Pitchwood fire starter

[Okanagan]

Pitch impregnated wood makes good fire starting material, among other good uses.  Awhile back I ran across some that was easy to get up in the Interior of BC so brought a few chunks home and cut it up.  This is old growth Douglas fir, from a long dead tree, straight grain and it split like good red cedar.   I cut this into small slats, wrap a bundle of them in a paper towel and then in a Ziploc bag to contain any stickiness.  This pitch is dry but if it gets warm in the pack it might get sticky.  I can burn them as is or cut off splinters or shavings to help start a fire.





I like the way the light shines through it, kind of a glow.



It is easiest to get from old stumps.  This stuff came from the butt end of a recently fallen long dead tree.  Most of the lower tree and stump were soft red rot rotten, crumble it away with a kick or with my hands.  But sections up to six inches diameter and three feet long were protected from rot by being saturated with pitch that had seeped down into the lower tree and then gradually dried out over the years since the tree died.  Those sections were rock hard and not rotten at all.  Some are mere splinters like long icicles of hard wood spearing through the soft rotten stump, which is what I normally seek when looking for pitchwood to start a fire.  I sawed some of the larger pieces into chunks, first time I've done that, but I'm going to make up small bundles of this as firestarter for my backpacking/hunting family members.

[slagmaker]

Heck yeah. It dont take mutch to get it goin and a piece the size your showing there and a pocket knife you can start a bunch of fires quick

[FinsnFur]

Neat idea.
How'd you clean the pitch off your hands when you were done?

[Okanagan]

The is old, well seasoned and dried pitch wood, so the pitch is remarkably hard and dry.  Excess pitch tends to crumble off rather than be sticky or gummy.  For the small patches of pitch stuck on my hands, I first rub with butter or margarine which cuts the pitch, then wash off with soap and water.  Try it!

Also, it was cold:  snow in the bush where I found this by a logging road, and cold in my garage where I worked on it.  On a warm or hot day, this stuff would be stickier.

[slagmaker]

Never heard of the butter for removing the pitch I will have to remember that one. It makes sense cause the fat/oil in the butter would break down it down.

[Hawks Feather]

Neat idea.  How'd you clean the pitch off your hands when you were done?  

Weeeellllll ittttttt miggggghttttt justtttt beeeee stttticky on a coupllllleeee of ffffffingggggeeeerrrrs.

Jeeeerrrrry

[FinsnFur]

I am gonna try that. I always used gas or WD-40 which pretty sucks but it works.