Lets talk firestarting

[tenngun]

I spent my spare time for a few months trying to determine what our ancestors used to catch a spark. In a culture that had only 1 or 2 shirts charcolth probably was not used. I found that punk oak or grapevine bark would make char. The nice thing about punk oak is that once it caught a spark you had a small coal. I did this in western NY initially . The downside of this was you had to strike down with the flint rather than to hold the char on top of the flint

They chared and used anything that would catch a spark. However char cloth is not a modren invention. Eighteenth century diffintion of ‘tinder’ is chared linen cloth for fire starting. And rag-tinder was a common way of saying it.

 

[JCKelly]

Wanna cheat just a little on "char cloth"? Keep a little 4F steel wool in your shoe. Yes, the finest steel wool made. Catches fire nicely from your flint & steel spark maker.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

What about simple shavings of dead wood in the pan? I’m sure if dry and tiny… that would ignite, Easy start to a tinder.

The feather stick certainly would work with a pinch of the Good old “Pepper” if that’s not cheating.

Please give it a try.

 

[tenngun]

We think of this as a common skill that died out with the invention of matches. Just something everyone knew how to do, as it was so basic.
However we have accounts in letters and diaries sent back to Europe on how Americans or Canadians made fire. The fact I’d most people lived in a community. Only a few yards from a neighbor. If your fire went out you ran next door to borrow a coal. As small a percentage of eighteenth century world could make a fire as todays world.

 

[tenngun]

Please give it a try.

I’ve had uncharded tow and cat tail fluff catch a spark, but very one off.
Wood shaved thin enough to catch a spark will probably be to dense to hold it long enough.
i would hazard that it would be rare forevery thing to fall in to place, and thenhow would you move it from pan to nest with out it going out?
Would I bet it couldn’t be done, but
When someone tells you they can do the impossible in a bar bet, don’t take the bet.

 

[Rató:rats]

Love to see a vid of a feather stick taking a spark from F & S

 

[windini]

Here is a really good read that isn’t overly technical or long.

http://threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html

Excellent article, thanks for linking!

 

[J. Paul]

What causes the challenge? There are some bad strikers out there. I got some samples from Crazy Crow once and none would make a spark.

I made a dozen several years ago. Hardened and tempered all of them I thought the same. 3 were fantastic for spark, 9 sporadic at best. Acquaintance took them to his shop that night and brought them back the next day. 1000% improvement in spark, he simply remembered in his oven, I had left them too hard

 

[Africa58double]

I like the Flintlock- Char Video… Exceptionally Easy to do. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to simply have a glowing ember in a short time frame.

If All I had was a dry feather stick- a pinch of Black powder and my flintlock rifle- I’m 100% certain I would have that Feather stick on fire in a very quick amount of time.

These are my thoughts- and don’t need to be anyone else’s. Yet there is usually more than two ways to accomplish a Goal.

Shavings Ignite in pan (Bp sprinkle if need)- Move Cock back out of way… feather stick next to pan as Trigger is pulled. In my opinion- that seems pretty easy.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I like the Flintlock- Char Video… Exceptionally Easy to do. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to simply have a glowing ember in a short time frame.

If All I had was a dry feather stick- a pinch of Black powder and my flintlock rifle- I’m 100% certain I would have that Feather stick on fire in a very quick amount of time.

These are my thoughts- and don’t need to be anyone else’s. Yet there is usually more than two ways to accomplish a Goal.

Shavings Ignite in pan (Bp sprinkle if need)- Move Cock back out of way… feather stick next to pan as Trigger is pulled. In my opinion- that seems pretty easy.

Standing by for your demonstration video.

 

[Rató:rats]

I couldn’t get it to catch spark
Extra dry white cedar feather stick
Sorry for the first image quality
In the video the lock is a Chambers Virginia

 

[Africa58double]

I need to know how to upload a video and I would try.

Shave Wood to much finer Curls
Scrape wood to almost powder- place in pan-sprinkle a smidge of Bp and have a “Curled”feather stick next to pan.

Perhaps it’s impossible and I’m imagining it to be possible.

 

[flntlokr]

Lint ...often scraped off clothes, was frequently used in old days for dressings. I have no doubt it was also used as tinder. Lint has been around as long as ...laundry.

I agree; it's the best thing I have used. 'No spark goes uncaught.'

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I need to know how to upload a video and I would try.

Shave Wood to much finer Curls
Scrape wood to almost powder- place in pan-sprinkle a smidge of Bp and have a “Curled”feather stick next to pan.

Perhaps it’s impossible and I’m imagining it to be possible.

Perhaps, but that would be catching flame. Same as what ignites the main charge.

 

[Rató:rats]

I need to know how to upload a video and I would try.

Shave Wood to much finer Curls
Scrape wood to almost powder- place in pan-sprinkle a smidge of Bp and have a “Curled”feather stick next to pan.

Perhaps it’s impossible and I’m imagining it to be possible.

I think it could work after a few pan flashes to char the feather stick some and get a little powder residue on it. Powder is too dear up here for me to do all that right now. As for getting a feather stick to take spark from a handheld flint and steel I’m doubtful, I think the sparks from the steel just aren’t hot enough

 

[J. Paul]

We tried a thin layer of blackpowder on charcloth once as, because we could once. When powder ignited in a puff, the char was unlit

 

[Africa58double]

I’ve got 20 lbs of powder… a nats eyelash amount shouldn’t worry me to start a fire.

 

[Billy Boy]

Best we've ever found is dryer lint - gray stuff from the filter. Used it many times for Boy Scout training. Not HC, but it works. Sometimes smells like dog hair.

At our house it smells like cat hair

 

[Africa58double]

I’ve got a nice low dead locust branch..I’ll grab the hatchet a day when it’s not raining and give it a go. I’ll video it and see if I can upload my dismissal failure

Standing by for your demonstration video.

 

[toot]

Yes, I have one. Milkweed ovum burns really fast, so you will want to transfer the ember to a coal extender such as punk.

thank you so much for the answer / video to the question that I asked. toot.