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As requested by Matt, here are some pictures starting a fire with pitchwood.
I find pitchwwod here in the NW by looking for Pine & douglas Fir stumps that have been cut down or otherwise destroyed (fire or lightening) while the sap was up in the tree. I usually find it concentrated mainly near the bottom of the stump & roots. I look for yellowish, or golden color and a smell like turpentine when the wood is scraped or cut.
To use I clean off a piece and split to a manageable size. To get tinder I then scrape my knife blade up & down the wood at a 90 degree angle, making very small fine shavings. (please forgive the piece of plywood & metal bucket in the pictures, we have a burn ban on in the local area, so I had to take the pictures in the backyard). I get a big bunch of shavings, about 3 times as much as you think you will need.
I then strike a spark directly into the shavings, when I get a flame I add thinly split pieces to build the flame.
I hope this helps.
I find pitchwwod here in the NW by looking for Pine & douglas Fir stumps that have been cut down or otherwise destroyed (fire or lightening) while the sap was up in the tree. I usually find it concentrated mainly near the bottom of the stump & roots. I look for yellowish, or golden color and a smell like turpentine when the wood is scraped or cut.
To use I clean off a piece and split to a manageable size. To get tinder I then scrape my knife blade up & down the wood at a 90 degree angle, making very small fine shavings. (please forgive the piece of plywood & metal bucket in the pictures, we have a burn ban on in the local area, so I had to take the pictures in the backyard). I get a big bunch of shavings, about 3 times as much as you think you will need.
I then strike a spark directly into the shavings, when I get a flame I add thinly split pieces to build the flame.
I hope this helps.
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