It sounds like you may have been sold some sort of treated wood rather than fat wood. It should smell like supercharged pine...
Here's an article I wrote on finding fat wood and using it as a tinder with a fire steel.
http://www.truesurvivor.uk/articles/going-beyond-theory/
(The website is on wilderness/spiritual survival but if you scroll down you'll find some good, clear pictures and some info on fat wood...)
If you want to PayPal a couple of pounds postage I'll send you a few chunks of genuine stuff. (That would partially defeat the whole point of that article though!)
Here's an article I wrote on finding fat wood and using it as a tinder with a fire steel.
http://www.truesurvivor.uk/articles/going-beyond-theory/
(The website is on wilderness/spiritual survival but if you scroll down you'll find some good, clear pictures and some info on fat wood...)
If you want to PayPal a couple of pounds postage I'll send you a few chunks of genuine stuff. (That would partially defeat the whole point of that article though!)