Survival Skills: 3 Weird Uses For Oak

Oak trees are a common species throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and these useful trees give us more than just firewood and acorns. Oak yields many helpful supplies to the resourceful survivor, if you know how to unlock their bounty. Here are just three of the many things that oak can do for you in a survival situation.

Make Tannic Acid and Poultices

Tannic acid is bitter and it will nauseate you if consumed. But this odd substance is also a great remedy for inflamed, irritated skin, toothaches - and it can even help you tan a hide. This strange stuff is an astringent, bitter plant compound that has long been attributed with antiviral, antibacterial and anti-parasitic effects. Cut some fresh bark from a live oak tree (remove the bark from a branch, don’t hurt the trunk as this could kill the tree). Boil the bark in water to create a dark brown “tea-like” liquid. Soak the affected body part in the warm liquid, or soak a cloth in the brown liquid and use it as a compress. During the growing season, you can also use the green leaves of oak as a mild source of tannic acid. Crush the leaves into a paste and apply them topically to the problem area to discourage infection, reduce swelling, treat rashes, and stop bleeding.

Fabricate Friction Fire Equipment

One of the strangest uses for oak came to me from a student. He had read that a chunk of green oak wood made a fine handhold block for a bow drill set. So on a rainy and nasty day, we tried it out. Normally, wooden handhold blocks need some kind of oil or wax to lubricate them. This wasn’t the case with green oak wood. The drill spun freely against it, without any lube.

Find Some Fluffy Tinder

When a dead branch or trunk of oak rots under the right conditions, the inner bark can become quite fibrous. When scraped or pounded, it becomes a fluffy and flammable tinder source for fire starting. It is an excellent fuel for catching sparks from ferrocerium rods, and its darker color makes it a good fit for optical fire starting (with a magnifying glass or parabolic mirror).

Not sure how to tell oaks from other trees? Join us for an in-person foraging or tree identification class!

Written by Tim MacWelch First draft published on outdoorlife.com