I was out walking the dogs across the fields this evening and a thought came upon me..... let's have a quick challenge. Theres no birch trees on this particular route. The virtues of birch to us outdoors folks is well documented, but what if, like on this occasion, there ain't any? What else can you use to get a fire going? My thoughts turned to grass. An obvious tinder to turn to. It was then that I thought how many different types of grass are available RIGHT NOW that I can light a fire with and how do they react to the fire steel?
I quickly checked my pockets. I always have a knife of some description in my trousers or jacket and a fire steel. This evening I had these...
I headed out into the fields. The ground is sodden and each foot step sinks at least an inch into rather chilly dirty water.
After a while the path led across this small field.
At ground level it was saturated. I ran my fingers through the higher tufts and very quickly amassed a good sized bundle of dry grass.
I put the fire steel in the middle and let fly with the sparks. What did I learn? The very fine strands took a spark and then quickly faltered. It needed preparing more. So I buffed it up a bit and worked it into a ball.
Two good sparks and a flame sprung up. I turned it upside down and it burst into flames. The grass burned quite hot but didn't last very long, say about 20 seconds.
Next up I found some dead standing bushes, the type of which I cannot identify...
This small right bundle took the first spark and burst into life. Very hot indeed but burnt out to nothing within three or four seconds. Handy, but you'd need much more it than I could find in my immediate vicinity.
Last up were cleavers, or sticky willies or whatever you call them. There were loads hanging off a fence.
I was able to gather a big bundle of totally dry stems within just a few seconds. I folded the bundle in half which was the only processing I did with it.
I struck the fire steel four or five times before it lit. But boy did it go.
It burned very hot, with a high flame and for a very long time (2 or 3 minutes).
So what did I learn? Well, I already knew that grass is clearly an excellent tinder and it's very common. But it needs preparation to work correctly. Not a hindrance of course, but if your cold, wet tired and hungry......
The second bundle was excellent as an immediate tinder but it wasn't in abundance, which was a shame....
The cleavers were the best all round and a clear alternative to birch bark. Needing no preparation, less folding in half, it burns long and hot. But it does need a good spark... I'll be filling my pockets with a bundle every time I come across it from now on. It's more readily available where I live and more easily processed.
I will of course still collect and prepare birch when I see it in ready supply.....
Hey ho, there you go. You probably already knew all of this, but if you didn't....now you do. Hope it helps someone out.
Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
I quickly checked my pockets. I always have a knife of some description in my trousers or jacket and a fire steel. This evening I had these...
I headed out into the fields. The ground is sodden and each foot step sinks at least an inch into rather chilly dirty water.
After a while the path led across this small field.
At ground level it was saturated. I ran my fingers through the higher tufts and very quickly amassed a good sized bundle of dry grass.
I put the fire steel in the middle and let fly with the sparks. What did I learn? The very fine strands took a spark and then quickly faltered. It needed preparing more. So I buffed it up a bit and worked it into a ball.
Two good sparks and a flame sprung up. I turned it upside down and it burst into flames. The grass burned quite hot but didn't last very long, say about 20 seconds.
Next up I found some dead standing bushes, the type of which I cannot identify...
This small right bundle took the first spark and burst into life. Very hot indeed but burnt out to nothing within three or four seconds. Handy, but you'd need much more it than I could find in my immediate vicinity.
Last up were cleavers, or sticky willies or whatever you call them. There were loads hanging off a fence.
I was able to gather a big bundle of totally dry stems within just a few seconds. I folded the bundle in half which was the only processing I did with it.
I struck the fire steel four or five times before it lit. But boy did it go.
It burned very hot, with a high flame and for a very long time (2 or 3 minutes).
So what did I learn? Well, I already knew that grass is clearly an excellent tinder and it's very common. But it needs preparation to work correctly. Not a hindrance of course, but if your cold, wet tired and hungry......
The second bundle was excellent as an immediate tinder but it wasn't in abundance, which was a shame....
The cleavers were the best all round and a clear alternative to birch bark. Needing no preparation, less folding in half, it burns long and hot. But it does need a good spark... I'll be filling my pockets with a bundle every time I come across it from now on. It's more readily available where I live and more easily processed.
I will of course still collect and prepare birch when I see it in ready supply.....
Hey ho, there you go. You probably already knew all of this, but if you didn't....now you do. Hope it helps someone out.
Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
