I always was facinated how to start fires using the old methods. Reading about this i found several instructions on how to make touchwood. It is not that hard and all the materials i can find just walking out the door. So i made some. 
To do this you need fnöskticka, Fomes fomentarius. A mushroom that grows mostly on dead birchtrees. Its gray on top with brown pores below and formed like a horse foot.
What we want from this is the thin layer between the outer skin and the pores. I used a knife to get to separate the touchwood from the rest of the mushroom. Do this when its fresh or it will be a lot harder to work with.
Boil the touchwood in 1 part water and 1 part birchash for atleast 2 hours. I did this in 3 different batches to see if there is any noticeable differencies using different boiling times: 1,5h , 2h and 2,5h.
After boiling its time to beat the material with a hammer. I used a wooden plank as a surface. After it has dried its time to try it out. I did not notice any difference between the 2 and 2,5 hour batch but the 1,5 is a bit more harder to get to catch a spark.
As i have no flint and steel at home i only used the firesteel to try it out and it works fine. You can also use the mushroom just using a knife to slice of pieces to use. The smoke generated is also good against mosquitos.
To do this you need fnöskticka, Fomes fomentarius. A mushroom that grows mostly on dead birchtrees. Its gray on top with brown pores below and formed like a horse foot.
What we want from this is the thin layer between the outer skin and the pores. I used a knife to get to separate the touchwood from the rest of the mushroom. Do this when its fresh or it will be a lot harder to work with.
Boil the touchwood in 1 part water and 1 part birchash for atleast 2 hours. I did this in 3 different batches to see if there is any noticeable differencies using different boiling times: 1,5h , 2h and 2,5h.
After boiling its time to beat the material with a hammer. I used a wooden plank as a surface. After it has dried its time to try it out. I did not notice any difference between the 2 and 2,5 hour batch but the 1,5 is a bit more harder to get to catch a spark.
As i have no flint and steel at home i only used the firesteel to try it out and it works fine. You can also use the mushroom just using a knife to slice of pieces to use. The smoke generated is also good against mosquitos.
) I cut it up and boil it for dye. I did however cut out the firestart layer last time and boiled it in the dyebath too. When I took it out it was then cooled a bit and pounded into a sort of felted surface and then dried out in the Sun. It works well to hold a coal from a fire bow but I'm not having much luck with a flint & steel on it or firesteel either. I did read about adding saltpetre to the boiling liquid and bought some of the stuff but never got around to making up a seperate pot to try this out. Anyone use saltpetre on it, is it worth the effort? Tanto said to use ashes, I thought that would only alter the ph (alkali) but don't see how it would help it burn. 
