Hi, I'm new here, and I've always been interested in Bushcraft, anyway I'm looking for alternative tinders to use with flint and steel, I've used char cloth many times, and it's very easy, so is there any besides charcloth you can use to make fire?
Flint and steel firemaking
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Hi Walshy. There are quite a few different tinders to use, everything from dried Horseshoe fungus to birchbark, all work well with flint and steel, however because of the lower spark temp of the flint and steel I tend to find the fibrous tinders work better, I'm sure a few others would add their personnel favourites to the list
Would bulrush work?
I There is a pond not very far from my house, and there is a big bunch of bulrush there, could I use these?
I've been looking for tinder fungus, but I live in Wales so it would be very lucky to find one. I think.
Thanks!
I find that what you might call very "fluffy" tinder like bullrush, rosebay willow herb, dandelion etc., while it will take a spark has a tendency to flare up very quickly and then just as quickly go out unless you are well prepared with a lot more tinder and kindling like dry grass etc. around it. Also as I'm not very skilled with a firesteel (lack of practice, I would normally go for a ferro rod) I find that getting the sparks to land on the right part of the prepared bundle is a bit of an art. So if the tinder volume is small I miss it most of the time, but if it's too big it will flare up and not make a nice hot self-sustaining blob of fire. A small fire needs to be concentrated in a sort of small circle (or really a sphere). If it's spread around the outside of a large circle it can go out because the energy density is too low to keep drying and igniting the surrounding material. I much prefer something a bit denser such as charcloth, which once you get going is hard to put out, and a bit of cotton wool smeared with petroleum jelly works wonders. I won't tell you what's in my several hip flasks in case you call me a pyromaniac like Cliff, Martin and Stuart all do.
Udamiano is right, it needs to have a bit of air in the structure so that it doesn't just smother the spark as soon as it lands.
I'm sorta a pyromaniac, I've had fun with many explosives too, like gunpowder, thermite, acetone peroxide etc.
Anyway, thanks for the tip.
Anyway, thanks for the tip.
I've always regarded the "fluffy" stuff as a secondary ember extender rather than a tinder in it's own right. It does "flash" rather than burn as has been pointed out.
To answer your question, if you have any ash or birch woods near you, look for the black fungus known as cramp balls or King Alfred's Cakes. That is a natural alternative to charcloth and smoulders in much the same way with a flint/steel spark. I would then put the ember from that into a bundle of the fluffy stuff and some dried grass/hay type stuff.
I'm experimenting with friction methods at the moment; fun isn't it!
To answer your question, if you have any ash or birch woods near you, look for the black fungus known as cramp balls or King Alfred's Cakes. That is a natural alternative to charcloth and smoulders in much the same way with a flint/steel spark. I would then put the ember from that into a bundle of the fluffy stuff and some dried grass/hay type stuff.
I'm experimenting with friction methods at the moment; fun isn't it!
I have a little fungus handbook for collecting mushrooms and other fungus's, and it says tinder fungus can only be in Northern parts of EU, so in Wales I don't think I'll find any, but I do have some silver birch trees nearby.
.....Cliff, Martin and Stuart all do.
not without good cause!
with the bulrush it's worth trying with a whole seed head, fluff one end up and throw your sparks onto there, it'll flare up and die down again pretty quickly as ged suggested but you should be left with the rest of the seed head smouldering away nicely ready to light a tinder bundle
stuart
I think you will if you look around. I'm quite sure the fungus didn't sign up to the Maastricht Treaty.
Bear in mind that different fungi have been called 'tinder fungus' in different places and at different times. Several of them will do a pretty good job. They need to be prepared properly, take the right bits and dry them slowly. There are plenty of blogs and such on the Web but just using Google to search this forum like this:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?scli..."+site:bushcraftuk.com&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e
gave me nearly 600 hits.
I think you will if you look around. I'm quite sure the fungus didn't sign up to the Maastricht Treaty.
Bear in mind that different fungi have been called 'tinder fungus' in different places and at different times. Several of them will do a pretty good job. They need to be prepared properly, take the right bits and dry them slowly. There are plenty of blogs and such on the Web but just using Google to search this forum like this:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?scli..."+site:bushcraftuk.com&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e
gave me nearly 600 hits.
Hmm, I did look, but I don't think you find any tinder fungus in Wales, has anyone from Wales found any tinder fungus, from here?
i used to live in wales and my local wood was full of the stuff. when you use bull rush head for fire take an orange size ball fluffed up, mix in some birch bark or pine needles etc etc etc. dump a spark into the fluffy bit, it should flare up then die down as the birch bark etc etc etc takes hold and will burn as normal.
where do you live in Wales, if its close to Haverfordwest your in luck....
where do you live in Wales, if its close to Haverfordwest your in luck....
i used to live in wales and my local wood was full of the stuff. when you use bull rush head for fire take an orange size ball fluffed up, mix in some birch bark or pine needles etc etc etc. dump a spark into the fluffy bit, it should flare up then die down as the birch bark etc etc etc takes hold and will burn as normal.
where do you live in Wales, if its close to Haverfordwest your in luck....
In Llanelli. Just by Swansea.
Sorry for the double post but I've tried using cattail to no avail now, it's very hard, and I've had many sparks land on the tinder.
Hi and welcome to the forum!
An obvious one but make sure you dry out the king alfred's cakes.
ATB
Andy
An obvious one but make sure you dry out the king alfred's cakes.
ATB
Andy
many things can affect if a spark is successful or not, especially in the type of tinder you are using, the main reason is just basically the spark just didn't catch its as simple as that, however other factors are humidity, while you might not think it is humid the tinder will soak up any moisture in the atmosphere like a sponge, that is why you only bring your tinder out at the last minute, on the same lines, the tinder itself might not be totally dry. when collecting tinder for use with a flint and steel, its always a good idea to keep your newly picked tinder away from your dry tinder, until itself is totally dry. i use a tobacco pouch for this, which is stored on the inside of my jacket away from the cold wet outdoors. better tinder in wetter climates tend to be the ones that contain natural oils or resin that help ignition, pulpy spruce, and pine for instance contain lots of flammable resin which both helps the spark find a home and protect your tinder somewhat from the moisture in the air. Remember using traditional flint and steel the spark is a lot less hotter than in modern steels and it is harder to get ignition to start as the spark quickly cools even further, so keep the distance the spark has to travel to an absolute minimum. Overall however it is a game of patience and perseverance over adversity using traditional flint and steel. keep going, sooner or later the odds are that one spark will catch..
Day
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are you using the "dead" sead heads as in last years, they should be looking a bit mankey and tattey, the live "green" heads are dark brown and look perfect but are wet inside even though they dont look wet or like green wood...
They were a little damp inside, there are some older heads, they are completely dried and are just mankey and grey.
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