View Full Version : Making own Maya sticks
woodpoet
04-04-2012, 17:33
Soak sticks of softwood in teak oil and leave to dry. works just like maya sticks. Scrape shavings and you have home made maya dust.
Whittler Kev
04-04-2012, 18:02
Wow. Cheers dude. I know reallybigmonkey1 on BushcraftUSA & Youtube, carries a jar of toothpicks that are soaking in alcohol as fire starters.
Do you let these dry out?
Or you could find a dead pine stump and see if there's any fatwood for harvesting
woodpoet
04-04-2012, 18:10
Have tried using alcohol hand gel and when it is dry it seems to still work as long as it has been soaked a while. I also use various essential oils which when added to wood shavings burn really well. you can get the really cheap ones in pound shops. always keep a small bottle of essential oil with me in my kit.A lot of people carry lavender oil for insect bites. it only takes a couple of drops.
woodpoet
04-04-2012, 18:14
Unfortunately I am in East London so the Epping Forest is nearly all deciduous woodland. Would love to find supply of Fatwood, but until then I make my own. I did buy some which I have cut into much smaller pieces.
hermitical
05-04-2012, 08:50
could you soak the wood in turpentine?
woodpoet
05-04-2012, 13:45
I would think so as that's the smell from Maya wood. I just had a bottle of Teak oil handy and thought I'd try it.
The Ratcatcher
05-04-2012, 23:35
As genuine turpentine (not turpentine substitute,also called white spirit) is distilled from pine resin, it should work, but Stockholm Tar would be a better option. It's available from traditional boatbuilders suppliers such as www.tradboats.com. I'm ordering some to use for a load of different jobs, including firemaking experiments, as I've seen wood treated with it burn before and it's pretty spectacular.
Alan
woodpoet
11-04-2012, 01:20
Just got hold of some gum turpentine. Soaked some sticks in it and now waiting for them to dry. Will try shaving one of the sticks and lighting it with firesteel. will let you know outcome. should work they smell just like the Maya sticks I have.
woodpoet
12-04-2012, 00:54
The turps soaked sticks smell just like Maya wood. shavings from dried sticks burn very well. Only takes one spark to hit the pile. I will keep experimenting with other things.