[quote="Robin Palmer"]The bulk of torches I have seen used in re-enactment are either reeds or tow soaked in pitch both are effective provide good light and have reasonable life spans. [/quote

What is the consistancy of pitch? Is it more like gasoline or more like thick molasses?

[quote="George Hill"]

Robin Palmer wrote:

The bulk of torches I have seen used in re-enactment are either reeds or tow soaked in pitch both are effective provide good light and have reasonable life spans. [/quote What is the consistancy of pitch? Is it more like gasoline or more like thick molasses?

More like tar I think or frozen molasses. :lol:

Also rememember that any cloth used in a torch was the product of linen being beaten out of flax, spun, woven, etc. all by hand. Cloth trhis laborous to create and correspondingly expensive would have had to be in pretty darn poor shape before relegated to duty as a torch. Even scrap cloth was often resewn to make a beggar's coat rather than be destroyed. As to torch's use, yeah, they probably existed but were used by folks who could afford the material and may have been something along the order of "conspicuous consumption" as there is a very long history of lights accompanying the illustrious as a signal mark of honor. Even today in our Orthodox Churches, lights always accompany the Holy Gifts when they are processed to the main Altar and bishops are accompanied by two "torches" the Dikiri (two lights) and the Trikiri (Three Lights) in church. I believe that torches may have fallen into this latter category of offering light as honor for the rich, powerful, and honored as a mark of respect and be more corresponding rare in actual usage than we imagine from the movies.

Just my thoughts....

Pitch can be boiled, as for use in castle defense. Ollin sword design ran a really excellent article about inlay a while back, in which they used pitch to hold a pommel in place while carving. You can read it here: http://www.ollinsworddesign.com/osd-shopnotes.html

This may be a perfect excuse for some creative archaeology. Get some materials, and test several methods. Let us know how brightly they burn and for how long.

Torches were not actually weapons. Even in forests people still swing torches to ward off wolves today. In my country villagers still use torches while walking at night. They were never used in fighting and that's why torches are not regarded as weapons in general. What do you people think?

Pine tar is also medicinal (specific for skin diseases especially mixed with sulphur) and can be obtained from a compounding apothocary. Be careful. It's nasty stuff and stains like crazy.

George, in my country people make torches using a stick with a rag tied onto it.

Unfortunately I have nothing constructive to add, but I did want to say a big THANKS to all those participating in this thread, it's a fascinating little side avenue I'd never really thought about...

Pitch is traditionaly used by schoemakers or cordwainers to glue the bristles to the thread. For that purpose it was often mixed with resin and oil for better smoother texture . natural pitch is more like tar , if warmed it gets soft and you can form it. Because it gets very sticky when warmed it was used since stoneage as a sort of glue. The fletching of arrows was glued to the shaft with pitch. Its not easy to make yourself because of flameable fumes, there is a danger of explosions or fire. The easiest way to get for pitch in the shoemakers supply where it is sold in two colors black and honey. And one thing that pitch torches were not so common is the dificult manufakturing of pitch wich would have made it rather expensive.

Pitch from conifers can be gathered by scoring the bark and collecting the drippings- it's dry sap.

In earlier times in America, pitch was used to make torches for night hunting and fishing by soaking plant fibers -"cotton tow" and binding them to sticks.

When a conifer, dies or is damaged in one area - the pitch will settle out the damaged areas and lower portions of the tree.

These areas become heavily saturated with pitch and splinters from this "pitch wood" burn brightly and very hot for extended periods. The splinters were used to start fires and as temporary lights. It's also called "widow wood ' in the Northwest, because bringing a supply of it would make a widow quite generous with her favors.

In the South, corn shucks were used as temporary lights - to go to the barn or out house after dark or to walk between houses at night. Hence the phrase "light a shuck" for leaving someplace.

Curt

there seems to be a problem with the word pitch witch can be tar or resin. The stuff i meant is made by smoldering wood or birch bark then you get tar , sulfuric acid, charcoal and phenole. In germany the stuff is called ``pech`` wich is ineresting because to have bad luck is in german``to have`` pech. Guess why lol, it has something to do with sieges and hot stuff poured on you from above. more later cu

A large pine cone that is just starting to spread its petals soaked in tallow or pitch and some wax(I used modern petroleum wax) and driven onto a copper nail on a shaft of wood with a flange to protect the hand.....burned for about 40 minutes but was pretty sputtery the last 10...plus got a little bit of green from the copper nail......a small bundle of reeds filled with tallow and jammed into a socket or iron ring burns pretty well to....smokes to high heaven though. Along the same vein bundles of split evergreenlightly bound and soaked in flameable material will get you a bright flame.
If you just want it to look period you can jerry rig a tiki torch to have a more ancient looking exterior and use more wick(a few pieces of wire will keep it from getting floppy)
Another product you get when making pitch is turpentine....good for whatever ails you.