Bamboo Tinder?

[Mistwalker]

So…since I am messing around and working with bamboo anyway…I’ve read of friction fire making by rubbing two pieces of it together. So I thought I’d see how it did for tinder. This piece has been drying for a week or so now since I whittled the green off of it. It was easy enough to get some pretty fine slivers using the BK7, I’ll be trying other knives for this experiment along the way, but I couldn’t get this to catch by a spark. It was sundown and I ran out of patience with the mosquitoes and phone calls so I stuck a flame to it just too see how it burned. It actually ignited very quickly and burned pretty hot. I think there is definitely the possibility of getting it to catch a spark from a firesteel and I’ll try again tomorrow. Any body else out there have any experiences at using bamboo for tinder?

 

[Pele's Fire]

Hi,

Yes, I live in Hawaii & it is one of the only ones that I have around me that I can get reliably out in the field. It depends on the humidity. You do want it to be as dry as possible but I have found that if you turn your knife at a right angle to the bamboo & scrape back & forth Like a draw knife you will get very fine shavings & those should catch instantly with a Ferro rod flint & steel or if you are using old flint & striker you need to have the charcloth or something else.

I hope this helps.

 

[Mistwalker]

Hi,

Yes, I live in Hawaii & it is one of the only ones that I have around me that I can get reliably out in the field. It depends on the humidity. You do want it to be as dry as possible but I have found that if you turn your knife at a right angle to the bamboo & scrape back & forth Like a draw knife you will get very fine shavings & those should catch instantly with a Ferro rod flint & steel or if you are using old flint & striker you need to have the charcloth or something else.

I hope this helps.

Thank you, yes it does help. I was hoping to hear from some in more tropical environments where bamboo was more prevalent thank you. What about as a fuel to cook over?

 

[Pict]

I use bamboo for tinder all the time in Brazil. I use the squared off spine of my machete to make very thin, curly shavings.

If you let the bamboo season until it is yellow it works great. When I use the bamboo fire saw I always scrape up a good handful to use as a tinder ball. It takes a coal real well. Mac

 

[Mistwalker]

I use bamboo for tinder all the time in Brazil. I use the squared off spine of my machete to make very thin, curly shavings.

If you let the bamboo season until it is yellow it works great. When I use the bamboo fire saw I always scrape up a good handful to use as a tinder ball. It takes a coal real well. Mac

Thank you for the info, I'll have to remeber that, there is getting to be a lot of it here in the general area.

Ever use a bamboo fire to cook over?

 

[forrestdweller]

thanks for that helpful piece of information. i'm currently in a tropical area and bamboo is available over here. so far the only tinder i found for those ferrorods in the surrounding bush is the cotton-like seed"wool" from the kapokBUSH(which is seasonal)...

i'm not sure about using it as fuel for fires: it definitely makes some noise when it cracks open while burning.

 

[Mistwalker]

thanks for that helpful piece of information. i'm currently in a tropical area and bamboo is available over here. so far the only tinder i found for those ferrorods in the surrounding bush is the cotton-like seed"wool" from the kapokBUSH(which is seasonal)...

i'm not sure about using it as fuel for fires: it definitely makes some noise when it cracks open while burning.

I figured it would be noisy..even dangerous to burn whole but was thinking if split and dried it might not be so bad....but I haven't tried it... yet.

 

[Pele's Fire]

Its a pain to cut into proper pieces & the diameter is generally too small vs. the amount of work going into cutting it into proper burning pieces since it is hollow & hard. It will really take the edge off of your knife or machete too. Best used as containers & tinder material I have also seen some cool percussion type instruments fashioned from it too.

I would recommend only using it for the shavings & burning something else for the fuel.

 

[Pele's Fire]

Also the picture that Mac took are exactly how the shavings should look if you are doing it right!

Nice machete!

 

[John Fenna]

When I was in the jungles of SE Asia the guides we had shoewd us how to cook bamboo shoots, in bamboo pots, over bamboo fueled fires, and eat the bamboo, using bamboo chopsticks, out of bamboo mugs. We also slept in bamboo huts, on bamboo framed beds, sat on bamboo chairs at a bamboo table...now you can do it all wearing bamboo clothing...
Versatile stuff bamboo!
The bamboo used for fuel was very old and mainly split from canes as thick as my arm or thicker.
It crackled some but did not explode or send out too many sparks.

 

[Pict]

John,

Great post, you left out MacGuyvers Bamboo-Framed Ultralight powered by a cement mixer engine. I think when God made bamboo he was thinking, "These guys need to start somewhere, I'll make it obvious." Bamboo is like nature's version of Lego's.

Without the proper tools, though bamboo can be very hard to work with, pun intended. I use the saw on my SAK or Leatherman. I've even dropped large bamboo with a tiny saw.

I have never used bamboo to fuel a fire but have used it often to get a fire going, machete spine scrapings as primary tinder take a spark, shavings as secondary tinder expand the flame, small splits as kindling make it a going concern. Mac

 

[John Fenna]

All these guys used were razor sharp machetes about 8" long!

 

[Mistwalker]

It was a lot of reading of Asian cultures and indigenous people's and all their uses of bamboo that got me started thinking. I want to grow some but not for decoration like most around here...I want to make things. I want to make blinds, fencing, tools, wind chimes...all sorts of stuff with it and yes even eat it but I am still studying it's properties and which variety I want to plant.

 

[BOD]

Its fine to use as a fuel. Sometimes it is the only sizeable fuel in the monsoon season.

Even green bamboo will burn quite easily once you have a fire going.
Do not however use green or recently fallen bamboo on the fire unless it has been cracked/broken first. If there is water inside, the pressure from steam conversion might make it explode. Use old fallen bamboo. step on it to break it up and then put it in the fire.

 

[Mistwalker]

Its fine to use as a fuel. Sometimes it is the only sizeable fuel in the monsoon season.

Even green bamboo will burn quite easily once you have a fire going.
Do not however use green or recently fallen bamboo on the fire unless it has been cracked/broken first. If there is water inside, the pressure from steam conversion might make it explode. Use old fallen bamboo. step on it to break it up and then put it in the fire.

Thanks. I was gloing to at least split it, I'm not sure where I remember it from...maybe as a kid but I remember somebody burning some whole and someone near the fire getting burned when it burst. But I don't remeber anybody ever cooking over it so I think it must have been a brush clearing fire or smudge fire somewhere in my younger days. Probably in South Florida.