Just started on BBC2 - some Bushcrafty type stuff already seen includes using char cloth with flint & steel and making rushlights
Tudor Monastery Farm
- Thread starter spandit
- Start date
Pretty sure I spotted a historical error on the rushlights 
I'll be guided by Tom on this one though and see if he calls it!
I'll be guided by Tom on this one though and see if he calls it!
Looking carefully on Iplayer I think I was probably wrong about the error....tough to see at a glance!
Ruth needs to be told not to be so generous with the charcloth
She used up enough for about 5 fires with that fistful she was striking sparks on to
She used up enough for about 5 fires with that fistful she was striking sparks on to
Ruth needs to be told not to be so generous with the charcloth
She used up enough for about 5 fires with that fistful she was striking sparks on to
I take it she just had the stuff in a heap instead of putting a piece on top of the flint?
Ruth needs to be told not to be so generous with the charcloth
She used up enough for about 5 fires with that fistful she was striking sparks on to
She was not getting loads of sparks.. so may have needed to make sure she got one
...
She was not getting loads of sparks.. so may have needed to make sure she got one
All the more reason to have the cloth on top of the flint; one spark is all you need
I told my wife last night that we'd be bickering about her flint/steel technique
I told my wife last night that we'd be bickering about her flint/steel technique
LOL.. its always the way...
Shambling Shaman
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oddly enough although I know we all do the char cloth on top of the flint personally I've never seen any evidence that it was done that way back in the day. All the illustrations I've seen have been of of showers of sparks being thrown downward onto the char cloth, with the steel in the left hand with the flint striking down, usually into a tinder box, which was fitted with some sort of damping plate or block to extinquish the ember after lightning a sulphur match. Icelandic sulphur was being shipped in by the Hanseatic league from a early date. 16th C tinder boxes (few survive) were of the dug out variety, usually with two compartments, one the hearth and the other a larger one for the steel, flint, sulphur matches. By the 17th C nailed and jointed boxes were becoming the norm, usually with a sliding lid and a hole in the base to hang it up on a wall out of the way when not being used.
ATB
Tom
ATB
Tom
I usually strike sparks down unless I'm working in a wet environment where I keep everything in my hands and direct sparks up.
I find it more convenient that way but I don't really need more than a sliver of tinder to work with.
It's a daily task for me when I'm working but when I started in living history I found very few people were doing it, or even knew about how to do it. I'm not sure how much it is practiced even today by re-enactors.
Dave Thirwell, the guy that first taught me the technique, reckons he also taught a young fellow that he later saw on a TV program called "Tracks" and I have absolutely no reason to doubt his word.
I find it more convenient that way but I don't really need more than a sliver of tinder to work with.
It's a daily task for me when I'm working but when I started in living history I found very few people were doing it, or even knew about how to do it. I'm not sure how much it is practiced even today by re-enactors.
Dave Thirwell, the guy that first taught me the technique, reckons he also taught a young fellow that he later saw on a TV program called "Tracks" and I have absolutely no reason to doubt his word.
We saw this last night, and steel technique notwithstanding I thought there was something else worth noting.
I know life was hard in Tudor times but look how far Ruth had to walk; all the way from Sussex to South Wales to go to church and then on to the Peak District to make a bowl!
I know life was hard in Tudor times but look how far Ruth had to walk; all the way from Sussex to South Wales to go to church and then on to the Peak District to make a bowl!
stumbled on this guy looking for pics of gressets
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tallow-LA...990?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c74aba8f6
not used him but if you don't fancy making your own tallow for various projects he may be of use.
ATB
Tom
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tallow-LA...990?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c74aba8f6
not used him but if you don't fancy making your own tallow for various projects he may be of use.
ATB
Tom
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