Most of us who live around pine forests know most of this, but I live surrounded by pine and there were a couple of uses I hadn't thought of...so it is likely to give many of us new info. 16 Uses of Sticky Pine Sap for Wilderness Survival and Self-Reliance | Survival Sherpa
I've used it as a temporary repair for an inflatable boat and did heat it to make it more malleable...it worked, but we only needed it to get about a mile under power.
According to Bushcraft 101, pine pitch is made from pine sap, charcoal and some sort of binder, such as cattail heads or dried, ground up rabbit droppings. It makes a great adhesive for patching containers... From that, and from the link supplied by Pax, one could pretty much assume that it is waterproof. The paragraph goes on to state that the mixture needs to be heated, then applied, being careful not to allow the mixture to catch fire as that will make it brittle. It can be stored in a container after being mixed, or wound up on a stick for storage.
Excellent post, Pax, and a nice interwebs resource to bookmark. I have visited that site previously and found it very useful. The article on 33 Awesome DIY projects for preppers...is also worth fossickiing through. 33 Awesome DiY Projects for Preppers | Survival Sherpa
Neighbor builds birchbark canoes, Henri Valencourt, and does it by hand with a crooked knife. Everything about them is old time, spruce roots for binding and lacing, ceder strips for frames, birchbark for covering, but he uses tar and I think grease for the water proofing of the seams. Tried for years and just couldn't make pine tar etc work in the long run. Ok for short run, but not long run. Don't know if he has figured it out yet as he wanted to use pine tar and bear grease or something last time I knew. Was stationed in Fl at Eglin AFB in the 1950's and there were mile after mile of tapped pine trees along side the roads. The stills that they used to process the pine sap were nasty and I don't know if the EPA would let them do it today. At that time nearly all of the paints were linseed oil and turpintine based.
One of my sons makes and sells pitch cups for engravers and jewelers, he makes his own pitch using pine rosin and gets his bees wax from a bee keeper near by he processes it adds other things (his secret recipe) sells all over the world. He also uses it himself for engraving and carving metal and such.
Tar Heel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia After a pine tree dies the sap runs down to the stump. Chop with an ax or kick it and you'll smell turpentine. A chunk of it, some old pine cones and a match are another easy way to start a fire.
