Fire starting "kit"

[squirejohn]

Found all kinds of info on the net re I. obliquus - including pictures as well as references to medicinal uses and fire starting. Looked for some yesterday - didn't find any but found out after that it only appears after the tree is dead. On a primitive skills "post" it is called Chatoquin in Quebec, and this post further states that if it is allowed to become "... too dry, it no longer works."

 

[djnye]

isn't investigation fun. the anishinabe word for tinder in general is "sagatogan" and this stuff is "skatogan" and it would make sense to be referred to in quebec as "chatoquin" when dialectical variations are considered--almost all the areas it grows in were covered by the algonkin language family.

however, it does not only grow on dead trees. in fact it is a parasite that kills it's host. the actual function of this sterile growth is to hold open a fissure in a living tree so that the fungus itself can obtain what it needs through the bark which oherwise is quite an efficient cover for the tree. obviously, if given enough time it will be on a dead tree, but by that time it is usually too old to be of much value in firemaking. for firemaking we want the fresh stuff with the spongy spot in the interior.

sounds like you are having fun, take care, daniel

 

[musketman]

Here are some various strikers that are out there, most are the classic "C" shape with a few different styles for good measure...

 

[musketman]

There is always this route, Friction-Based Firestarting...

 

[squirejohn]

Well yesterday I checked about 200 birch trees but couldn't find any skatogan. I did find quite a bit of "Fomes fomentarius" or tinder conk, spunk, amadou etc. Took some of this home and charred it. It worked ok about the same as punk wood. However even after I dried it, it wouldn't catch a spark until it was charred. I guess I'll have to expand my search for skatogan beyond the "back forty". Good - it will give me more reasons to get out in the pucker brush

 

[Huntinfool]

Again excellent posts musketman. Thanks for all the effort.
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
I'm sure everyone appreciates it!

Keep Yer Powder Dry Fellers,
Chuck

 

[djnye]

musketman,

love the photos of the friction realm. i look at this type of firemaking similar to how you view the underlying reliability of the flintlock. caps can be lost, but one can usually find a rock that will spark. in starting fires, flint and seel and a spark catcher can be damaged or lost, but understanding the principles of the friction methods of firestarting will almost always allow for gathering what is needed and building fires.

by the way, in the illustration it suggests that the hearth and spindle be of the same hardwood. i would add that the wood selected also be non-resinous, and soft(one should be able to make a thumbnail mark in them fairly easily). aspen, willow, basswood, and also some softwoods like white cedar sapwood--when dry, are all excellent and there are many more everywhere.

again, thanks for the wonderful visual display.

take care, daniel

 

[crockett]

A long time ago I tried the bow and drill but the bow was a lot larger and all I got was smoke and charred wood. Everything was soft wood. I never got an ember, to my knowledge. How long does it take you to get a fire going with such a small outfit? When you get an ember do you place it on char cloth? It seems without char cloth you could blow out the ember and have to start all over again.

 

[musketman]

When you get an ember do you place it on char cloth? It seems without char cloth you could blow out the ember and have to start all over again.

You place it on tender of some sort, be it char, flax tow or dried grass and leaves...

An ember will form as soon as enough friction dictates it, it all depends on the effort put into it by the user...

I place a small piece of char cloth directly below the bow drill in the cutout socket, that way an ember drops onto it and starts glowing instantly... There is no transfer lag time this way...

Simply deposit the glowing ember and char onto a larger bunch of tender and gently fan into a flame...