friction fire tinder for group demo's?

[sargey]

at the scout survival weekend later this year, we're hoping to do some friction firelighting.

what easily sourced tinder do you recommend for mass produced tinder bundles?

cheers, and.

 

[steve a]

To make life easy, go to the local pet store , farm shop etc and get yourself a bale or sack of hay. Use this for demos and to get them started then make them go and collect their own.

 

[Gary]

Steve's got it sussed - if you cant produce your own tinder buy it.

Personally I pay a visit to the forest, there I can fill two bin bags with grass ect in about an 1/2 hour - but it helps knowing the perfect spot!!

 

[sargey]

aahh! nice one fellahs, thanks.

i've got a load on at the moment, i didn't want to have armfulls of grass drying in the conservatory, i've got enough to scam past the missus! :roll: ):

got any wood selection shortcuts as well?

cheers, and.

 

[Gary]

aahh! nice one fellahs, thanks.

i've got a load on at the moment, i didn't want to have armfulls of grass drying in the conservatory, i've got enough to scam past the missus! :roll: ):

got any wood selection shortcuts as well?

cheers, and.

Another good tinder is clematis or Honeysuckle - store it in bark form (takes up less room) and buff for tinder on site.

Wood short cuts, again buy it unless you know a friendly tree surgeon.

 

[KIMBOKO]

Clematis seed heads - still around now where i live.
Poplar down - when they seed.
Jute string fluffed up.
Plummers tow.
Inner barks of trees.
Un-tried but fluffed up sisal?
Cattail down.
Any of the flower downs.

 

[jamesdevine]

We used Plumbers hemp on the Wild-Live course instead of burning up all the natural.

It's hard to get in large quantities do so you might need to ask around.

James

 

[Bob]

I use hay for demos if those attending are also trying as it's easy to buff up (kids can do it too) and you're not stripping the local area of large quantities of tinder - however be aware of any hay-fever sufferers (ask first!)

I make up and burn in several sets for others to use as well if knife use is an issue (i.e. at schools). It all depends really on your audience - though I have issued knives to a group of 'young offenders' before now (to use all day for various activities) and had no problems with them. Just make sure you set firm ground rules and don't accept any fooling around, intentional or otherwise.

I usually make hearths and spindles from willow as it's a fairly abundant species and most trees have suitable wood on them. For adults I sometimes throw in hazel as well. I also make up a variety bows of different lengths, usually from hazel (or whatever is around). For bearing blocks whatever green wood is around (most of mine have been of hazel, willow, sycamore and holly).

Hope that helps

Bob

 

[sargey]

we'll be demo'ing honeysuckle, birch, punk and other natural tinders as part of the fire management bit. problem is it's a new (for us this year anyway) site. we're unsure of the amount of natural resources available there, hence the requirement to import stuff. big bag of hay sounds ideal.

as far as wood goes, i was wondering if you guys had any super easy combo's for kids in your repertoires.

we will be issueing knives for the weekend, frosts vikings. :super: the last few years more and more kids have been turning up with only an opinel, a good knife certainly, but a little on the light side for a bushcrafty weekend.

cheers, and.

 

[Tony]

a good bit of ivy will give them a bit of help.

 

[Ed]

sargey... Ivy hearth, hazel spindle..... I've had quite a few 8yr olds getting embers 1st time with this combo.... they put some of my older students to shame :-( I may have some spare after next week if you are interested.... how many sets were you after?

Ed

 

[bushbasher]

Definately with you on the ivy hearth Hazel spindle combo, works a treat every time.

It also helps if you can further reduce the friction on the bearing block, either by using a smooth stone with a depression, or as we do using a Limpet shell inserted into a wood bearing block. This is a sure fire method that practically anyone can get to grips with. Most of our failiures occur after we have created an ember, usually through over enthusiastic blowing into the tinder bundle.

 

[Lithril]

Would the Ivy Hearth work with Mullein as I've 3 4' lengths of a type of verbascum very similar to mullein??

 

[jason01]

Another option...if you have a bench plane with a decent blade in it (it needs to be sharpened properly to a razor edge not fresh from B&Q ), set it to cut very fine. 15 minutes with a block of 2x4 and you can produce a couple carrier bags of fine shavings, I find it works as well as birch bark.

Willow works well for me as hearth and spindle but I havent tried many other woods.

Jason

 

[jason01]

Ive also used pampas grass heads which tend to be plentiful in ornamental urban plantings, it works but not the best and burns very quickly.

Jason

 

[match]

Few things about friciton fire for kids...

For lubricant for your block, explain to them about using ear wax and nose-grease, kids always love that

Personally, I would say that an opinel is fine for making a drill from scratch, provided the blade is big enough for wood-splitting etc. I've often offended bushcrasty types by using a fake sak from a 99p shop for making drills from scratch. But then maybe I like making life difficult for myself

Oh, and always have some other fire-making kit on standby for the whole thing - often you'll have kids who are unskilled or unlucky enough that they won't get friction fires at all, no matter how hard they try. Its often good to build in some kind of extra bit, such as 'how to build and light a proper fire with only one match', that way those kids who fail to get an ember can still have the experience of learning a skill, and having a fire going at the end of the day.

Have fun!

 

[Bob]

A good alternative for those who don't manage a fire by friction is to use a flint and steel or knife and firesteel combo. Drop sparks onto charcloth, transfer to cramp ball and then place this in a tinder bundle to blow to flame.

Kids as young as 7 have managed this - though with the younger ones you may need to assist with the initial spark! They do love it though!!

Bob

 

[sargey]

ivy hearth hazel drill eh? good job that's what i have drying in the conservatory at the moment then. :biggthump :Crazy_071 i think i'll keep a couple of hazel hearths handy for any smart alecs to use ):

ed, i can get all the hazel i need, but any lumps of ivy going spare would be appreciated.

often you'll have kids who are unskilled or unlucky enough that they won't get friction fires at all, no matter how hard they try.

yeah, that's pretty much why i've tried to shy away from it on previous years.

well reminded, must rustle up some daldinea concentrica :shock: and make some charcloth, why do i sign up for these things?

i usually do all the fun improvised methods for firelighting on the survival "B" course, including delights like potassium permanganate and antifreeze. these guys will have already done that, some of them twice. this year survival "A" won't be survival, it'll be bushcraft, a new format with a new (DofE) syllabus. hence the headaches :shock: ):

thanks for all your help guys :You_Rock_

cheers, and.

 

[sargey]

i dare say i'll be back witha few more questions later....

cheers, and.

 

[Ed]

ed, i can get all the hazel i need, but any lumps of ivy going spare would be appreciated.

They'll be in the post next week.... How many hearth sized bits do you want.... they are drying as we speak :biggthump
can you pm me so i confirm your address.

Cheers
Ed