This article will give all the information you need about pine pitches and the steps to help you make one with the simplest materials and the most comprehensive instructions.
You’ve undoubtedly felt pine sap if you’ve ever gone trekking in a pine forest and touched the trees. If you haven’t, you need to know that it is incredibly sticky when fresh, but it becomes orange globs when dry.
You may not have realized it, but pine sap is beneficial. Also, you’ll need to know how to produce pine pitches to increase your survival abilities, bushcraft skills, or homesteading expertise.
Let’s jump in and learn how to make your pine pitch.
Harvesting Pine Pitch
The first thing you’ll have to do is gather pine sap. Let’s presume you’re familiar with the appearance of a pine tree. So, you may already know that some species produce more sap than others, but you’ll most likely use what you have.
However, let me give you this complete guide: How to Harvest Tree Sap and Use It if you need more in-depth instruction on how to do it.
Also, you may stroll around looking for pine trees with broken branches to gather the sap. The sap will have dripped out and crystalized on its own. As such, you can remove the pine sap crystals from the tree and place them in a metal container.
In addition, taping the tree is a faster way to gather pine sap. But you should note that this can harm the pine tree and expose it to pests and diseases.
These methods might not be a big deal in a pine forest, but you might want to reconsider if you have pine trees on your property.
DIY Pine Pitch
Here’s a step-by-step instruction on how you can start making your pine pitch.
Step 1
Fill a metal container with the pine resin or sap you gathered. A soup can will do.
Step 2
Make a second boiler. Pine resin is a very flammable substance. You don’t want to melt it over an open fire as it will result in a 7-foot-high flame. You might as well make a double boiler (on Amazon).
Also, a double boiler is essentially a pot within another pot. Water is in the bottom as the heat causes the water to boil. The steam from the water then rises to the top of the pot, heating it.
After that, put your resin can in the top pot. Your pine resin container should never come into contact with a heat source.
Step 3
You should melt the pine resin at this point. Again, do not allow the pine resin to contact the heat source directly. You’ll finish up with a massive fireball.
Step 4
Next, you need to strain the pine resin. You may create your strainer by poking holes in a clean container. This way, you will eliminate any dirt, bark, or pests. Then, fill a clean can with the strained resin.
Step 5
Return the can of strained resin to the double boiler. This step will keep the resin liquid while you finish the rest of the process.
Step 6
You should add crushed charcoal to the resin. With a stick, stir it in. Around 1 part charcoal to 3 parts resin is needed. However, the ratio might alter depending on what you want to accomplish with the pitch.
It’s worth noting that preppers traditionally prepare pine pitches with charcoal drawn from the same pine trees as the resin. They burn the pine trees to create ultra-pure charcoal.
For your pine pitch, you can use any wood charcoal.
Step 7
Substrates are optional. The majority of individuals advise using herbivore dung like a rabbit. However, you may also use actual wood sawdust or animal hair. This material strengthens the pine pitch.
You’ll need half the quantity of substrate as charcoal. After that, add some beeswax or tallow. This step makes the pitch more adaptable and manageable—just a tiny amount.
Step 8
Pitch your pine needles. With a stick, stir your pine pitch. You also use a pencil, and it will work well. For a few seconds, run the stick under cold water. Then, with your fingernail, touch the pine pitch on the stick.
It should be solid, yet with a bit of giving. This texture result means it’s finished. If not, experiment with the component proportions until you get the desired result.
Pine Resin vs. Pitch vs. Tar
Let’s start by ensuring we have the appropriate terminology as people often misunderstand the distinction between pine resin, pitch, and tar.
First, trees keep their Pine Resin in the outer cells, which come in a liquid form. Should anything harm the tree, resin oozes out and clogs the wound, similar to how blood clots heal wounds.
There is also such thing as synthetic resins. Also, remember that you are collecting resin when you gather solidified pine sap.
Next, Pine Tar is created by heating pine wood to extremely high temperatures while preventing it from catching fire. As the pine wood heats up, water-based moisture and tar will leak out, leaving charcoal behind.
Preppers usually gather it through a filter at the bottom. Tar is just liquid smoke from pine trees. You can use Pine Tar for sealing, medicinal, and soap production.
People generally and frequently use Pine Pitch and Pine Tar interchangeably. Pine pitch is pine tar that has had the moisture removed. As a result, pine pitch will be more rigid, and pine tar will be more liquid.
Last Words
You now understand how to make a pine pitch. Now, prepare a batch to have on hand when you need it. Also, and just so you know, rubbing alcohol or Everclear can be used to remove it from your hands, clothing, dog, and other surfaces.
You can look at these articles, which you will find as exciting and informative as this one:
- How to Make Pine Needle Tea The Best Way
- 6 Tree Sap Survival Tips You Can Try Right Now
- Torch Making in the Woods: 3 of the Best Ways
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Coconut oil removes pine sap from hands, etc and doesn’t smell or irritate like gasoline, etc.