Hello All,
Up until a couple of years ago my go to material for friction fire was red cedar. Then I came across a book that recounted the local first nations (Indian) oral history. The history is told as a story and contains little tidbits of local knowledge. One of the things I noticed was a suggestion that cottonwoodroot was used for both drill and hearthboard. I tried it and was amazed at how effective it was (hence the nickname). It has the consistency of balsa wood, and can usually be found just lying around on the riverbank. The ember forms far more quickly than cedar, but doesn't last as long.
I have yet to see cottonwood (or as some call it, black poplar) mentioned as a friction fire material in any of the bushcraft literature I have come across. It might be out there, but I haven't seen it.
Does anyone else out there have any "secret" materials that are effective for friction fire but are not well known?
Up until a couple of years ago my go to material for friction fire was red cedar. Then I came across a book that recounted the local first nations (Indian) oral history. The history is told as a story and contains little tidbits of local knowledge. One of the things I noticed was a suggestion that cottonwoodroot was used for both drill and hearthboard. I tried it and was amazed at how effective it was (hence the nickname). It has the consistency of balsa wood, and can usually be found just lying around on the riverbank. The ember forms far more quickly than cedar, but doesn't last as long.
I have yet to see cottonwood (or as some call it, black poplar) mentioned as a friction fire material in any of the bushcraft literature I have come across. It might be out there, but I haven't seen it.
Does anyone else out there have any "secret" materials that are effective for friction fire but are not well known?