Pine resin, or the resin from any other coniferous tree, is amazing in that it has been widely used around the world for a litany of projects. Essentially the duct tape of the ancient world, this material is actually far more useful than duct tape for the survivor and knowing how to make use of its wonders can transform any survival situation into a much more manageable experience. Check out the article below to see what we mean.

Used for Waterproofing

Pine resin is essentially impervious to water so it can be used to treat objects to make them resistant to the damages caused by moisture. It can be used to seal seams, repair breaks/holes in boats, shoes and structures to prevent water leaks.

The resin must be heated to liquid form so it can be applied to the material. Avoid heating the resin in a shallow container over an open flame because the flames from the fire can easily ignite the resin, which is highly flammable.

Pine Resin Glue

Warm the resin to liquid form and while the resin is heating, crumble some charcoal from the fire as fine as possible. Once the resin is ready, remove it from the heat and stir in the powdered charcoal. The amount of charcoal added should be about one-third as compared to the volume of pitch.

Use the glue to apply feathers to homemade arrows or allow hardening on the ends of fishing/hunting spears to prevent splintering. Glue in a survival situation has unlimited uses.

Treat Wounds

Resin applied to a cut or scrape will inhibit the growth of bacteria because it denies the bacteria the moisture it needs to survive. Some survival experts use pine pitch in place of super glue to seal up cuts. Leave the resin in place, and reapply as needed. There have been reported cases where serious bleeding wounds have been stemmed using pine resin.

Fire Starting

Pine resin is flammable and can be used to help start a fire in damp conditions. You may find yourself in a situation where all of the available wood is damp but this does not mean you have to go without a fire.

Find some hardened pine resin and some pine sticks/branches. It will burn like a candle long enough to dry the needles and wood.

Illumination and Heat

You can use pine resin to create a lamp. Find a stone with a depression or use a clamshell or any type of shell that can be filled with resin or use a cupped shaped piece of bark. You will also need material for a wick. Fill the depression with the pitch and lay the wick material on top. You ignite the wick first, which will in turn ignite the resin. The resin will burn like a candle and you can feed it more resin to maintain the flame once ignited.

While most people who have ever sat around a campfire will know that a pine branch will go up like a stick of dynamite, very few people know that you can isolate the resin and use it later as an individual fire starter. This is a great tip for hikers because you don't need to carry a bunch of fire starters, you can just collect a bit of resin on the fly and use that when you set up camp that night.

The other great use is as a water-proofing agent for your seams or as a glue. Experiment with it and find more uses.

If you liked the pine resin uses you just learned about, check out more about pine trees and gather other survival tips at Prep for SHTF.