Fire with Rowan bark

[Jimmy Bojangles]

Hi all

Just wondered whether anyone else uses Rowan bark as tinder? Not tried playing with it to see if it'll take a spark, but I find it takes flame every bit as well as birch bark. Never seen it mentioned in any books as a tinder though.

Cheers

Mat

 

[lannyman8]

hey up Jim, most people use birch bark because it is so easy to identify and because it is so common, lots of other things that can be used...

i use the bow drill allot of the time so tinders need to be a bit better than when using a fire steel, they also need to have somthing a bit more substantial in the middle to exstend the ember, i have started using pine needles where i can now..

have a search for tinders on here for some more exotic tinders....

 

[Toddy]

Besides, birch peels off it's outer layers without causing damage to the tree. Rowan doesn't.

When birch dies the bark often remains as a hollow tube, the only rowans I have seen dead the bark comes off in chunks as the tree weathers down.

That apart, interesting to know it burns well.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

Short leaved Lime bark (usually reserved for cordage) makes a tinder that will take from a sparkstick - I tried it when I found the lime bark I had from a dead tree was too brittle for cordage making.
Strip it down to the finest fibres and it takes a spark like hemp cordage does

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

Besides, birch peels off it's outer layers without causing damage to the tree. Rowan doesn't.

When birch dies the bark often remains as a hollow tube, the only rowans I have seen dead the bark comes off in chunks as the tree weathers down.

That apart, interesting to know it burns well.

cheers,
Toddy

Sorry, I should have explained better. What you're looking for is dead branches, it's very much like the birch, in that you end up with a ring of (usually) thin bark left where the wood has begun to rot away, so no damage to the tree. Normally you'll find a few side shoots (even if they're only 1/2 and inch thick) that have been over shadowed and died off. As I say, I've not played with it with a view to lighting it with a fire steel etc, but if you've got your tinder bundle to flame and stick a handful of the bark on you've got a roaring fire in 30 seconds.

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

Short leaved Lime bark (usually reserved for cordage) makes a tinder that will take from a sparkstick - I tried it when I found the lime bark I had from a dead tree was too brittle for cordage making.
Strip it down to the finest fibres and it takes a spark like hemp cordage does

That's interesting I'll have to give it a try, I've never used it as tinder before. I did make my first bits of cordage over the summer out of some Lime bark that was so rotten you could just pull the long fibres out of it. Was pretty chuffed!

Cheers

Mat

 

[nickliv]

Wild cherry bark will take a spark from a firesteel too, but does need scraping up a bit.

 

[filcon]

Burning Rowan is unlucky.

phil

 

[mountainm]

Burning Rowan is unlucky.

phil

it is for the Rowan.

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

Sorry to be a "threadromancer" but I've barely been on here in the last year or so, due to a house move, new baby and work going crazy. But I was wondering if anyone ever gave rowan bark a try?

Heres a couple of pic's I meant to post way back when, to show you what to look for, and I'll try to make a quick vid in the next week or so to show how well it burns.

cheers

 

[woodpoet]

Holly Bark works really well. Have The trunk of Holly Tree that was taken from friends garden. Where it is out in the elements the bark peels off. Use it like birch by fluffing up inner layer and it takes spark. The bark because of the oil in it burns for a long time.

 

[Goatboy]

Burning Rowan is unlucky.

phil

Especially to foresters/woodcutters. Tend not to cut/burn rowan or holly.