What natural tinders and spark catchers would our ancestors have used?

[Stanleythecat]

Hi All

I asked elsewhere about true tinder fungus but it appears that I won't be likely to find any locally for a good while as I live in the west country!!! damn!!

I was wondering what natural materials, in the absence of amadou and chagra (sp? sorry!) might have been used by our ancestors?

Pre charcloth, what would have caught a cool spark from a flint and steel in our neck of the woods?

Leo

 

[mace242]

Cramp balls. I've found them near me - I'm in somerset not too far away. Also we have reed mace here in some places as well as various other wooly type plants. Also birch bark. I've used all of these quite happily here.

 

[badgeringtim]

I suppose it depends how far you want to go back but;

Birch doesnt catch a spark well without Ferro rods, iron strikers dont tend to get it going (willing to be told im wrong here?)
Bullrush (greater reedmace) is good and can be used in several ways - it can catch a spark easily but rapidly 'flares' and you have to have a mix of something else in there to sustain it (like thin strips of birch/grasses twigs), it also works as an ember extender in the denser seed parts (it can be boiled and recompacted for this but i dont fully know why).
Thistle down works, clematis, reed seed heads, dry grasses (rub them to open the fibres up) or mixed with other 'fast flaring' things.

Any 'fluffy' seeds seem to work.
Also any charred artifact - not nesesairily char cloth - can work.

Im sure there are loads more..

 

[launditch1]

The loose thin bark type stuff on Honeysuckle.

 

[bushcraftbob]

Will the above tinders, i.e reedmace, honeysuckle catch from a flint and steel???

 

[slammer187]

Will the above tinders, i.e reedmace, honeysuckle catch from a flint and steel???

If you char them they will

 

[lannyman8]

a piece of charcoal from the fire place, it works even better if it still has white ash on it (so im told)......

let us know how you get on with this as im well into fire craft but have never really bothered with the flint and steel, i know how to use it with char cloth and have done so alot, but have never managed to get a good coal or exstender from this sort of spark......

regards...

chris...................................................................

 

[Stanleythecat]

If you char them they will

Thanks for the replies so far! Any advice on how to char these materials and which ones? There must have been a precursor to charcloth so presumably these would have been it? Like you Chris, I can't say I'm very handy with a flint and steel either!!! But I'm very interested in the use of quite common 'accessible' plants etc as a tool to add some magic to the countryside for those who walk through it unaware or dare I say ignorant.

We had some teenagers ripping up tree guards and stakes and burning them, these were around trees planted by 300 volunteers and children from local schools. Watching our friend Ray teaching a Russian Jew whose ancestors had been resistance fighters in WW2 to use the bow drill and seeing the guys face change from stern to crying with joy as his tinder bundle popped in to flame was amazing. Gave me the idea that maybe we could engage with these kids and teach them firelighting old school style! Without realising it they have learnt a pretty cool skill but also a good variety of plants and that the right conditions to use them... i.e. not snapping live branches off trees!!!!

ps I think the greatest act of sorcery has to be the hand drill!!! Will get there! but the more plant knowledge the more likely to be able to adapt to the moment. As I say I'm not really looking to survive off this but add value to the common things so that we can start to try to make people aware and care about the scarcity of what is rare. (i'm a ranger!) Don't mean to sound pretentious!!! I'm actually really excited about finding a 'proactive' way to engage with these people rather than alienating them further by bollocking them!

 

[lannyman8]

im not sure what could be used as a char cloth replacement but it could be done by covering in sand and then light a small fire with small sticks on top, this would give the fire more heat to help the charing process....

this would be a good exsperiment to try out.......maybe bull rush stalks or some punk, cramp balls, live bull rush heads (the dead ones fall appart) elder stems maybe......

i also think talking and teaching the "problem kid's" is the way forward.......i was supposed to help out with a group of problem children, my wife moved jobs and we never see the lady again to help out, bummer because she had a farmer on side who gave up his woodland.......

regards..

chris....................................................

 

[mace242]

Ive made reedmace work without charring...

 

[lannyman8]

mace242, was that the dead seed head fluffed up......also what time of year was it, and would it work in the winter with the air so humid, here today is about 80-85 % would this be ok for such fire lighting methods.............

loads of questions sorry, im really for this now as well as "Stanleythecat"......the reason being in really into my fire craft, i think its one of the most important thing to know as it keeps you warm fed and keeps your fluid levels up to....

1. warm: this is obvious stops you getting cold
2. fed: you can eat raw food but cooked is safer and feels and goes down better on the belly
3. fluid levels: this is the most important, if you have no chemicals its what gived you safe to drink water, and you need alot each day.

probably basics to all, but this is just me and how i think, and yes i wish i could live in cave to go with my thinking......lol.......

regards...

chris........................................................................

 

[Wayland]

Most downy type substances can be used if really dry. I've used reedmace, willow-herb and even dandelion heads but you tend to only get a quick flash which is difficult to work with.

Crampballs and fresh charcoal from a fire work well but not once it's absorbed any damp.

I've used flax, hemp and nettle fibres to extend a charcloth ember into a flame but all these need a bit of processing.

 

[mace242]

mace242, was that the dead seed head fluffed up......also what time of year was it, and would it work in the winter with the air so humid, here today is about 80-85 % would this be ok for such fire lighting methods.............

I tend to have pockets full of vaious tinders most of the time and this had been in my jacket pocket since I gathered it and when I re-discovered it I gave it a go. fluffed it up really well and kept going with normal flint and steel (my preferred lighting method) until it caught. Took a while when I can get charcloth to light with just a few strikes.

 

[redneck]

How old are these ancestors? Remember woven fabrics (like linen) have been dated to around 8,000 years ago, so using charcloth that far back is a very real possiblity and not as recent an idea as most would have us believe!
For eveidence of this read books By Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and also see here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_clothing_and_textiles

 

[Stanleythecat]

Thanks Redneck. Suppose I really want to use the alchemy of fire creation to show people how useful everyday plants can be. So charcloth is sort of a middle man that I was hoping not to use. Fire offers instant gratification for the watcher with the thought that with a few materials they could do it themselves. Other things like foraging and medicine people require much more more confidence to go away and do it for fear of poisoning themselves.