Does anyone know if crampballs grow in Western Snowdonia? T'is a new search object for me and I'm wondering if I'll find any.
crampballs in Wales?
- Thread starter mazeman
- Start date
I would hazard a guess that where ever there are dead ash trees you will find it sooner or later. But I haven't checked that part of the world.
I did experiment with flint and steel sparks on one recently. I found that a pile of crumbled cramp ball took the sparks a lot easier than the raw fungus broken open.
I did experiment with flint and steel sparks on one recently. I found that a pile of crumbled cramp ball took the sparks a lot easier than the raw fungus broken open.
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Find a desent size wood with mature tree where the fallen wood isn't cleared away and look there. There is also a type of cramp ball that grows on burnt gorse so if there is anywhere there has been a heath fire in last few years look there. The crampballs are found on the underside of the plant. If there is burnt gorse it is very common to find it, they are quite hard to spot and there are smaller than the useall ones
Just in case ayone is interested... I found a big old ash with crampballs a'plenty today - so yes, there are crampballs in this part of Wales. All I have to do now is to tinderise them.
Wow, I'm suprised Mazeman,
I was about to post that I haven't seen any up here (1000 feet up in the Cambrian Mountains) and I thought that altitude might be a restrictive element. How high were you when you found your treasure?
I'm not sure what you might mean by "Tinderise" as they go pretty good after just drying out. The more experienced you get, the smaller pieces you'll learn to use.
ATB
Ogri the trog
Ogri - a lot lower than 1000! Down about 50 in fact, on the edge of the reclaimed lands near Porthmadog. They were on a huge old ash that'd been down awhile, got quite a few of them - want some?
Ogri
If you ever want weird tinder bud, you just have to say!
Cramp balls, horses hoof, clem bark and head by the bucketload. You end up wading through the stuff round here - I'm surprised Hampshire hasn't burnt down
Red
If you ever want weird tinder bud, you just have to say!
Cramp balls, horses hoof, clem bark and head by the bucketload. You end up wading through the stuff round here - I'm surprised Hampshire hasn't burnt down
Red
Hi guys
Collected plenty of cramp balls here in the woods behind Abergele, not very high up altitude wise and excelent tinder they make too.
Was beginning to wonder if I'm the only one in North Wales bushcrafting!
Collected plenty of cramp balls here in the woods behind Abergele, not very high up altitude wise and excelent tinder they make too.
Was beginning to wonder if I'm the only one in North Wales bushcrafting!
Ogri
If you ever want weird tinder bud, you just have to say!
Cramp balls, horses hoof, clem bark and head by the bucketload. You end up wading through the stuff round here - I'm surprised Hampshire hasn't burnt down
Red
Hi Red,
Wierd tinder
I prefer to call it "natural tinder".It looks like I have Cramp Balls covered, and I can get all sorts of bark (got loads of cedar drying out if you want some) but horses hoof are like horse feathers around here - not a single example in all my tramps in the past 6 years
I really think its something to do with the altitude, being 1000 feet up. We have plenty of ash, birch etc but only ever seen very small birch polypore. I had also convinced myself that HH only grew in the far north!
I don't want to spoil anyone else chance of trying this stuff out, but if theres anything you want as a trade, we can play swapsies!
Cheers
Ogri the trog
Ogri,
Do you want any Birch polypore as well? I can pick em up up to dinner plate size on all manner of fallen birch round here. I've got some other large bracket fungi too (up to 36'' across) with usable amadou.
The HH aren't that common round here - cramp ball and clematis are the "everywhere you look" stuff but I can easy find a small HH if I look
I'll have a shufti when I'm out and put you together a care package! Want some clem bark too?
Red
Do you want any Birch polypore as well? I can pick em up up to dinner plate size on all manner of fallen birch round here. I've got some other large bracket fungi too (up to 36'' across) with usable amadou.
The HH aren't that common round here - cramp ball and clematis are the "everywhere you look" stuff but I can easy find a small HH if I look
I'll have a shufti when I'm out and put you together a care package! Want some clem bark too?
Red
You silver tounged fox, erm squirrel you!
What can I get you in return, I've got a great line in sheep droppings or cedar bark as mentioned. What do you need?
Cheers Red
Ogri the trog
Read somewhere that horse-hoof fungus only grows in the very north of England and up in Scotland. Can one make ammadou out of anything else?
mazeman,
Yep, I've used the amadou of several bracket fungi - they seem to work well. To be honest its quite a faff prepping it and not something I would bother to repeat. Cramp ball is different since its "find, light". My kind of tinder
Ogri - no need, happy to bung em over to you. Chuck me your addy and when I have assembled some bits I'll post em off
Red
Yep, I've used the amadou of several bracket fungi - they seem to work well. To be honest its quite a faff prepping it and not something I would bother to repeat. Cramp ball is different since its "find, light". My kind of tinder
Ogri - no need, happy to bung em over to you. Chuck me your addy and when I have assembled some bits I'll post em off
Red
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Amadou is made from the trama layer, thats the bit between above the pore layer. In horses hoof it is very large which is proberly why it so valued. There are alot of other polypores that have a velvety trama layer but not as thick. Alot of these fungi are very common indeed. Try exprimenting with any hard polypore that you find. I have seen HH in a park in aberystwth at the base of a cut stump, its not that rare in wales.
I have done a little experimentation with 2 or 3 local polypores. One was certainly artist's conk. The layer is there alright but the texture varies from species to species. I haven't found one that is anything like as velvety as horse's hoof, or that will take a spark with minimal preparation. (Someone showed me how you could char the edge of a wafer thin bit of the trama layer of horse's hoof and it would take a spark.)I haven't tried the full works of boiling in urine and so on.
I think Storm reckons you can get artist's conk to go from sparks. I can't agree with that from my experience so far.
xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Phellinus igniarius should be pretty close to horses hoof as it has historically been used in firecraft. I dont know if it used as an amadou maker. I have lit a dried artists conk with a firesteel, and I am not good with firecraft at all. The specium was picked during that hot weather we had in april, i sure that was makes the differance with storms work. Blighty is the land of soggy whereas california is dry.
yeah we see tonnes of horse hoof up here near dundee but I have never seen a cramp ball! Would love to find one. Kept my eyes open a while now but never come across the. Does anyone know if you get them this far north? Sorry dont mean to change your question mazeman!
