Learned a bit about Fixin’ Wax this year from some bushcrafter sites and I’ve just scratched the surface on it. Fixin’ wax is used for a variety of things. It is a treatment to keep metal from rusting, making leather water resistant and pliable, keeping wood items conditioned, wax for a bow string, trap wax, black powder patch wax, even helps chapped skin and lips. What madness is this you say? Sounds weird but really good stuff.
I found a recipe on an online forum and I made a batch and have been using it. It seems to live up to the claims.
How To Make Fixin’ Wax
You will need a very small crock pot or double boiler to melt together:
- 1c pure beeswax ( I like pastilles better than grating off the block)
- 1/2c pure unrefined shea butter
- 1t sweet almond oil
- 1t virgin coconut oil
After you heat this mixture up until its all just melted, remove from the fire and add 10 drops of pine essential oil. Pour into containers. I used a small metal tin about the size of an Altoids tin and got 3 tins full from this recipe. (I also made another batch and poured it into a lined muffin tin. I lined my tins with parchment paper, but it is not necessary. I also wrapped a ranger band around the tin just to ensure that the lid stayed closed.
Variations Of Ingredients
Several sources say you should use 50% tallow and 50%beeswax. I chose all beeswax because I like the feel of the beeswax and I didn’t know how long tallow would be good before it went rancid. I will have to experiment with this in the future to see. I am in process of making some pemmican, so I do have the beef tallow on hand. I have not rendered and filtered my own as of yet.
They say you can add camphor to the mixture and get better lip balm type stuff. I have camphor on hand for homemade vapor rub; however, it is rough if you accidentally get it in your eyes.
I have also come across places that say to add pine pitch or pine resin to the mixture. Pine pitch come to find out is antiseptic, astringent, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory and is sometimes used in soap. If pine resin could be added to the mixture then raw honey could be added as well.
Pine pitch alone can be used as waterproofing and shelter/tent hole patching. It can also be used to start a fire in wet conditions as it is highly flammable.
Ingredients Also Used For
I usually have most of these ingredients on hand for other things. I use beeswax for healing salve, face moisturizer and lip balm. Shea butter is good for homemade deodorant, lotion, lip balm along with coconut oil. Coconut oil is great stuff. I use it for everything; homemade soap, lip balm, homemade deodorant, as lotion, whipped up in lotion, homemade toothpaste, healing salve and on the animals. Sweet almond oil can be used in under eye cream and face moisturizer.