Getting into horses hoof fungus?

[Sappy]

After weeks of looking I finally found a horses hoof fungus however I can't get it off the tree never mind into it.

I tried chopping the wood out of the back off it but hit it by accident and shattered the flint on my axe, I tried driving an antler wedge into it but that cracked insted of the fungi. True caveman behaviour arose and I tried to smash it with a rock tied on the end of a pole again it didn't work.

How do you get into it?

Instead of having some nice amadou to play with I now have to make a new axe head and a wedge ahhh!

 

[Shewie]

I find my size 9 boots projected in an upwards motion towards the target usually works

 

[Perrari]

Grab it with both hands & twist it usually works as well.

 

[Sappy]

Oh never tried hitting it from the bottom, I'll go try that now.

Cheers

 

[JonathanD]

Oh never tried hitting it from the bottom, I'll go try that now.

Cheers

Yeah, attacking the top just won't do it.

 

[dwardo]

Wonder if throwing it quickly in and out of a nice hot fire top shell down would help? May be it would make it more brittle..
The best way was i have found is using every cutting tool to you have to hand, axe, saw, knife, swearing. All whilst trying to not lose a fingertip.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Once off I use a fine cheese grater works brilliantly. A rasp though cuts in to much and jams. And a file is to slow. A small flint cutting blade, such as you'd use for for skinner works well enough.

 

[demographic]

A decent boot well applied, usually does the trick.

 

[Toddy]

To get the crispy shell off you mean ?
Carve the edge rim off and that lets you in at the amadou layer and then just follow it up. A wee sharp knife (or flint, or chert, tried that just to prove I could do it ) takes it off bit by bit. Also lets you get into the creases quite neatly.

The other way, and it's effective too if the fomes is a good sized one, is to carve out the spore tube bits first. That kind of lets you lay the curved amadou shell down flattish and again the crispy stuff comes off bit by bit.

That outer layer is the weatherproof layer, so it's as tough as old boots I find doing them when they're fresh and sodden wet is easiest.

cheers,
Toddy........who strips out at least 2 dozen of them a year.

 

[Outdoordude]

Just use a saw!

 

[Skaukraft]

One quick question: Is Horse Hoof fungus the same as Fomes Fomentarius? Which in the documentation I got is refered to as True Tinder Polypore or Surgeon's Fungus (Kunskkjuke in Norwegian.)

 

[The Big Lebowski]

True tinder fungus is a dark brown fungus mostly growing on silver birch and is fairly rare.

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/tinder/tinderfungus/true.html

Amadou (fomes fomentarius) is considered the false tinder fungus, although its been used as tinder with flint and steel extensively for at least 5000 years.

 

[Skaukraft]

Hmm.... Strange...

Edit: Well. A bit of research told me that english and norwegian "tinder fungus" is not the same.

 

[Toddy]

Three main fungus grow on the Birch here.

Fomes fomentarius,
Piptoporus betulinus,
Inonotus obliquus.

First is the devil's hoofnail,
Second is razorstrop (and you can peel plasters of it to cover wounds)
Third one is Chagga, the true tinder fungus.

Does this help any ?

cheers,
M

 

[Skaukraft]

Yes, got it now.
I knew chaga could be used as tinder, but its midical properties is far more valuable than its tinder quality (IMHO) (but most places I look, the Chaga is refered to as Clinker Polypore in english?)
It is the Fomes fomentarius that is named "tinder fungus" in Norway (Knuskkjuke in norwegian), and in my opinion the amadou in is far better for tinder than the chaga is.
The Piptoporus betulinus is called "Knife fungus" (Knivkjuke) here. Shoemakers and woodworkers often stored their awles and smal kives in this fungus, thus the name.

 

[Toddy]

Interesting
Chagga is apparantly now used as an anti-cancer tea, but we find it makes brilliant spark catching tinder.

Fishermen use the prepared amadou from the Fomes to keep their hooks from rusting and to dry off their flies.

P. betulinus is used to hone blades, but it's medicinal too. It burns but not as well as the other two, but like fomes it can be used to carry fire. Takes about an hour to burn out I find

cheers,
M

 

[Skaukraft]

The anti-cancer properties of the chaga is well documented. In Norway Chaga products are classified as medicine, and can not be traded freely.

 

[Sappy]

Thanks for the help folks, ,took all 220lbs of me to break it off the tree.

I've also seen some suspiciously comes looking fungi growing on beech.

 

[Sappy]

I got a new one today and its got me confuses, I removed theupper shell to reveal what I think is the bit in after but its an inch thick, is this the stuff I want?

 

[Toddy]

Sometimes you can be very lucky

I quite often find it that thick. It's a pain to slice it up when it is though. I usually lay it down like an outside slice of bread and slice it along it's length that way.

cheers,
Toddy