Stockholm Tar w/ Mikko Snellman

[VaughnT]

It used to be that Stockholm Tar was found everywhere. Now it seems like it's mostly been forgotten, and that's kind of sad. We've lost a ton of generational knowledge over the years, and I'm always happy to see guys like Mikko Snellman keeping some of it alive. I was first introduced to Marlinspike Seamanship as a little kid and have been fascinated by it ever since. Of course, after reading Robinson Crusoe, what good boy wouldn't do a deep dive into all things nautical?

Stockholm Tar is one of those things that you live without until you find it... and then wonder how you ever lived without it. While it's lousy as a preservative on wood you're going to eat with - nothing worse than pine flavor in your morning coffee - it's great for anything that's not a kuksa or spoon!

I've gotten away from using parachute cord and other plastic ropes, for the most part. Tarred marline, for example, is plenty strong enough for 99% of what we do in the woods, and it rots away to nothing in just a few years. Why snip off a few inches of plastic paracord that'll be in the landfills for generations to come when tarred jute, cotton, hemp, or sisal will get the job done just as well?

Mikko's channel is a veritable goldmine of ideas for the bushcraft world.

I don't make my own Stockholm Tar simply because it's more economical for me to buy it. If I ever run across a downed pine or spruce, I might give it a go, though. You can never have too much tar around the shop, that's for sure.

 

[Herman30]

I know what tar is but what is Stockholm tar? Never heard of it.

Finland used to be a big tar producer which then was transported (from the forrests in barrels by boats via rivers to sea ports like Oulu and then with ships to Stockholm (when Finland was a part of Sweden). Tar is still made here but now only as a cultural thing and to keep the knowlige alive.

 

[VaughnT]

I know what tar is but what is Stockholm tar? Never heard of it.

Finland used to be a big tar producer which then was transported (from the forrests by boats via rivers to sea ports like Oulu and then with ships to Stockholm (when Finland was a part of Sweden). Tar is still made here but now only as a cultural thing and to keep the knowlige alive.

It's sad that so much of the cultural knowledge has been lost.

Stockholm tar is a fantastic preservative for wood, leather and the like. It keeps your ropes in good condition. I prefer it for my woodwork over paint, and it's orders of magnitude better than linseed oil, imo, because it doesn't allow mold and mildew to grow.

Does great in soap, too, if that's something you like to make or use.

It's named after Stockholm, I guess, because that was the biggest warehouse/shipping port for the tar gathered from all over the region.

Later, the British and French navies had to hunt for ways to get off their dependency on Stockholm Tar because Sweden/Finland weren't always friendly to them or under their control. That's how the idea of adding linseed oil to the tar came about. It wasn't that the linseed oil made the tar better, just that it didn't ruin its properties too much. By thinning it out, the British and French were able to at least trim back how much of the Stockholm tar they needed.

Anyhow, for the average bushcrafting type of guy, having Stockholm Tar in the stockpile is worth the cost of admission. You can make it yourself, as Mikko shows in the video, or you can still buy it from the local horse stores and nautical suppliers. It's one of those things that you quickly come to appreciate having on hand.

Here's a nice picture of some wood siding coated with Stockholm Tar to keep the elements at bay. As you can see, it really brings out the grain of the wood and creates a very warm tone. Fantastic stuff for axes, hammers, knives, rifle stocks, and just about anything else you would want to protect against rain and whatnot.

I don't believe in thinning the Tar with linseed oil, though I know a lot of people who do. The tar is pricey, sure, but if you want to thin it down and stretch how far it will go, I recommend using turpentine, also a product of pine. This allows the tar to sink deep into the wood's pores.

Linseed oil doesn't add to the qualities of the Stockholm Tar, imo. Sure, it stretches how far the stuff will go, but it also undermines the very things we like the Stockholm Tar for. Lots of nautical people will disagree with me on that, I know, but I also don't need to use gallons of the stuff to keep a boat in good order. For them, maybe the trade-off is worth it.

Can't recommend the stuff enough, honestly.

 

[Seagull]

Oh abso-bloomin-lutely. Ive been an old-style rope and wire fan for more years than I can recall . Just a single whiff of tar is enough to recall memories of over 60 years ago.
I still think tar is the best, most durable preservative of rope and wire . Mikko's channel is one of very few that foster interest in marlinespike seamanship....what a Craftsman.

Regards all.
Ceeg

 

[VaughnT]

Preach it, brother!

I've had a few people gripe about me not doing smithing videos, and they've pretty much talked me into it. The first "planned" video is going to be forging a marlinspike because everyone should have a marlinspike close to hand!

Another good channel is First Class Amateur. He doesn't do marlinspike seamanship stuff, but his is the only channel I've found that teaches people how to use rope for everyday stuff. I know a lot of "regular" people who can't relate to using rope because they don't camp or own a boat, etc. FCA's channel is doing something really special in that regard because he's just a regular guy living a regular life... and using rope to help him out around the house.

Folks in the bushcraft community will benefit greatly from the lessons taught in the Marlinspike world. Those tall ships from the Golden Age of Sail were nothing but Bushcraft-at-Sea!

 

[VaughnT]

Ive been an old-style rope and wire fan for more years than I can recall ... interest in marlinespike seamanship....

Here's a little bit of what I've done lately. Turned a beat-up screwdriver into a pricker to help with fancy work on small line. No Stockholm Tar on it, but that's okay because it'll be dark with grime soon enough. French Whipping capped off on both ends with a Turks Head. All cotton line.

I got the idea for the spear-point pricker from watching Mikko's channel. The guy's a genuine inspiration!

 

[saxonaxe]

Some years ago I Wintered on my boat at Sliema on Malta. Sliema Creek was once a Royal Navy Destroyer Base and the old sheds and slipways are now used for Yacht and small boat maintenance. At least one shed contained reels of tarred Hemp and sisal of different sizes and I bought a few reels for use on my Gaff Cutter which I owned and lived on at the time.
All these years later I still have some tarred Sisal, in fact the Bow and stern ropes mooring my current little boat are tarred Sisal.

 

[SaraR]

I know what tar is but what is Stockholm tar? Never heard of it.

Finland used to be a big tar producer which then was transported (from the forrests in barrels by boats via rivers to sea ports like Oulu and then with ships to Stockholm (when Finland was a part of Sweden). Tar is still made here but now only as a cultural thing and to keep the knowlige alive.

It's pine tar (as oppose to coal tar) and specifically one of the nicer fractions, I think.

 

[SaraR]

Oh abso-bloomin-lutely. Ive been an old-style rope and wire fan for more years than I can recall . Just a single whiff of tar is enough to recall memories of over 60 years ago.
I still think tar is the best, most durable preservative of rope and wire . Mikko's channel is one of very few that foster interest in marlinespike seamanship....what a Craftsman.

Regards all.
Ceeg

For me, it brings back memories of repairing ratlines on the shrouds back when I used to do some sailing on tall ships. (I used to spend a lot of time repairing ratlines...)

 

[VaughnT]

I wonder why there's such a disconnect between the old nautical skills and the other groups that tend to like older things or DIY stuff? I see this all the time in the blacksmithing community. Just wrote about for my Subscribe Star folks.

It's the weirdest thing how we can be into a 'traditional' skill, but never once look at the totality of the traditional skill. I watched a blacksmith fumble and bumble and eventually break his thousand-dollar power hammer because he had absolutely no clue about how he could use ropes and pulleys to safely move it. While this guy would spend hours pouring over old books and photos to glean the tiniest little tidbit about how forging was done in the 1800's, he never thought to investigate how those old smiths would move their heavy equipment or the big ironwork they produced. An antique hammer completely destroyed, and all for the want of a rope. Literally.

Same goes for here in the bushcraft community. Sailors and teamsters have been using tarred canvas to protect loads from the rain for a thousand years, but here's the bushcraft crew trying to find some newfangled potion to waterproof their gear. We look to Horace Kephart for a lot of things, but miss a lot of things along the way.

 

[TLM]

It's pine tar (as oppose to coal tar) and specifically one of the nicer fractions, I think.

I is pine tar, the heavy fraction. It got the name because at a time all trade went through Stockholm, it was made in northern and eastern (Finland) Sweden.

 

[Seagull]

I wonder why there's such a disconnect between the old nautical skills and the other groups that tend to like older things or DIY stuff? I see this all the time in the blacksmithing community. Just wrote about for my Subscribe Star folks.

It's the weirdest thing how we can be into a 'traditional' skill, but never once look at the totality of the traditional skill. I watched a blacksmith fumble and bumble and eventually break his thousand-dollar power hammer because he had absolutely no clue about how he could use ropes and pulleys to safely move it. While this guy would spend hours pouring over old books and photos to glean the tiniest little tidbit about how forging was done in the 1800's, he never thought to investigate how those old smiths would move their heavy equipment or the big ironwork they produced. An antique hammer completely destroyed, and all for the want of a rope. Literally.

Same goes for here in the bushcraft community. Sailors and teamsters have been using tarred canvas to protect loads from the rain for a thousand years, but here's the bushcraft crew trying to find some newfangled potion to waterproof their gear. We look to Horace Kephart for a lot of things, but miss a lot of things along the way.

As to the "why" of maintaining some old skill sets, I can only speak for myself...and I have come to believe that I've a recognition of the worthiness and personal benefit of a tangible contact with the Past.
I've been lucky and glad to have learned some old things and I continue to both practise and preach them, whenever chance arises....I think such things are worth remembering ..and re-creating them isn't about a chance to show-off, but a kind of homage to and kinship with, those of the past, those who did the very same things which I too, learned.
I am constantly amazed at the reactions of most of the folk who , in my book, deserve a meaningful, "Thank You"...I wing-out small bits of rope work fancies most every day.

Theres something else, to this. I'm pretty certain I've always been cogniscent that the role of a keeper of tradition, awaited me in later life and I shouldered it with thanks, for I find it to be a real pleasure.
As I have mentioned in one of my recent post, I still practise with my old seagoing nav skills, particularly the use of a Sextant...and I'm pleased to say that , I have the latitude of my back garden down to between 1500 and 730 feet...using a roasting pan and cooking oil as an artificial horizon....but, mindful of the original theme of this thread, I might just try using tar as the medium...a lot less prone to the ripples of wind effect.

Regards All
Ceeg

 

[Toddy]

The smell of tarry twine is tied so tightly to my childhood that even yet a whiff of it and I'm looking around for my Dad.

I like the true resins, the real tars, the pure ones that aren't adulterated with heaven knows what.
I love those smells, those real tree grown extracts. Like wood shavings, somehow subliminally, or atavistically, appealing.

Now though, so many of them are 'contraindicated' and classed as toxic and harmful to aquatic environments.
True enough that they preserve wood, fibre, leather, etc., but they do so by killing the buggits that devour them.
Creosote for fences is now supposed to only be allowed to agricultural use and then with great care.
My creosoted fences have lasted fifty years and are still sound, while the newer ones painted with modern 'long lasting protective' paints, fell apart after ten

Stockholm tar's Data sheet is very clear about 'potential' harm, and it's normal uses.
This link is the Irish one.

https://www.homeland.ie/media/pdf/ff/74/a5/SDS-STOCKHOLM-TAR.pdf

 

[Herman30]

It's pine tar (as oppose to coal tar) and specifically one of the nicer fractions, I think.

Believe me, I do know pine tar, you don´t have to teach a finn about that.
Have some at home.
We have here in my country pine tar soap, pine tar icecream, throat lozenges with pine tar, pine tar schnaps etc etc. All kind of stuff with pine tar added as a fragrance or as spice.

 

[Herman30]

It's named after Stockholm, I guess, because that was the biggest warehouse/shipping port for the tar gathered from all over the region.

After reading this I realize it is just ordinary pine tar but marketed with the name Stockholm added.

 

[Toddy]

The Stockholm name eventually became a kind of 'known' quality though.
We got some South American (I think it was Chilean) pine tar one time, and it was weird stuff. It was gummy, sticky, kind of honey like. Nice, but not Stockholm Tar, iimmc ?

EDIT;
Just had a read, and apparently the Stockholm Tar was really one company's production, so it probably was a very much known quality since they were the makers and quality control, etc.,

Pine tar - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TLM]

Just had a read, and apparently the Stockholm Tar was really one company's production, so it probably was a very much known quality since they were the makers and quality control, etc.,

Pine tar - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Quote from that: "a single company held a royal monopoly on its export out of Stockholm, Sweden". It is a byproduct of mercantilism and royal attempts to maximize taxes. Export could only be through certain cities and companies. Later on some eastern Swedish (FIN) towns could export directly, first Turku and Viipuri, a bit later Helsinki, still later on a few others.

 

[Toddy]

Sounds pretty much like the India companies and their monopolies too.
The Brits did it, the Dutch did it, the Germans, the Belgians......just a part of the trading empires of their time.

 

[VaughnT]

Stockholm tar's Data sheet is very clear about 'potential' harm, and it's normal uses.

Yea, I wouldn't trust the data sheets and that kinda jive. It's like how everything on this side of the pond comes with a warning "Might contain ingredients California believes cause cancer"

Stockholm Tar works wonders and is pretty economical, but some company wanted to boost their own product so they lobbied to get ST labeled as possible toxic or whatever.

If pine tar wasn't so expensive, I'd use it a lot more than I do. As it is, I have to cut it pretty hard with mineral spirts, turpentine or the like, because I want to stretch it out a quart as much as possible.

I found a short video where a guy compared his own brew with some commercially available stuff and the Tenda brand I just bought is about as gold/amber as what he made himself. The Bickmore and Davey's is the darker/black version I like for rope and seizing just because that's what I grew up seeing on the Tall Ships in movies and such. The Tenda is going to be good for woodworking, but I don't think it'll add much that warm tone I like so much. It makes my cotton rope look a bit blah because it's such a light brown.

Tar Comparison

It's a good video, though, just because it gives you a little bit of an idea before you jump in with your cash. The Bickmore and Davey's brands are as dark as you could want and also 100% pine tar, but the little changes in how it's rendered seem to make a difference. Maybe it's just that Bickmore is made from pines that come from warmer climes or are a different species? Maybe there's something about pines and spruces that grow in Finland and Sweden that makes the tar you get from them just a little bit better?

Believe me, I do know pine tar, you don´t have to teach a finn about that.
Have some at home.
We have here in my country pine tar soap, pine tar icecream, throat lozenges with pine tar, pine tar schnaps etc etc. All kind of stuff with pine tar added as a fragrance or as spice.

You're a lucky gent! Mikko's right up there in your neck of the woods, too.

I really like that "Finn Fid" he invented. Way better than the Swedish Fids I've used and such a genius little idea. I'm getting one of his traveling fids or spikes as soon as I can make it happen.

Found this video in my research. I have no idea what they're saying, but it's a joy to see just how complex a task it is to get the tar out of the wood. Does it ever say how many gallons or barrels they get from that stack? It sure looks like a gob!

Tar Stack

Or is that in Swedish?

 

[Herman30]

Tar Stack

Or is that in Swedish?

Norwegian. I think he says 35 barrels but not sure.