No char flint steel

[Suffolkrafter]

I had a go at this today:

I got some fresh nettle stalks, stripped the fibres, dried them (warmed them in the oven at 50c because as always my time windows for these things are limited). I then mashed them up, scraped them on stone and generally mangled them until what I had left was a fluffy bundle of fine fibre.

My first attempt came to nothing at all, but I noted that some of the nettles stalks I had used were deep red or brown. So I tried again with only green stalks. This time, on several occasions, a spark held in the nettle fibre, smoked biefly - and then went out.

I'm sure the limiting factor here is my inability to generate decent sparks with flint and steel. I tend to just pulverise my flint.

So I'm going to keep trying. I'll leave the bundle to dry some more while I have a cup of tea. But in any case, I think if you follow the instructions in this guy's video then you will definitely nearly have a fire.

 

[Tony]

Cool vid and good for you giving it a go, I think this would be a fun thing for a group of us to do at the BushMoot. The drying has got to be a consideration here, int eh UK we'll generally need to be more considered in how we dry the fibres, especially when we're out of summer, but even if it takes a few days to prep the fibres once you've got a rolling dry-sytem (as in got some ready with other stuff drying) going it would be very doable.
We might struggle here in our damp if we wanted a fire in two hours...

IT's worth practicing with the flint and steel, it's a lovely combination and after some practice the flint will lat much better and you'll get plenty of clean sparks, although they're not that hot they'll do the job...

 

[Suffolkrafter]

Thanks Tony. I did give it another go, this time with the fibres more tightly packed down onto the flint. Again, some sparks caught, producing a whisp of smoke for perhaps a second, then it went out. So it seems that it can take a spark, but I've yet to get the spark to spread. Looking through the comments on the videos it seems people find it harder than it comes across in the video, but then he is in a different climate, and perhaps the nettles are a little different where he is. But I'm going to keep trying on and off when I get the time. I think it is feasible.

 

[Tengu]

That was grand.

 

[Crac]

The highlight frame is at 20 mins 7 sec.

It (finally) shows the successful ideas from the end of the list:


#43a Stinging nettle fiber (Urtica dioica) from dried stalks and pounded by hammer stone in stone bowl.
#43b Stinging nettle fiber off green stalks, dried for two hours and pounded by hammer stone in stone bowl.
#44 Stinging nettle beetle dust.

#45 Waterleaf (Talinum fruticosum) mulched up fine in the hands.
#46 Waterleaf pounded in stone bowl.

#47 Greater Burdock leaves (Arctium lappa) pounded in stone bowl.
#48 Greater Burdock leaves mulched up fine in the hands.

 

[Tengu]

My issue is getting a spark to begin with.

As is seen, once the spark hits the right tinder, the rest goes naturally.

 

[dwardo]

Brilliant research. Shall be giving them a try on my next woods trip.

 

[Crac]

#01 Cattail down, mulched up in the hand. No.
[Yes, I had success years ago using a hatchet and flint.]
#02 Cattail down ground up in stone bowl. No.
#03 Cottonwood cotton mulched up in hands. No.
#04 Cottonwood cotton ground up in stone bowl. No.
#05 Thistle fluff mulched up in hands. No.
#06 Thistle fluff ground up in stone bowl. No.
#07 Dandelion fluff mulched up in hands. No.
#08 Dandelion fluff ground up in stone bowl. No.
#09 Willow down mulched up in hands. No.
#10 Willow down ground up in bowl. No.
#11 Fireweed down mulched up in hands. No.
#12 Fireweed down ground up in stone bowl. No.
#13 Grass blades ground up in stone bowl [tall kind]. No.
#14 Elderberry pity ground up in stone bowl. No.
#15 Maple inner bark worked up fine. No.
#16 Maple inner bark ground up in stone bowl. No.
#17 Maple leave [dead] ground up in stone bowl. No.
#18 Maple beetle dust. No.
#19 Maple beetle dust further ground up in stone bowl. No.
#20 Alder dry rot. No.
#21 Alder beetle dust. No.
#22 Alder beetle dust further ground up in stone bowl. No.
#23 Douglas fire dry rot No.
#24 Douglas fire beetle dust. No.
#25 Lady fern ground up in stone bowl. No.
#26 [ not shown (?) ] --
#27 Indian plumb leaves ground up in stone bowl. No.
#28 Cedar bark mulched up. No.
#29 Cedar bark ground up in stone bowl. No.
#30 Redwood bark mulched up. No.
#31 Redwood back ground up in stone bowl. No.
#32 Moss ground up in stone bowl. No.
#33 Spirea dried flower heads ground up in stone bowl. No.
#34 Ocean spray flower heads, ground up in stone bowl. No.
#35 Bee's nest two types ground up in stone bowl. No.
#36 Nineback, the inner bark, ground up in stone bowl. No.
#37 Shelf fungus, ground up in stone bowl. No.
[Found in oregon on dead cherry tree.]
#38 Thimbleberry leaves ground up in stone bowl. No.
#39 Foxglove leaves ground up in stone bowl. No.
#40 Wild cucumber leaves ground up in stone bowl. No.
#41 Dock seed heads ground up in stone bowl. No.
#42 Stinging nettle leaves dried and ground up in stone bowl. No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#43a Stinging nettle fiber (Urtica dioica) from dried stalks and pounded by hammer stone in stone bowl.
#43b Stinging nettle fiber off green stalks, dried for two hours and pounded by hammer stone in stone bowl.
#44 Stinging nettle beetle dust.

#45 Waterleaf (Talinum fruticosum) mulched up fine in the hands.
#46 Waterleaf pounded in stone bowl.

#47 Greater Burdock leaves (Arctium lappa) pounded in stone bowl.
#48 Greater Burdock leaves mulched up fine in the hands.

 

[Tengu]

I can do a hundred strikes and one gets a spark.

I need better than that.