Mini Project #11: DIY Fatwood Pencil

Hi Instructables Community,

this week we will learn how to make a very simple fire starter from freebie pencils, wax & Vaseline.

First of all lets clarify that we are not working with real fatwood (i.e. heartwood of pine trees or other conifers) but instead impregnate a wooden pencil with a fuel (wax) for a similar effect. I have in the past experimented with various types of fatwood to create small EDC items such as key fobs etc. but found that the wood is very difficult to work with due to its physical properties.

Instead I looked for ways to make processed wood usable and decided to use those freebie pencils you get from IKEA or some other large shops. After some experimenting I found that a mix of 1:4 - 1:5 (PJ:Wax) was suitable to create tinder that could be ignited with a ferrocerium rod. The fire starter seems to be decently waterproof although I couldn't perform any long term trials with it.

Although I have not tested it yet I would think that one could also use bees wax instead of the paraffin wax I used.

Difficulty:	Easy
Time:	20 - 30 Minutes
Safety Concerns:	Hot liquids, open flames & fumes - Use appropriate safety equipment
Primary Use:	Easy to use fire starter & inconspicuous EDC item

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I would also love to see pictures of the fire starters you made and hear about your experiences with them.

Take care & stay safe

Cheers Alex

Step 1: Materials and Tools Needed

Materials:	Candle wax (Paraffin wax, stearin or bees wax) - You can reuse old wax for this - You should use enough wax to allow the pencil to be completely submerged. 1 IKEA pencil - IKEA and other shops offer these as freebies for their customers Petroleum Jelly (a.k.a. Vaseline)
Tools:	Melting pot Adjustable Heat source Tweezers Wooden stirring stick Small spatula

Step 2: Melting & Mixing

1. Start by adding your wax to your melting pot and putting it to low heat on your stove.
2. Add somewhere between 1/5 to 1/4 of Vaseline to the wax ((compared to the total mass of wax)
3. Allow the mixture to melt & heat up slowly. If you see smoke or fumes rising take the melting pot from the heat source and reduce the temperature.

Step 3: ​Impregnating

1. Once all wax is molten slowly drop the pencil into the mixture.
2. You should see bubbles rising to the surface.
3. You can speed up the process by pushing the pencil below the surface with your tweezers.
4. Turning up the heat slightly can also help to speed up the process.
5. Once you notice that fewer or no bubbles are rising from the pencil you can remove it from the melting pot.
6. Let the pencil dry and cool down for at least 15 - 20 minutes.

Step 4: How to Use

Using this fire starter is fairly simple:

1. Use a sharp blade to shave off very fine shavings - these will be your initial tinder. This is very easy to ignite with a ferro rod other spark creating tool but will burn very quickly.
2. I suggest you create more larger shaving with a pencil sharpener or a blade. These will be ignited by the fine shavings and burn longer.

Please let me know what you think in the comments and remember to join the weekly give away by subscribing to my YouTube channel and commenting on the video for this Instructable.

Happy making

Cheers Alex