Flint and Steel fire in the field.

[KIMBOKO]

Making a fire with a piece of flint and a piece of steel is relatively easy using charcloth to catch the spark.
I would like to consider the possibility that you are in a situation where you have no prepared tinders, you do however have a piece of suitable steel and a suitable stone of flint, agate or quartz. By striking one against the other you can make sparks. Has anyone ever caught the spark on anything that can be found either in the field/woods or about a non prepared person, which doesn't need fire in its preparation?.

I admit that I have tried many things recently and can only get a spark to catch on charcoal (which I could have found fron a lightning struck tree but actually found in an old camp fire). I have tried cotton fluff scraped from a shirt I was wearing, cattail down, poplar down, clematis seed heads, clematis bark, the torn ends of a rolled up cotton bandage, dried punky (rotten) wood, paper, paper fibres. The barks and fibres I have tried in there as found state as well as broken down with hand rubbing, and compression.

I would prefer replies from people who have actually done it, or who can quote a reliable source.

 

[Goose]

Birch Bark. I am in no way an expert on this, so probably soemone you want an answer from, but I found two types of birch bark some is like card and some is like tissue use the card like stuff to hold everything together and shred the ends rub the tissue like stuff together and put a spark on it. Thats what has worked for me, that and ciggy papers, and it has worked straight off the tree took a fe wgoes but went straight to flame.
Now I am working on sal****ering fire by friction

 

[KIMBOKO]

Are you sure you used a Flint and Steel and not a modern ferocium Firesteel?.

 

[Jeff Wagner]

On this side of the pond, tinder fungus ( Inonotus ) Mullein pith, milkweed pod and certain wood punks will all catch a spark from traditional flint and steel without special treatment. For the sake of clarity, I think we should avoid using the term "flint and steel" when referring to the modern invention, ferrocium.

 

[Goose]

Are you sure you used a Flint and Steel and not a modern ferocium Firesteel?.

A firesteel yes, sorry, told you I was no expert

 

[KIMBOKO]

I don't think we have any wild Milkweeds (Asclepias) in this country (U.K.) but I'll try the mullein pith and some different wood punks. Thinking about it, I also have some pith from sunflower stalks and the pith from Elderberry stems which I can try. I haven't any access to tinder fungus in my area or false tinder fungus.

I do try always to identify that I mean traditional flint and steel but many people do cross over the identity with the modern ferrocium rod, probably as they are marketed by Firesteel, and there the confusion starts.
How are we to clearly indicate the difference?

 

[jason01]

Dont forget crampball fungus, it works well, a little trickier than char cloth but effective. The problem is first finding a piece and second finding a piece thats dry enough, there are other fungi that will also work but again can be tricky to find a piece that will work in the field.

 

[jason01]

Any excuse for a pic

Here is some of my favourite ancient technology, flint and steel with crampball fungus (pre-dried ) and a pair of olive oil lamps. The lamps have no relevance to bushcraft whatsoever but I love em anyway

Thanks again to Buckshot for the Crampball

 

[Marts]

Dont forget crampball fungus, it works well, a little trickier than char cloth but effective. The problem is first finding a piece and second finding a piece thats dry enough, there are other fungi that will also work but again can be tricky to find a piece that will work in the field.

Agree. Most fungi in the UK need some preparation first, even if its only drying out - Birch bark tends to be more reliable 'raw'. I finally managed to get an ember off of both with your firesteel this weekend!

 

[jason01]

Thats good going Marts well done, not easy to light birch bark directly with a flint and steel!

 

[Marts]

Thats good going Marts well done, not easy to light birch bark directly with a flint and steel!

And my knuckles and fingers know that now!

 

[KIMBOKO]

No worries Goose.
Well done Marts was that using shredded birch bark?
Jason01. Blonde moment on my behalf, I had totally forgotten about crampball fungus.
How do you get from crampball to lighted lamp I assume the oil and charred wick will take from ember to light directly?.
I love using sulphur matches to go from ember to flame it saves all that huffing and puffing.

 

[jason01]

No worries Goose.
Well done Marts was that using shredded birch bark?
Jason01. Blonde moment on my behalf, I had totally forgotten about crampball fungus.
How do you get from crampball to lighted lamp I assume the oil and charred wick will take from ember to light directly?.
I love using sulphur matches to go from ember to flame it saves all that huffing and puffing.

Kim

I wouldnt presume to speak for Marts but the birch bark would need to ruffed up till it is very fine to have any chance of catching a spark, I have to admit I havent done this myself.

As for lighting a lamp, for the picture I used a Bic but.....

The wicks in the olive oil lamps are too saturated with oil to light directly from an ember (easily anyway), the way I do it is to get a big ember of Crampball (or charcloth) then feed a drip or two of olive oil onto it and blow like mad, once it flames up you can add a bit more oil and then you have a sustainable flame to light your lamp or whatever. Same principle as a fat flare up on the barbie.

The only probelm with the above method is that it uses quite a lot of your precious spark catching tinder and in practice I prefer to make a smaller more economical ember (thumbnail size) then get that to flame in the normal way with birch bark, wood shavings, honeysuckle bark etc then transfer the flame that way.

 

[Marts]

It was using a pile of very finely scraped Birch bark. It took a while and when I finally did get a spark to take I didn't even notice at first - probably the sweat getting in my eyes and the sore fingers distracting me.

 

[Wayland]

I use flint and steel very regularly and nearly lost my eyebrows once useing very dry catails for tinder.

The only problem is turning the fast burst of flame into a sustained fire.

 

[KIMBOKO]

I've now had success using crampball after only a few strikes but the rest of the evening I had no success with cattail down, mullein pith, mugwort pith, elderberry pith, maize pith, black mustard pith or birch bark. I do get some persistence of ember with cattail and mullein pith but it goes out far too quickly. The atmosphere is very damp at the moment, four days with rain, after weeks without, which won't help at all.

I will persist.
And I'll also take advice.