi there, great vidio, I actually learned some stuff. I am Sweden Born, Special Forces 1st Air Cav, Vietnam, glad to see some stuff that actually works - Peace Brother
I would like to hear more about , Special Forces 1st Air Cav, Vietnam ? I never heard about them. 1/8th A-co., 1st Plt. weapons squad '67-68 you can look me up @ jumpingmustangs.com
Carole Just Carole It seems like the farther north you go, to a point that is, the Lord puts the means of fire in the trees. Like resin from Pines Fat-Wood, Birch Bark etc.
