Had some fun testing different types of tinder from local materials yesterday in the sunshine. I was on the local Causse Comtal (limestone plateau/ steppe which is a wild, rocky, dry and generally sparse terrain), covered mostly with juniper bushes (Juniperus communis) with very few trees and hard grazed grass.
I am no expert but thought I would share my experience using this material and technique.
This was a dead stick from a fallen juniper from which I removed the outer bark, then used the knife to scrap off very fine shavings from the bast (inner bark layer). It was quite hard work with the SAK as the wood is pretty tough especially when seasoned and I didn't have the puukko with me, but I got there. I was scraping almost perpendicular to the wood with the blade and 'drawing' it towards me with my hand closing up on the blade to give more control, rather than cutting feathers as such.
I then found a naturally forked piece of wood and raised it above the stone which was cold and placed the juniper shavings into the fork. This aided the free flow of air around the tinder and hold it above the cool rock which might retard the initial flames. After a few strikes with the BlastMatch firesteel dropping hot sparks onto the shaving bundle it was nicely ablaze, and took well with some breeze to help it on it's way.
I used the outer bark which had been removed and crushed it up between my hands, rolling it into a ball. Then teased (pulled) it apart to allow more air gaps and used that to build the fire from here.
The natural oils in the juniper really helped as an initial tinder. A bit like fatwood I guess?
The juniper burns hot but quite slowly as the wood is dense due to the harsh climatic conditions and consequent slow growth. Juniper has been recorded as having lived up to 255 years old in the UK which mean it can outlive many trees. Incidentally the wood has a lovely resinous aroma (one you would recognise from a gin & tonic as they use the juniper berries to flavour the gin
) which you can actually smell if you handle a local Laguiole knive with a juniper wood handle.
I softened up some more outer bark but retained the shape of the bark and placed some more fine shavings as a layer on top. Then folded it over a few times quite tight and then fixed it into a split stick as a light. It smouldered a lot with a small flame but did not really catch enough to give a useable light source. I will try again with this using drier bark. It kept on smouldering in the breeze for a long time. Perhaps useful for carrying a fire ember?
Next time I am going to try using dead needles from the bush and also trying to make a torch using the resinous berries (crushed) as a form of pitch maybe mixing this with some shavings and held in a similar way within a split stick.
Any other uses for juniper wood welcomed.
Simon
I am no expert but thought I would share my experience using this material and technique.
This was a dead stick from a fallen juniper from which I removed the outer bark, then used the knife to scrap off very fine shavings from the bast (inner bark layer). It was quite hard work with the SAK as the wood is pretty tough especially when seasoned and I didn't have the puukko with me, but I got there. I was scraping almost perpendicular to the wood with the blade and 'drawing' it towards me with my hand closing up on the blade to give more control, rather than cutting feathers as such.
I then found a naturally forked piece of wood and raised it above the stone which was cold and placed the juniper shavings into the fork. This aided the free flow of air around the tinder and hold it above the cool rock which might retard the initial flames. After a few strikes with the BlastMatch firesteel dropping hot sparks onto the shaving bundle it was nicely ablaze, and took well with some breeze to help it on it's way.
I used the outer bark which had been removed and crushed it up between my hands, rolling it into a ball. Then teased (pulled) it apart to allow more air gaps and used that to build the fire from here.
The natural oils in the juniper really helped as an initial tinder. A bit like fatwood I guess?
The juniper burns hot but quite slowly as the wood is dense due to the harsh climatic conditions and consequent slow growth. Juniper has been recorded as having lived up to 255 years old in the UK which mean it can outlive many trees. Incidentally the wood has a lovely resinous aroma (one you would recognise from a gin & tonic as they use the juniper berries to flavour the gin
) which you can actually smell if you handle a local Laguiole knive with a juniper wood handle.I softened up some more outer bark but retained the shape of the bark and placed some more fine shavings as a layer on top. Then folded it over a few times quite tight and then fixed it into a split stick as a light. It smouldered a lot with a small flame but did not really catch enough to give a useable light source. I will try again with this using drier bark. It kept on smouldering in the breeze for a long time. Perhaps useful for carrying a fire ember?
Next time I am going to try using dead needles from the bush and also trying to make a torch using the resinous berries (crushed) as a form of pitch maybe mixing this with some shavings and held in a similar way within a split stick.
Any other uses for juniper wood welcomed.
Simon
