Damp tinder for fire - YES!

[Stew]

A blast from the past.....

Well, I finally gave this method a try today....sort of.

As it's a while since I had read Rich's notes, I didn't get the details quite right but got flame none the less.

I remembered that I needed to rub and shred my dry leaves and save the 'gold dust' for the point where the ember was inserted. First problem was the realisation that I hadn't thought of what it would sit on. The best I could find was a Rhododendron leaf. I made my pile which wasn't really that big as it was limited by the leaf size. I remembered the need for a roof so had a couple of sticks ready to put on top.

A quick bit of rubbing back and forth with the bow drill and I had my ember (everything sourced at the site except cordage - elder hearth and hazel spindle, lime for bow and bearing block, another Rhododendron leaf for the ember plate)

As I moved the ember over to the pile, I knocked some leaf litter and lost where the gold dust was - ah well, let's keep going. So I pushed it in, and put the lid of sticks on. It just didn't seem right though. The sticks seemed to be pushing down too much. Right, let's try it without the sticks. Hhhm, this isn't working. My ember will be out soon. I quickly grab a dry Oak leaf and put that on top. Good. Long steady breaths and it's growing nicely.

I couldn't remember how it went to flame. Reading back, Rich has combustion of the leaf litter. I didn't get that but then I didn't really push for it. Once the 'ember' was an inch & half across, I quickly grabbed a dry stick from next to me and made a little feather stick. I then lay the feathers across the ember and with another breath I had flame.

Brilliant.

It's not quite as impressive as having a big ball of buffed up material on fire in your hand but it's probably a much more viable option as it's very rare I see much suitable materials to manage a full sized 'birds nest'.

Thanks Rich! You've made my day today.

 

[rich59]

Well done. It isn't the most charismatic of fire lighting methods I grant, as the flames are initially short lived until you blow more. But, it works a treat with pretty well any material that is dry enough to crumble, if you have sufficient quantity, and as long a you roof it, and if you blow gently enough to allow the material to dry out just ahead of the slowly spreading ember....... and if you practice it a few times.

My one complete failure with the method was when I tried it with dry herbage stems. Although dry it wouldn't form a pile of crumble on the rest of the tinder - the bits just fell to the bottom.

The acid test as to whether you have got the technique right is - try it on a foggy morning with material collected off the ground.

 

[decorum]

I thought that this might be a worthwhile* thread to resurrect.
Although I can't do anything about the missing pics, the information within the thread should give enough direction.


* And for those who like a challenge, fun .

 

[Caboose]

with all th epictures gone I don't think i'm understanding this all clearly.. Its a shame because I'd be interested in how to do this 100% correctly but I don't understand this gold dust thing and what this roof is suppose to look like make from leafs and stuff... all very confusing without pictures, because thats how much mind works best with.

 

[decorum]

with all th epictures gone I don't think i'm understanding this all clearly.. Its a shame because I'd be interested in how to do this 100% correctly <<<

And therein lies the challenge ... and possibly the fun.

>>> I don't understand this gold dust thing and what this roof is suppose to look like make from leafs and stuff... <<<

My reading/interpretation* is that the 'gold dust' is the finest particles of the crumbled tinder and that the roof will be one or two sticks ~ preferably split. The 'gold dust' is then used to prolong the life of the ember and the roof is used to keep more of the heat in.

* I could be wrong ~ and I am quite frequently.

>>> all very confusing without pictures, because thats how much mind works best with.

I know what you mean, I find it much easier to work from multiple media sources.