My son and I were taking a stroll in the timber behind our house. We came across a pine stump about 20" in diameter. There was a ring of bark, a 3-4 inch ring of space, and then the remainder of the tree stump. We gave it a swift kick for good measure. Solid with no give at all. Tried to break off a piece. Solid.

Jogged back to the house and got the spliting wedges and maul. Attemped to split off a hunk. Split off the side about 18" down but it would not come free at the very bottom. It was getting late so we said we would come back.

The next day I took the shovel and dug down around the stump. I first dug a shovelhead width around the stump about a shovel head deep. Swift kick and it was still solid. I dug about 2 shovel heads deep all the way around. Swift kick and still solid. No movement at all. I was now down to the point were the part I had attempted to split off the other day ended. Still would not pull loose.

Not wanting a tree stump to best me, I went and got the chain saw. I dug the hole a little bigger on one side to allow space for the motor portion of the saw. I fired it up and began cutting off the top 8-10 inches of the stump. I had cleared away as much dirt, rocks and other debris as possible but about 3/4 the way through the stump, the chain was so dull it would no longer cut. I removed the saw and begain splitting off chucks with the wedges and maul.

The odor of pine was very strong and the color of the wood was deep orange. I now am the proud owner of the mother load of fatwood. My son and I spent a couple of hours splitting that into finger sized sticks. I have two copier paper boxes full of sticks.

We noticed a few more pine stumps within several paces of the first stump. We are going to leave them in place for now but know where to start hunting if ever need more.

We could not resist attempting to start some fires with our new found bounty. Great flames, black sotty smoke, and pungent aroma. It has been a rewarding couple of days.

Congrats on your find, I used to have good luck at the family farm in Sampson county.
Nothing quite like using that stuff to light a fire.
I hope to be home in Raleigh sometime next week, Little Rock has been cold and windy for days.

ok sorry if this sounds like a totally rookie question, but why is it called fatwood?

Yah, I'm interested in that as well. The locals in my area refer to it as "rich pine".

I've always thought it has a lot oils or resins in it, that make it more waterproof and/or burn easier. Fat=oil. But that's just my guess.

Lighterwood, Fatwood it is all the same thing. Pine wood completely soaked with dried pine sap.

Here in the south we have pine forests and old timber. Old timber has hardwoods. Pine forests are good for harvesting to make wood products like 2x4's but losey for burning. Except the stumps.

The sap in the wood is stable and will not evaporate or ooze on to your gear. A splinter 1/4 the size of a pencil about finger length will easily light with a match and burn for several minutes with a large flame. Even soaked in water for several hours, it will easily light with a cotton ball. The sap burns and once consumed, the wood burns. A very good tinder to carry.

We don't have no birch, aspen, or mesquite. We have oak, maple and pine. Pine grows in strong sun. It creates shade so the maple and oak can grow. You can tell how old a stand of timber is by the percentage of hardwoods to pine. You burn maple and oak to make fire with little smoke and great coals. You burn pine to make smoke or because it is the only wood around.

There are stories of people who have found fatwood stumps and will not tell because it is highly prized. I will tell because it is in my backyard and no one can collect without my approval anyway. Any proper Southener would give you some as a show of courtesy but would not tell you where their personal stash is. Would you like some sweet tea?

I was recently on a camping trip with a group of Boy Scouts in the Talladega National Forest. One of the primary goals on the hikes was to keep an eye out for fatwood, or as one othe Scout Masters called it, "pine lighter". It make 1 match fires a lot easier to start. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />