When I used to have a fireplace someone gave me some wood they called starter wood or turpentine wood I believe. How does the wood get that way? Where can it be found?
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When I used to have a fireplace someone gave me some wood they called starter wood or turpentine wood I believe. How does the wood get that way? Where can it be found?
You probably have fat wood. It's pine that's rich in resin and is harvested from the stumps of pine trees that have been logged. It only takes one match to start a good fire.
Starter wood to me is "kindling" wood, it's just really small pieces of wood that is really dry. It's very easy to start a fire with a bunch of kindling and paper. There is wood called fire starting wood- I think it is soaked in something.
It's also called lighter knot, lighter pine, fat lighter, and probably has a few other names. It's wood from the stunmp and roots of a mature pine tree. I have seen it taken from onther conifers as well,cedar trees can produce lighter. I have purchased it in some grocery stores in the country. If it's high in resin it will ignite no matter if it's wet or not. As far as I know it lasts for ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by MaggieMay
I would visit a low priced department store or outdoor/camping store. If you really want it and you can't buy it. You need to find a clearcut where pines have been harvested and look for busted up stumps. They used to use pine stumps to make turpentine. But almost nobody uses turpentine anymore so the stumps probably stay in the ground unless they are in the way, then they get turned over and piled up with the rest of the wood. If you don't know what to look for you can check wood frgments by scraping or cutting with a knife and then snif. It should look reddish brown and have a very strong pine sap smell and you should be able to see sap crystals.
Thank you everyone! That was exactly what I was looking for! I am going to go to my dad's property here in the next few weeks and we love walking around the woods so at least I have some idea of what to look for now.
If you can't find it in the woods or at a local sporting goods store, it's available readily online for about $1.25/lb in bulk, just google "fatwood".
My favorite starter is cedar.. tons of around here and it's soooo easily split small.
Burns very hot and fast... one 8" diameter cedar 20 or so ft long cut to 12", and split 1/2" or so strips, gives me a years worth of starter.... er.. kindling.