Pitch HELP!!!

roadapples

roadapples

Well-Known Member
Need some help with ideas/ directions for a recipe for pitch. I tried a couple of methods the Primitive guys on YouTube showed for making pitch. I ran the range- Way to brittle, to the current batch which will not harden- even overnight. I'm using Black spruce sap as that's what's available up here in Alaska, with beeswax and olive oil, willow charcoal, and Moose repurposed vegetation (Moose Nuggets or Wood's Apples)

Any thoughts, ideas, comments or feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Mark
 
I've only had so-so luck with with PPG, so take any advice I give with a grain of salt. If you're finished product is brittle you're likely cooking it too hot. A ghetto double broiler (soup can in a pot of water) should help with that.
 
Yes, brittle usually means you're getting it too hot. Gummy usually means you haven't simmered it long enough. But here's the real catch,... not all pitch was created equal. Some pines work well, others O.K. and some not at all. Around here pinon pine works best and I've heard up north it's the Scots Pine. I have no idea about spruce, but have tried juniper with no luck at all.

If there are any other types of pine up there, you might give them a try.

Generally speaking, the hard dry pitch balls are the easiest to work with and require less simmer time.
 
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Yep, I forgot that part (and it's an important one). We have a lot of Virginia pine around here, and there's always pitch to be found on those. Only problem is the end product is marginal at best. White pine's are harder to come by in my area, but produce a much better glue.
 
Jonathan,

Have you tried lodgepole pine? I understand it grows in your area.


My current recipe:

1 lb pine pitch
about 1/2 lb beeswax
2 tspn. sawdust or brick dust
1 tspn. metal dust/filings
1 tspn. anhydrous borax

I use a paint can in an old soup pot for a double boiler to heat it up and mix it together. Pour the stuff into small mason jars for storage. Just boil the mason jar to soften for use. Be sure and wear gloves when re-heating and pouring the hot pitch. Do this outside the wife may not want the house smelling up!

Regards,

George
 
Check out "birch bark oil " on youtube. Not sure if you have birch up there but they have alot in other northern climates. Might be a good alternative.
 
Thanks to All for the feedback and input!!!

Unfortunately, I'm about out of time to experiment for a couple of weeks- Got a fishing trip planned for this weekend, to hopefully fill the freezer... Then off to Colorado and Ohio for a bit- Tai, I'll check to see if there's any Pinions left in the Colorado Springs area and I'll see if I can find any lodge pole also.

Thanks for the recipe George- what type of pine are you using?

I did look at the birch oil video- LOTS of birch up here, but that also falls into the wait a bit category.

Travis- I'm trying to do a completely natural material knife, Just something I've been meaning to do. I didn't have time to cut all the sinew out of the bear I just got, so using hemp cordage for the binding and want to use pitch to seal it and fix the blade in the handle.

Thanks again and will post results in a few weeks.

Mark
 
Pitch, more correctly referred to as wood "rosin" actually may have a few advantages over epoxy. Epoxy is stronger, but probably not as stable. Natural rosin glues have stood the test of time and many examples have lasted thousands of years. No one really knows what will happen to epoxy in a thousand years... probably turn to dust, due to the chemical catalyst.

Colorado has pinon pines. They are the lowest altitude pines, the first ones you'll see as you're heading up into the mountains. They are a short "bushy" pine, usually found among junipers. You can also identify them by the edible pinon seeds in the cones and by the very distinct sweet aroma of the rosin. They also use the pinon rosin (or resin) for incense.
 
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1,000-2,000-3,000 years from now, the collectors, curators, antique sales people etc., will probably have to fix a lot of old epoxy glued knives,… with traditional cutler’s rosin. ;)
 
Mark,

I been using both white and yellow pine sap. The yellow I got from a friend in Northern Florida and the White from a friend in North Carolina. I prefer the White.

Also I burned my hands badly using a commercial gas forge back in 2011, the doctor advised me I may not be able to completely use my hands again, and most likely should not continue forging. My friend David form North Carolina turned me on to White Pine Sap mixed with Apinol (a pine oil product) as a country med to foster healing and relieve pain. It worked, I can forge today with no problems (lost control of one finger) and the combo has been in my first aid kit ever since. Apinol is also great for keeping insects away. So I use pine sap for more than pitch!
 
George, everyone from the mountains of 'Carolina grew up smelling like pine oil...my Grandmother lathered it on the kids for all ailments.....Best 'skitter bite ointment ever made...

http://apinol.com/
 
While I was born in South Carolina, I was raised in South Florida. Here everyone has a citrus smell just because it smelled good! I have used Apinol as a bug spray, we don't have skitters here, we got airplanes that bite! LOL
 
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