When you said "you wouldn't put a sick fish into dirty water" at the woodland warrior weekend it really stuck with me. Thanks to you and that phrase I spoke to my boss and now work 4 days a week instead of 5, less time in the dirty water and more time for me to get out into nature and do bushcraft things.

Fatwood, lighter wood, or torch wood. No matter what you call it fatwood is easily harvested from large dead pine trees laying on the ground that have mostly rotted away. You can easily knock off the rotten punky wood on the outside to reveal a large harvest of rich resinous fatwood inside. Ones that were infested with insects or struck by lightning are especially useful because the sap wood tends to rot away quicker and the heart wood is usually extra rich with highly flammable resin as a result of the tree's immune response to the damage. Plus if you only stick to harvesting from downed trees on the ground you cause no harm to any living trees neither intentionally or incidentally. If you have access to a pine forest it doesn't take long to locate a large downed pine tree and just one large tree will provide you with more fatwood than you'll ever need.

I’ve watched plenty of videos, like this, on how to find it and found a bit when I’ve been able to get out. That doesn’t happen a lot though with three kids. So I bought a box and practice feather sticks with them when grilling. Only because kids and living in a city with no real forest areas, I don’t get much else practice. Got to do what I can with what I can.

Obviously, it's location based. Here in the upper Mississippi valley, there are loads of coniferous trees for me to do this with. I carry a pencil sharpener in my fire kit to turn the twigs into shavings for tinder. But just last weekend, I was pulling handfuls of loose birch bark right from the side of the trail. Tinder is everywhere here, if you look for it. Top tip for those without the trees around, go to the local laundromat and look in the trash. All that dryer lint they are just throwing away is fabulous tinder.

"If you're not feeling right, get outdoors", brilliant, and great advice.

Your last statement in this video is so true. I feel so much better when I take a weekend camping trip

Here in Florida it’s colloquially known as lighter knot and we have an abundance of the stuff . It’s common for dead standing pines to be completely converted to fatwood here .

Love Sundays when HVB uploads a video.. Nick can make you feel your out with him. Great stuff

This has quickly become my favorite youtube channel. Great practical explanations and I love the philosophical/ contemplative aspects that are mixed in.

Great video Nick. Last year I tried making my own fatwood by taking some small kindling and soaking it in melted candle wax. It was so simple and it worked perfectly.

Very informative thank you. I had no idea until today that this type of wood was called _FATWOOD._ I’m in my seventh decade and still learning and wanting to learn.

I think you did a really good job on this video. You seem to care more about people getting an understanding than most others do. Thank you for sharing what you learned.

Thank you mate, for the fatwood and the advice, I've spent my life in and out of the woods through my journey with depression and I always felt mentally and physically better, even more so if I slept out alright, I new nature was up to something but just didn't realise the science behind her beautiful self, we truly are part of each other, earth, nature, beings, what a collective.

Hey Nick, fab video as always 😊 I absolutely agree that we *need* the outdoors. We're living like factory farmed animals these days, overcrowded in totally unnatural habitats. Humans (and our brains) evolved to be living in, small, close-knit tribes; spending most of the day moving around outdoors, eating a huge variety of foraged foods. If you take an animal out of it's natural environment and don't provide it with the mental stimulation it needs then it will develop behavioural problems; we are still animals, despite what most people seem to believe, and we react the same way as any other to these things. I like the quote, "Stone age minds living in space age times."

Hi Nick - I have been watching your channel for a while now and in a couple of weeks I will be taking myself out for my first wild camp. All your videos are really informative and very well presented. Thanks for all the effort you put into them. They are very, very helpful.

I obviously learn a lot about the forest when I watch your videos but it's your personal insight that seems to hit me the hardest. Yes, keeping on track.

Excellent video mate! Your closing line about being outdoors and the boost that it gives one’s immune system is so important.

If you are not feeling right get out doors.. Absolutely the best bit of advice.. I am on a bit of a journey myself and I totally agree

I like the analogy given to how trees make fat wood and our journey in life And get out doors back to nature is the greatest healing there is

Excellent informative video, good to see you relaying the complete background information, nice to hear the reasons why and how etc. Too many "Expert Bushcraft" people are posting videos lighting fires and boiling water and not having the basics in place first (clearing the debris etc). Your inspirational and people should listen to you and use the old saying... "You have 2 ears and one mouth, use them in that order" Keep up the good work and lets help preserve the precious resources we have available.

I love your videos Nick and even more so this one, I love the analogy about the trees and humans being similar and especially the advice to get outdoors to improve your well-being and immune system. I truly believe this is the case and encourage people to get out into the fresh air, it will do wonders for you and certainly lift your spirits 🙏

Knowing that trees are alive and responding to its surroundings has always fascinated me, great vid.

Loved the video, went out this afternoon and found two good sized pieces of fatwood in a wind blown piece of larch - thanks for the inspiration!

Hi Nick, your channel is one of my favorite one. Thanks for sharing these valuable infos.

Great video Nick. Heartily agree with getting out in the wilderness, always at my happiest amongst the trees and wildlife. It’s real and somehow peaceful with the sounds and smells of nature all around. Very informative info on trees which will helpful to me in the woods. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and the parallels of tree life and ours. There is incredible beauty in all of it, and it’s free ! Bless you mate.

Thank you for a brilliant video you are right about going out I struggle with that through complex PTSD but I'm buying a mountain bike and I'm going to push myself harder to interact with a world I don't trust ...you inspire me thank you fir helping my confidence God bless you and the marines ...Amen

Great video and information. Wonderful vernacular and flare for words, nice to hear. Being in the woods is the best. God bless you ❤️🙏🏼

Hi Nick, Only found your channel after seeing your truck drive by the house several times, and checking out the HVB website. Subbed right away. Great seeing your videos in my own stomping grounds in the Chew Valley, really makes the content so applicable. Good to hear you touting the great mental health benefits of being out in the woods, the message really jibes with my own views. I found several fatwood stumps in the north east of these woods where they had been toppled in winds. JB

Great video, on the practical level & wisdom level. Cheers.

Great video again. I always enjoy watching your content, thanks.

Fatwood and ferrocerium ferro rods are very useful survival tools and are my favorite tools. I love fatwood and ferrocerium ferro rods.

Super interesting. Thank you for sharing your deep understanding.

Hope you and your family are doing great Nick. Really enjoying the video bud, keep em coming. Stay safe and be well brother. Strength and Honor... 👊 🤙

Well done! In my neck of the woods, it’s hard not to trip over it. But I still learned something new. Thank you. Can we hear more about the fish in dirty water concept? It’s one of those things that I think we instinctively know, but I’ve never found the words. BRILLIANT! Keep up the good work. It matters.

Another great video and alot of good stuff to know, I now want to go look for some myself now.

Thank you so much for your insights, I learned a lot.

I appreciate this episode a great deal. Thank you Sir Peace.

Very interesting and insightful. Thank you.

Thank you brother. I have been telling people that of which you are talking about but they don’t use fallen leaves to start fire. They have to believe they have to use birch or or fat wood. SEMPER FI

I was considering buying fatwood to give it a go, but now I've watched this I'll just find it myself. Thanks Nick!!

Fun video Nick, and a BIG word as a bonus:) Thanks for your time.

Sunday May 1st 2022 ! Excellent information ! I never knew anything about this ! I have put you under my favorite videos ! Thank you for sharing ! ❤️❤️❤️😊😊😊☮️☮️☮️

Brilliant descriptive video Nick 👍 lucky for me in the Rhondda valleys we are never far away from pine forests and beautiful views the outdoors is an amazing place we all take for granted ,but a night out with a small fire food and fresh air can’t be beaten in my opinion 💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍 all the best Nick and please keep up the brilliant work you do

Being from Central Florida, it blows my mind that people do actually buy fatwood. It is literally everywhere if you have eyes to see.

Shigo would be proud Nick. This was a great video 👍

Going out next weekend to a permission woodland, will give this a try! Thanks stay safe atb 👍🦊

Nick good informative video thank youI couldn’t agree with you more getting outdoors is critical to health and well-being

Very informative. I always wondered about the bulges on trees where they have been cut back by councils. Very interesting

Wonderful, thank you.

Bloody love this channel 💯

Hi from Syracuse NY USA brother thank you for sharing

Enjoyed thst thank you. I'm out for a quick solo in the woods night. Fire, cheeky beer and my book.

Nice informative video. Cheers from across the pond Nick.

Finding fatwood for me is basically walk anywhere into the woods in my operational range and collect enough for 20 people for a full months outing in a matter of minutes .. but I m blessed to live in the heart of the south in the USA .. pine trees are our number one tree .. oak and tulip poplar rank #2 and #3 depending on soil conditions

Great video Nick. If only there were coniferous trees to harvest from where I live... but plenty of bags of cheap fatwood at the local hardware store.

Spot on!!

Very interesting. Just found your channel. Love it. Per Mare, Per Terram. 🇬🇧

Excellent video 👍

Top class information and very informative 👏 I spend a great deal of time in woodland and you're right in what you say very good for mind body and soul and also why do some people spend good money in shops for fatwood when you can find it in abundance in our forest's great video nick thanks for sharing ♠️

Brilliant tips! I shall try them out when im next in the woods.Does Sitka produce fatwood?.We have a 3 1/2 acre plantation on the western section of a larger mixed broadleaf woodland that i manage in Wales.I really like the "Dont put an ill fish in dirty water" ethos.The healing and restorative effects of being in the woods is truly a medicine for the mind body & soul.Every time i open our ride stop gate,its like taking off a massively overweight bergen off my back.Cheers bud!

Words of wisdom. 😎 Thanks

Great video!

Great stuff I was the one buying last year but now not buying it still got some unopened in the cupboard lol so easy to find

Great video mate 👍

I chopped up a pallet on which a ton of compost was delivered and it was mostly fatwood ! I now have a great store of it :-)

Trees don't heal, they seal! Wisdom, thanks!

Brilliant video thanks fpr the tips i disnt even know fatwood was a thing

Thanks For your knowledge. As I only fault it comes from pine in hot countries thanks.

Hopefully fairly soon I'll be coming into a few lifetimes of Fatwood. During Hurricane Ida several trees, mainly pine and birch type, blew down. When my insurance company settles the damage I'll hire a proper tree removal service and will be able to direct them what parts of the trees to leave for me in the guise of firewood. Its been 8 months, and hopefully they'll Still be some parts of the trees that have resin left.

Yea this is a fantastic video. 👍

this is fascinating

....what an interesting chap you are!!

Part of your observations are spot on but some are not. 1st, if someone is spending 100's of pounds/dollars annually on fatwood they are being horribly fleeced or they aren't using it correctly. At a nearby home improvement store I bought a 4lb bag for $6. That's 2 full years of woodstove lights for me. After assembling kindling, fatwood sticks (often split in smaller sizes) are used like super matches. No need for scraping or feathering. 2nd, take a look at the scene behind you around the 6min mark. Conifers love sun. There's very little green below the sun blocked canopy. When the lower branches are not getting sufficient light they die off and not necessarily due to fungal attacks and certainly not from damage due to heavy human traffic. You are absolutely correct about conifers healing process. When a branch dies, it pumps resin to seal itself, regardless of the reason for the loss. When the entire tree begins to die, the resin shrinks into the heart. I find it quite innovative and resourceful for those making/selling fatwood from old conifer stumps that would otherwise go to waste. Not everyone has easy access for any number of reasons. Take care and be well HVB. Soak in those phytoncides. 👍

I find fatwood under my duvet most mornings LOL 😂

"game of Fungal thrones" hahaha and the smug look after knowing you dropped a hell of a pun

*THANK YOU for the tutorial.* Another great tip you made is that being outdoors helps your immune system ...but... *How do you protect yourself against ticks and lyme disease?*

What an amazing channel

Thanks and merci for the tips! Mathieu, Québec, Canada

I have picked up roots that were fatwood around pines in Louisiana

Outstanding 👍👍👍

I've found and used plenty of fatwood, but I'm getting lazy as I get older, and it's easier to throw money at it (and I have an Amazon addiction). Cheers mate, and Semper Fidelis.

Thanks you for sharing, it's true 👍

that is very useful 👍

some of us just can't find it or have access to pine forests, I know I don't where I live in Australia (SE Queensland) we do have some pine forests several hours away but it's not easy to access. Plus I can buy a 1.8kg bag for $15 of premium fatwood from Bunnings (a chain store hardware here in OZ) which is every bit as good as any fatwood I've tested from all over the world, thankfully I have good friends who send me fatwood from many different locations to test. Store-bought fatwood allows people like me to experiment and experience fatwood on a level that I would not otherwise be able to.

Hahaha that's weird, I was in the woods this morning with my boys looking for fat wood, had to Google it, managed a few good chunks though. Great video as usual.

Ace to base Nick!

Because I live in Ohio which has mostly been cleared for farming years ago but historically was deciduous forest (mostly maple). What few pines exist in my area are on private land where you can't help yourself to things like that or are on public land like parks which are maintained and don't have dead wood or stumps all about or other public land where it is illegal to forage for anything.

Excellent video. I always found the trend of "buying" fatwood as a bushcraft supply to be a bit like bushcraft glamping. Would a deer hunter buy deer skins on ebay to put in his truck?? Add to this that if you are going to spend that money, its cheaper to just buy other flammables, or just make your own fatwood by gently boiling any dry wood in oil/was/pine resin. Thank you for the video. When Im a bit more solvent I plan to come to one of your courses down there.

Careful in the UK! Larch is used as a firebreak in pine woodlands! It doesn't burn well! Might have a high resin frugality, but really doesn't burn well at all!

Wow at the end of this video you inspired me to get outside.

Thats why gardening is also good if ur depressed as the soil releases something (cant remember the name sorry) to boost our moods Nature shes a wonderful thing

Compression wood on conifers, underneath limbs leaving main stem. Resin rich.

Fantastic informative video,Nick. Always wondered why the old conifer stumps burned well,on the Priddy village green firework night bonfires. Easy to make fatwood sticks,now then. Might have to make a few and knock them out at the local bootsale.😉 Quick question. Where did you get your sweater from? Pretty smart,and looks warm.Great for the evenings around the camp fire. All the best.

I've only been instructed on The Larch by Monty Python. You know, I am not sure if we have them in the U.S. Hello from San Diego. Good information. I like to make saw dust from the Fat Wood and then apply a match to the dust/shavings/what have you. Fun. Keep at it.

It comes down to time management for me, I purchased a kilogram of high quality fatwood for Au$14 from Bunnings (a chain hardware store in Australia). It is easier and cheaper for me to do this than to travel to my nearest pine plantation 50kms away and then spend hours searching for it.

Hi Nick, We always collect pine cones on family walks, not only do they and the trees they've come from make lighting the woodburner(and Kelly-kettle) easy, but bunging a bunch of them onto a bed of embers and watching the process of them burning and then turning glowing red in the same shape and finally collapsing is something I find quite relaxing 😊😊💤💤💤 Yes it's maddening to me too that people will spend money on a plastic wrapped tiny bundle of basically twigs, that have been shipped around the country or further 🥴 Excuse me if you have already made the video, but one solely on the different types of free tinder and how to harvest,store and use them, would be very interesting and helpful, "I love the smell of pine sapphire in the morning!" 🤣🤣🤣 I saw a report somewhere the other day similar to what you were saying about the health benefits of just getting out, something about the dopamine and serotonin levels raised by the chemicals that cause the smells of different wild plants and how our brains are wired to react to those smells/fragrances once we have lived in a certain area for a while, I will try find the article and send you the link, you may enjoy it? Hope all is good ? Matt and family 👍

A lightning killed tree, especially a softwood, yield’s literally tonnes of fat wood. Similarly a softwood that is tangled by another tree falling on it produces loads of fat wood on the wounds.

Nick, hope you and ya family had a great bank holiday.

thx

I came to know how to find fat wood. But it seems I found something more valuable