Fire starting

Seamus · Oct 23, 2024

After reading the comment by Sparks of Dutch Glory under the discussion on patching, I thought it would be interesting to hear what others have used in their fire kit.
Besides cotton and linen, what have you used to catch a spark? I've had great success with charring (after it thoroughly dries) rotten, punky wood. A small piece will burn longer and hotter than cloth.

Omahkapi'si · Oct 23, 2024

Not historically correct but dryer lint works too with flint and steel.

tenngun · Oct 23, 2024

Hemp string picked in to fibers is good tinder.
It’s been over a month with no rain here so grass flashes like it was soaked in gasoline
I’ve tried punk and holds a spark well, but we know ‘tinder’ was defined as chard rag used to catch a spark back in the day.

Seamus · Oct 23, 2024

IF you can collect fallen pine needles that have been run over by vehicles until they are like fiber, they are great in a tinder bundle.

Ponderosaman · Oct 23, 2024

Pointing @Tom A Hawk in this direction as I hold no rancor for any man.

Brazos John · Oct 23, 2024

Seamus said:
IF you can collect fallen pine needles that have been run over by vehicles until they are like fiber, they are great in a tinder bundle.

ALL YOU WANT FOR FREE!
You'll have to pick them up from my driveway, or whole needles from my porch, my entire yard, or even my roof!
But they're FREE!!! :thumb:

Larry (Omaha) · Oct 23, 2024

Seamus said:
After reading the comment by Sparks of Dutch Glory under the discussion on patching, I thought it would be interesting to hear what others have used in their fire kit.
Besides cotton and linen, what have you used to catch a spark? I've had great success with charring (after it thoroughly dries) rotten, punky wood. A small piece will burn longer and hotter than cloth.

TF is very good! I have used it in my firepistons. From what I have read, years ago primative tribes would also use similar material to carry fire to another camp. In case you don't know this stuff glows similar to a cigarette or a fireworks punk.
Larry

Randis · Oct 23, 2024

I'll be trying a few different items on my next outing.

Char made from pieces of hemp rope
Tow made from hemp rope
Tow made from linen

Pine needle and Amadou are not generally found in my area.

Larry (Omaha) · Thursday at 6:47 AM

Randis said:
I'll be trying a few different items on my next outing.

Char made from pieces of hemp rope
Tow made from hemp rope
Tow made from linen

Pine needle and Amadou are not generally found in my area.

Randis,
If you are interested in purchasing Amadou, there are on line sales for that product.
Larry

Tom A Hawk · Thursday at 7:38 AM

Randis said:
I'll be trying a few different items on my next outing.

Char made from pieces of hemp rope
Tow made from hemp rope
Tow made from linen

Pine needle and Amadou are not generally found in my area.

Do you have milkweed in Indiana?

PEARL DRUMS · Thursday at 7:57 AM

With a knife edge scrape the inside of white cedar bark. It’s like gasoline. I enjoy a good friction fire. Be it bow or by hand.

Dusty_Traveler · Thursday at 8:02 AM

Tom A Hawk said:
Do you have milkweed in Indiana?

@Brazos John has pine needles.
@Dusty_Traveler has milkweeds

FREE ALL DAY FOR YOUR NEEDS

no bag limit

Terrier · Thursday at 9:38 AM

Brazos John said:
ALL YOU WANT FOR FREE!
You'll have to pick them up from my driveway, or whole needles from my porch, my entire yard, or even my roof!
But they're FREE!!!

When I was a kid growing up in north Georgia, we had 75 pine trees in our large yard. My Pop, brother and me would spend two or more weeks raking pine needles and picking up cones every year. I always ended up with blisters on my hands.

We saved a lot of the cones. They make great fire starting tinder.

Cruzatte · Thursday at 11:24 AM

I have quite a bit of leftover linen shirt fabric that I've never thrown away; pieces too small to do anything with, & too big to throw away. These get cut up into small squares & turned into char cloth.

Last March, a fellow camper at a rendezvous told me about ocum, & gave me a fairly substantial piece of it. That stuff catches fire more easily than sisal, manilla, or jute, & certainly better than tow. It burns steadily, but at a fairly slow rate.

So I've begun to carry a bit of ocum with my charred linen, steel, and a musket flint in my fire making kit.

Seamus · Thursday at 3:31 PM

Cruzatte said:
I have quite a bit of leftover linen shirt fabric that I've never thrown away; pieces too small to do anything with, & too big to throw away. These get cut up into small squares & turned into char cloth.

Last March, a fellow camper at a rendezvous told me about ocum, & gave me a fairly substantial piece of it. That stuff catches fire more easily than sisal, manilla, or jute, & certainly better than tow. It burns steadily, but at a fairly slow rate.

So I've begun to carry a bit of ocum with my charred linen, steel, and a musket flint in my fire making kit.

I had never thought of that. I'll have to look in to getting some.

andy52 · Thursday at 3:44 PM

Char cloth, flint, striker, tinder(your choice) and a couple of pieces bees wax soaked canvas.

Captndan · Thursday at 3:50 PM

Anything mentioned here will work if you put a little BP on it.

smoothshooter · Thursday at 8:25 PM

Larry (Omaha) said:
TF is very good! I have used it in my firepistons. From what I have read, years ago primative tribes would also use similar material to carry fire to another camp. In case you don't know this stuff glows similar to a cigarette or a fireworks punk.
Larry

View attachment 357438

I would love to try some tinder fungus, but there is not a birch tree within at least 300 miles of where I live in SW Missouri as far as I know.

Larry (Omaha) · Thursday at 8:49 PM

smoothshooter said:
I would love to try some tinder fungus, but there is not a birch tree within at least 300 miles of where I live in SW Missouri as far as I know.

Surf the net. It is available at many websites. Just be careful that you get a valid website. I got my fungus over 20 years ago and still have some left.
Larry

smoothshooter · Thursday at 9:17 PM

Larry (Omaha) said:
Surf the net. It is available at many websites. Just be careful that you get a valid website. I got my fungus over 20 years ago and still have some left.
Larry

Thanks for the idea of ordering, and the caveat.

Fire starting

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