The wind is out of the northwest, blowing a steady rain into our face. The temperature is just warm enough to keep the rain from freezing to your coat. Everything in the forest is wet, including you. You know hypothermia is coming, it is just a matter of time. As the cold sinks into your bones, you look around, there is no dry tender to start a fire with. Then you see it, your salvation. A pine tree that died many years ago, almost completely rotten. All that is left is the heartwood of the tree and knots.
Pine knots can be a life saver, one of the few items in our forest that almost guarantee the ability to start a fire. Their usefulness comes from the tar in a pine tree. Once the tree dies, most of the tree rots away, however the knots of the tree and in the heart wood often. The pine tar or resin is infused into this wood and preserves this part of the tree. This is also what gives it its usefulness in our scenario. The tar effectively waterproofs the wood and it is flammable. If you take a shaving from a pine knot and light it, it will burn like a candle. If you take a lot of shavings, you can light larger pieces of the knots. This will start to burn hot enough to dry out wet wood and give you the ability to start a fire in the pouring down rain.
How to find pine knots.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you need to find a dead pine tree. But to make it easier on you, you need to look for an old stand of trees. Young pines do not have time to build up significant resin in the heart wood to preserve the wood. Naturally, the older the stand the better. If you find semi-rotten logs, you can break them up and often find pine knots inside of them. In an area that has been clear cut, you can find pine knots in the roots and stumps. Often, if you are paying attention, you will find them just laying on the ground. As you walk through a forest it pays to pick up one or two. Even if you don’t use them, they are worth keeping.
How to use pine knots
When you find a pine knot, you can’t just take a match to them and expect them to burn. You will need to create some thin slices that will light easily. You can do this with a knife, but a hatchet works best. Due to the amount of resin in the wood, it is extremely hard to cut. Use the shavings as your tender and chips as kindling, these can be then used to light other fire woods. Another method is to take your blade of choice and cut into the knot. Cut shavings and slices into the knot, but do not completely cut them off. You want your knot to somewhat resemble a pine cone. This will create a lot of surface area for the flame to catch on, and burn hot enough to set the whole knot on fire.
So, the next time you are in the forest, whether you are hiking, camping, or hunting, keep an eye out for pine knots. They will make your fire craft much easier and could possibly save your life.