Flint & Steel fungi tinder powder.

[addo]

Ive been having a few probs with the false tinder fungus/Horses hoof/Fomes, and getting the prepared amadou to take a spark from flint and steel. Fireflash no problem, every time as with punk wood birch bark and other tinders. Ive dryed naturally, boiled in charcoal, pee ect for hours, fluffed it up, banged it flat and only now and again managed it.
So a pain to gather, slice up, prepare and take a spark IMHO.

So I was very pleased when I stumbled across a possible True tinder fungus when out for a walk a while back. Its certainly seems to be from the Inonotus genera of bracket fungi, and was found growing at the base of a Birch.



Its appearance is burnt on the outside, and redish/orange colour on the inside (forgive me if wrong, im not too hot on colours).

The tubes and trauma layer were very dry and can be broken appart easyly. A piece offered up to the flint wouldn't take a spark too well, so I crushed it up in my fingers and make a pile of dust. (A few seconds to prep)

Took a spark in 2-3 strikes and made a large ember, so ive upped production and made a large tin full using the pesstle and morter, adding some cramp balls to the mix.





So now I carry the powder mix along with charcloth, flint and steel, in my tinder tin.



To save on using up a large dry tinder bundle as I normally would, ive started rolling up birch bark like a cigar, and packing with dry grass and introducing the powder ember onto a fluffy (rosebay seeds ect) tinder on the end. Goes up with a blow, and lasts with a strong flame for ages, great if the kindling is damp.

This has probably been done before, but hope it helps anyone thats lucky enough to come across similar dry fungi, and wants to give the fireflash a rest, or finds bowdrill difficult, like me!

Addo

 

[Andy2112]

Nice one Addo.

 

[Galemys]

That's a very good find!

I have found the same "true tinder fungus/chaga" here in Holland once on a dead birch. I couldn't make out any tubes though, it was just an amorphous lump with a black crust.

The inside of my lump is the same as yours, orangy, a bit compact and easily scraped or crumbled. There was no open 'corklike' tissue that I have seen described on American sites (which is a pity because that should be the best bit, some American fire piston sellers send it as fuel along with the piston).

I tried the compact stuff with a traditional firesteel and occassionally it ignited, but the best way is as you stated; ground to a course powder. This powdery stuff also works well in my homemade fire pistons although it is a bit tricky to keep it in place.

I have been fooled several times by other, more common, black crusty outgrowths on birch resembling this Inonotus obliquus fungus. Once I saw a black crusty shape on a birch tree, just within reach of my stretched arm. After sawing for almost 3 quarters of an hour with a blunt collapsible saw, standing on a wobbly log I found I had got a beautiful birch burl (which was also nice but not what I had hoped for).

The real stuff is much easier to get through with a saw.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[addo]

Cheers Tom, the peice I found should keep me going for a while, but hope to find a few more now I know it exists and works, its so easy to work with.
Like the burl story, nearly fell for that one a few times myself!

 

[Mike Ameling]

Yes, that is true tinder fungus - innonotus obliquus. That orangish inside is what will catch a spark without any prior prep/charring.

But it does take a bit longer to get that spark to catch than on charclothe. I usually break off a chunk around the size of a pea or several grains of rice. I then hold/pinch this on top of my flint and strike my sparks onto it. But the spark must still land just right on it to "catch".

Amadu is made from that fluffy layer between the hard outside shell and the "gills" on shelf fungi. So you have to cut it away from those "gills" on the inside, and then cut it away from that hard outside shell. You don't end up with much from any one chunk of fungi. That is then soaked in a solution containing potassium nitrate. The "old" way was to use ... strong urine - urine that had been boiled down a bunch to concentrate that potassium nitrate. But it is simpler to just use the crystals mixed with water to create a "strong" solution, and then soak your fluffy fungi layer in it. It sounds like your amadu did not get enough potassium nitrate soaked into it - just a little in the outside layers.

Now, those "gill" layers that you cut away can also be cut thin and "charred" just like making charcloth. They will then catch and hold a spark fairly well. And you can also do the same thing with chunks of punky wood.

From my experience, the Tinder Fungus that I got that was pretty "fresh" off the tree works better than stuff that was collected a while ago and "dried out".

Fun stuff to play with.

Just a few humble thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[IntrepidStu]

I did a post about this a week or so ago. In fact, NO processing at all is needed. It is best to break it into small chunks though because its very hard to put out. If you light up a piece the size of a marble it will turn its self into a rock hard ember and glow for about 30 minutes. Youll know when its out because it will have been nearly totaly consumed.

Ive also tried horses hoof with very little success, so from now on, im on the hunt for the Conch only.

Stu

 

[gregorach]

Amadu is made from that fluffy layer between the hard outside shell and the "gills" on shelf fungi. So you have to cut it away from those "gills" on the inside, and then cut it away from that hard outside shell. You don't end up with much from any one chunk of fungi. That is then soaked in a solution containing potassium nitrate. The "old" way was to use ... strong urine - urine that had been boiled down a bunch to concentrate that potassium nitrate. But it is simpler to just use the crystals mixed with water to create a "strong" solution, and then soak your fluffy fungi layer in it. It sounds like your amadu did not get enough potassium nitrate soaked into it - just a little in the outside layers.

It doesn't actually need the potassium nitrate. I've never used it when prepping amadou, and I have no trouble getting mine to catch from flint and steel.

 

[mick miller]

Any good in a fire piston perchance? Or has no-one tried that?

 

[Galemys]

Any good in a fire piston perchance? Or has no-one tried that?

The pulverized stuff of a dense lump works in a fire piston but this is a bit tricky to handle.

The more open structured, softer 'corky/marshmallowy' stuff on the inside works very well in fire pistons but that was not present in the lump I found, maybe the fungus was in a later stage as I found it on a birch that was already dead.

Here you go:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fire-Pistons-R-Us/Tinders-for-your-Fire-Piston.html

Cheers,

Tom

 

[addo]

Thinking of getting a fire piston, do you chaps recommend them?

 

[Galemys]

Thinking of getting a fire piston, do you chaps recommend them?

They are like magic!

PM me your E-mail address and I'll send you a kind of tutorial for making a simple fire piston yourself out of hardware shop material.

Alternatively, there are some makers here that sell fine working fire pistons made of tropical hardwood or horn (via internet). Those are far more pleasing to the eye but you'll miss the feeling of achievement that you get when making one yourself singlehanded.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[addo]

Great, thanks for that Tom. Any excuse to tinker in the garage is a good thing!
Never tried the fire piston before.
PM on the way.

 

[addo]

Just been playing again, No joy with the horses hoof amadou, boiled up for a day in urine and charcoal, dryed it thoughally. Then scraped it up which it did lovely, loads better than unpreped, but no spark caught with flint and steel.

Guess it needs potassium nitrate and longer, although the peices of fungus were the same colour all the way through.

Managed to get the true tinder fungus to spark up with a solid lump, just takes a bit longer than with the powder, but easyer in the wind.

 

[gregorach]

Well, mine works fine, and it was just boiled for 1-2 hours in water with some wood ash. I dunno where these ideas about urine and charcoal come from...

As for potassium nitrate, I'm sure it'll work, but it kinda seems to be missing the point to me - just about anything will burn if you soak it in enough potassium nitrate.

 

[firemaker]

That sure looks like chaga. It looks like it is darkest in the center and gets lighter toward the outer cortex. Here it opposite and is most compressed at the deepest orange. The outer cortex looks a bit more like the outside of Cramp Ball Fungus while ours is really gritty and some can easily be rubbed off like sand.

If you could make it into a paper, it would extent the chaga and make it easier to handle. A little bit goes a long way.

Darrel once cut down a small birch that was dying with Chaga over taking it. He cut it into many sections to see how it grew. He found that there was much more useable Chaga in the heart wood and that it grows much more deeply into the tree than he thought. Now we know to dig it out until the chaga starts to look woody as it does not have enough Chaga per part to be reliable for fire starting. Its interesting how it differs on your side of the world and that it maintains its woody state. I think I will have to update my page to state the differences for those who are lucky enough to find it in the UK.

 

[bushcraftbob]

I am SURE i have seen that growing on an ash tree! Is that possible, or do they not grow on ash / this far south???

 

[bushtank]

They are like magic!

PM me your E-mail address and I'll send you a kind of tutorial for making a simple fire piston yourself out of hardware shop material.

Alternatively, there are some makers here that sell fine working fire pistons made of tropical hardwood or horn (via internet). Those are far more pleasing to the eye but you'll miss the feeling of achievement that you get when making one yourself singlehanded.

Cheers,

Tom

Hi can you send me the same tutorial please
cheers Tom

 

[addo]

As for potassium nitrate, I'm sure it'll work, but it kinda seems to be missing the point to me - just about anything will burn if you soak it in enough potassium nitrate.

Thats what I thought.

Bushcraft Bob, It wouldnt suprise me if it grows on Ash as Inonotus hispidus a very common bracket fungus is almost only found on Ash and is the same Genus as True tinder fungus - Inonotus obliqus.

Bushtank, sure I'll sort it out for you.

Firemaker - cheers for the info. Interesting you can use fungi within the tree for firestarting, guess it mixes with the punk wood as well. Some fungi can be very invasive within the other parts of trees.