Pine Resin - Clever stuff, another first for me...!

[paul standley]

When I was out at the weekend I noticed hardened resin on some pines so collected some which was a first for me, a great natural resource... very impressed...!

Paul.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7sEzr6pLd4

[Ashley Cawley]

Brilliant stuff Paul, thanks for sharing.

It gives off black smoke just like when you burn fat-pine or maya-stick, same resinous sap :) I love maya-sticks, think I might start using them more.

[GaryBeaner]

I've collected and used resin before, but would love some more info on 'fatwood' and how to find/gather it. I have a rough idea but..................

[paul standley]

I've collected and used resin before, but would love some more info on 'fatwood' and how to find/gather it. I have a rough idea but..................

Well as it happens....I think I found a site of fatwood stumps last weekend when I was out testing my stove near where I found the resin so I'd also be interested in how to go about it. I've watched a couple of You-tube vids on it and I'm going out next weekend to do a rumage and see what I can find but if any forum members have gathered fatwood themselves then maybe you could share the knowledge...

Paul.

[phil41181]

so whats the diffrence as fat-sticks and maya-stick seem same thing just diffrent name's?

[Aaron Rushton]

hi mate great stuff! how well does it catch a spark?

[paul standley]

Haven't tried a spark but guessing that it wouldn't work directly onto lumps of hard resin, however if it was crushed/shaved it might. I'll have to try it tomorrow...

Pine Resin is different to fatwood/Maya sticks... The resin is just resin, a waxy sticky sap that crystallizes as it dries and applying gentle heat to resin will melt it into a liquid and part of the component of the liquid is natural turpentine.

Fatwood is pine wood, often harvested from old tree stumps that has a very high resin content. Maya sticks (I think) are basically fatwood cut into small sticks.

The Knots of dead pine trunks/branches also contain high resine content.

[GaryBeaner]

I think fatwood comes from the knots in fallen pine trees, all full of resin. I found out this afternoon Maya sticks originate in Guatemala. The article also said that the tap root of a rotten pine tree is full of resin too. I suppose it's gonna be a case of trial and error.

[GaryBeaner]

I think your explanation makes a lot more sense than mine, and you were 5 minutes before me too!!

[mahikan]

Fatwood/Maya sticks all the same.

Essentially what you are looking for is a spruce, fir or pine tree that has died. When the tree dies the sap pools in the bottom of the tree soaking into the wood in the base or roots.
Generally these trees end up getting blown down which is when I go into the bush and look for the fat (sap) soaked shards of wood prootruding from the base of the tree.

The Sap of course not only makes a good glue or fire starter but also has quite a few medicinal applications.

[Kiltie]

Fatwood/Maya sticks all the same.

The Sap of course not only makes a good glue or fire starter but also has quite a few medicinal applications.

wet sap on cotton wool will numb toothache and is anti-septic

[Celt_Ginger]

wet sap on cotton wool will numb toothache and is anti-septic

Yea, I've seen old Forresters putting soft Pine resin onto cuts and nicks.

[mahikan]

My wife processes the inner bark of Pine into an extremely effective painkillre taken internally.

To find sap in a liquid state I find it best to use Fir trees where the sap normally lies in the blisters found on the bark.

Of course having a knowledge of how to identify different conifers is highly improtant as the different conifers offer different bushcraft applications. Many people I know cannot tell a Spruce from Fir or Pine or Tamarak tree.

[MikeWilkinson]

As has been said before fatwood and Maya sticks are all the same thing. Maya sticks just being more of a trade name for a commercial product.

Fatwood can be found in a number of sources but is most easily found with coniferous trees. The best sources are tree stumps and root systems of fallen cut trees, the resin in the wood makes the wood shiny and although quite dead the wood is very flexible and fractures rather than snaps. Fatwood can also be found in the small broken branches on coniferous trees where the tree has continued to pump sap into the branch stump, it will be most concentrated right where the stump joins the trunk.

The resin on its own will not iginte readily - it is a bit like wax in that respect, it needs a wick of sorts - but when added to a tinder bundle it will not go out.
The wood content of the fatwood acts as a wick for the resin it is holding and so is easier to ignite with a spark, fine shavings light really easily.

A couple of good fatwood feather sticks added to kindling will ensure a fire lights even in really wet weather, then add some larger fatwood to keep it going (it will burn with black smoke though!)

I've also used Fatwood from Birch trees that have fallen in spring where the sap has continued to flow into the stump and produced highly sap concentrated wood.
I haven't tried but I would expect that resin sodden willow would work fairly well too.

[paul standley]

hi mate great stuff! how well does it catch a spark?

I tried catching the resin with a spark yesterday but couldn't get it to light at all. Putting some resin on a cotton ball and dropping a spark on the cotton works well though.

[phil41181]

thanx guys

[Ashley Cawley]

You can light shavings from Fat-pine / Maya sticks from a spark, I'll do a video on it sometime soon when I get a chance. Having said that I would not recommend buying the small tubs of maya-stick shavings; they're just trying to get your money for some shavings - and they don't work! The shavings once made seem to have a shelve-life or sorts (I think), so they work fine when the shavings are made but sit them in a tub on a shelf for 3 months and they might not work.

Just get some maya-stick (fat-pine) and make your own shavings as and when you need fire. :)

[OKBushcraft]

I have harvested a goodly amount from borer infected trees around town. They are not native to my part of Oklahoma so I watch for them when about.
I have used it as an accelorator for my fires, I also have boiled it in a coffee can filled with water for a long time-until the turpentine smell leaves-and then rolled it up on pitch sticks for primitive glue to set stone points on arrows and Atlatl darts. A pitch stick is good to have in your kit-it can be used as a hot glue, a patch on pots or wooden objects, etc...

[nature nut]

Pine resin has 2 other unusual used when combines with other resources. If you collect enough resin you can mix it with some very fine ash from a fire and use it as antiseptic or as glue. Also if you find some birch that you able to cut bark from then split the outer bark from inner and cut to shape of size of wound using resin and that to create a plaster.

[mahikan]

The uses for conifer sap just go on and on!
No need to mix ash with the sap if you are going to use it as an antiseptic just use it straight up.
For glue mixing in some animal fat will keep it fairly soft this is an experiential skill that you get to grips with as you mix different consistencies of glue. Softer for winter use harder for summer.
Ants eat the sap because it is high in natural anti biotic's plus they will place sap in their nests to stop certain type of fungal growth destroying their home.
First Nation people here will put hot pine sap in between two pieces of moose hide and place the 'sandwich' on the chest of someone who has bronchitis.

[Alba Albion]

I use Maya sticks and the Honey Stove together, it's a good combination.

[Likantropo]

Hello all.
I scrape the fat-wood/maya-stick with the back of my knife to get small particles of this resin. I use pine, as it is easy to find around here. In my experience, it does not directly catch a spark, so what i usually do is I also scrape the ferro rod a little to let some small particles fall on the resin. Then I strike a spark and voila!

I have not tried other kinds of resin, though.

Thanks, and best wishes to everyone.

Elmer

[TreeCamper]

Australian Aboriginal men on a walkabout would carry a tennis ball size of resin in a pouch around their waist.

They had multiple uses for it firestarting,glue and as a medicine especially for cuts etc.

TC

[OakAshandThorn]

Australian Aboriginal men on a walkabout would carry a tennis ball size of resin in a pouch around their waist.

They had multiple uses for it firestarting,glue and as a medicine especially for cuts etc.

TC

Yep :). Pine, fir, and spruce resin is antiseptic. All you need to do is rub it on a wound to seal it, and you're set ;).

[Ashley Cawley]

Nature provides it all :o all we need to do is learn where to look.

[Likantropo]

Hello all. I just tried with a different ferro rod, and it caught a spark just like that!

[Ashley Cawley]

Great stuff :)

[OakAshandThorn]

Nature provides it all :o all we need to do is learn where to look.
Right on! :D

[David_JAFO]

hello,
I've use Pine Resin over the years - date as you say 'a waxy sticky sap that crystallizes'
for firelighting & as a glue. I'm going to contact a Mate of mine from the Forestry Commission
as have done previously, a very good resource for recycled wood etc.. this time of year.
I usually carry a tin of resin along with shavings, bark, & a few fire sticks (shaved) 'I made earlier..'
saves time later very flamable indeed.
Regards
David

Haven't tried a spark but guessing that it wouldn't work directly
onto lumps of hard resin, however if it was crushed/shaved it might. I'll have to try it tomorrow...
Pine Resin is different to fatwood/Maya sticks... The resin is just resin, a waxy sticky sap that crystallizes
as it dries and applying gentle heat to resin will melt it into a liquid and part of the component of the
liquid is natural turpentine.
Fatwood is pine wood, often harvested from old tree stumps that has a very high resin content.
Maya sticks (I think) are basically fatwood cut into small sticks.
The Knots of dead pine trunks/branches also contain high resine content.

[Dan XF]

I know that some Greek wines are flavoured with pine resin but I didn't know that it was antiseptic. I use a glue called derma bond for simple wound closure but I would never have thought of pine resin. A glue and antiseptic in one. I also use a haemostatic agent called celox which I've found out is made from the discarded mollusc shells. Nature is really giving back a lot more than it receives.

[OakAshandThorn]

I know that some Greek wines are flavoured with pine resin but I didn't know that it was antiseptic. I use a glue called derma bond for simple wound closure but I would never have thought of pine resin. A glue and antiseptic in one. I also use a haemostatic agent called celox which I've found out is made from the discarded mollusc shells. Nature is really giving back a lot more than it receives.
Didn't know that about some of the Greek wines ;). But yes, pine, spruce, and fir resin can be used for both glue and to seal a wound. And if you can find some of the 'old man's beard' lichen, all the better :). Just put it on top of the resin to prevent it from being scraped off, making a kind of outdoor bandage. ;)
Plus, the lichen in itself has antiseptic properties, is edible (high in vitamin C), and makes a wonderful tinder ;). I've seen it grow particularly on Balsam Fir during my travels to northern New England, but I read that it thrives in many parts of the world, favoring conifers in particular.
Here's some in the UK :D - top left photo: http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/photo/lichens.html