Fatwood is an excellent resource for firemaking. Pitch can also be extracted from fatwood and used as a sealant for leather water vessels, or be used as a glue/adhesive. So, how do you collect it?

Decaying logs

On some decaying logs on the forest floor, you can chop into the core with an axe and find fatwood within.

Standing dead timber

Standing dead timber can be a good source of fatwood as well. Search for low branches, and snap them off at the base of where they connect to the timber. Near the knothole, a lot of pitch has usually collected which makes for rich fatwood. The branches can often be used for firewood as well, as they are usually nice and dry due to being elevated off of the wet ground. Sometimes you will still have to split these open to get dry sides of these branches of course.

Dead old stumps

Old stumps left over from thinning by loggers or the forest service can be a very abundant source of rich red fatwood. Chop around with an axe, usually near the bottom of the stump and you might find some great fatwood, in some cases, more than you can carry!

Processing the fatwood

Splitting the fatwood into smaller chunks is always a great idea, I like splitting it into sticks that can be shaved later to make smaller material for fire starting.

Why is fatwood so good for firecraft?

The main reason is because so much sap/pitch is in fatwood, it can burn for a very long time. this can help start other materials to catch fire if they were otherwise too wet to burn, because they can be exposed to heat long enough to dry out. Also, a pile of fatwood shavings burns like a torch! Very hot, and a lot of flame, which will as said previously, help dry out wet branches or other firewood.

As with any firecraft material, I reccommend carrying whatever you can if you are traveling through nature. Of course if car camping, or traveling with an ATV, you can carry much more. Either way, you never know if the place you camp next will have enough firecraft material. Also, when it’s cold and rainy, you won’t want to deal with collection.

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