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Torch/Touchwood
- Thread starter KHickam
- Start date
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Do you mean fatwood? There are a few things that can/could be called torch/touchwood,,in different regions.
What's yer referance? for light, fast fires or tinder?
What's yer referance? for light, fast fires or tinder?
Tinder - I am not talking pitch pine or the like - this is a fungus that is said to grow on wood that when charred is hard to extinguish. I was just wondering what it looked like and if it was dried first then charred or what have other people done.
Mike Ameling was the expert on the subject, but he is no longer with us. 
The North American tinder fungus doesn't need any prep except that you need to peel the outside. Use the orange inside part. They say you can use it fresh off the tree.
Other fungi like the European amadou need to be boiled in nitrate or urine (haven't tried that one :shocked2: ). Pre-charring also helps these.
The North American tinder fungus doesn't need any prep except that you need to peel the outside. Use the orange inside part. They say you can use it fresh off the tree.
Other fungi like the European amadou need to be boiled in nitrate or urine (haven't tried that one :shocked2: ). Pre-charring also helps these.
Here ya go,,good luck finding a tree in SD
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/dec2001.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGgZ6jpVnCo
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/dec2001.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGgZ6jpVnCo
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Well i don't know what the dfferens betveen the sort you would find in the us and the sort we have here in Sweden. But this is how i have been doing it. I use a band saw to cut the fungus in to 5mm strips and then let them soak in a mixture of birch ash and water a couple of days and then drying them. The end result looks like suède and it catches sparks really good. I have never tried to use the fungus "as is" so i can't say how that would work.
Hapy fire making :thumbsup:
Mathias
Hapy fire making :thumbsup:
Mathias
Rod Lassey
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As Pichou noted, there are two types of tinder fungus--the hoof fungus shown above, and this stuff:
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/tinder/tinderfungus/true.html
It needs no prep, it'll catch a spark as is. Trying to find it is the problem for me, birch are scarce in western ND, and the few that we do have are remarkably fungal-free. A buddy of mine brought me some from the Turtle Mountains, and the stuff really works.
Alternatively, you can use charred wood--which is what I thought you were initially posting about. Just light one end of some punky half-rotted wood on fire, then exclude oxygen from it. Bury it alongside the campfire, or place in an airtight container. It'll char some on the lit end, then go out. Some woods work better than others, cottonwood and elm work great, ash doesn't work as well in my experience. Been trying some birch tonight, it shows promise as well.
Rod
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/tinder/tinderfungus/true.html
It needs no prep, it'll catch a spark as is. Trying to find it is the problem for me, birch are scarce in western ND, and the few that we do have are remarkably fungal-free. A buddy of mine brought me some from the Turtle Mountains, and the stuff really works.
Alternatively, you can use charred wood--which is what I thought you were initially posting about. Just light one end of some punky half-rotted wood on fire, then exclude oxygen from it. Bury it alongside the campfire, or place in an airtight container. It'll char some on the lit end, then go out. Some woods work better than others, cottonwood and elm work great, ash doesn't work as well in my experience. Been trying some birch tonight, it shows promise as well.
Rod
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good link Rod, I was trying to find it. I've had better luck with the birch fungus than the
Fomes fomentarius/horse hoof myself.
Both seem to catch better if done like the youtube video, where ya scrape some off into a powdered pile and strike the flint downward on the steel sending sparks to land on it and catch.
I've tried charring the hoof stuff and using it like char cloth,,holding it on the stone and striking with little luck. There are better natural things to char and use.
The Fomes fomentarius does make a good punk, if you start it smoldering in a fire it could be carried for some time. Tried it at a camp one time, tossed it in the fire to start, then took it out and set it aside, next morning it was still going and still had much of its size left.
For Mathias,,it's very likley the same stuff, curious though, Why do you soak in birch ash? does it make it easier to use? Do you then scrape it or just use the cut piece as is?
Fomes fomentarius/horse hoof myself.
Both seem to catch better if done like the youtube video, where ya scrape some off into a powdered pile and strike the flint downward on the steel sending sparks to land on it and catch.
I've tried charring the hoof stuff and using it like char cloth,,holding it on the stone and striking with little luck. There are better natural things to char and use.
The Fomes fomentarius does make a good punk, if you start it smoldering in a fire it could be carried for some time. Tried it at a camp one time, tossed it in the fire to start, then took it out and set it aside, next morning it was still going and still had much of its size left.
For Mathias,,it's very likley the same stuff, curious though, Why do you soak in birch ash? does it make it easier to use? Do you then scrape it or just use the cut piece as is?
Yes soaking it in birchashlye (that is what you get when adding water to the ash, there is other recipies but this is the simplest) will make it easier to catch and hoald spark. After drying i just run it through my fingers to soften it. then i it is ready to use.
Regards
Mathias
Regards
Mathias
I harvested a large amount of true tinder fungus this summer in the eastern mountains of WV. That's the only place I can find it here. I live in the western part of the state, and it doesn't grow here. True tinder fungus..aka chaga..is great stuff to work with. I'll say that it does seem to work a little better if you allow it to dry naturally, but it will catch a spark fresh off the tree.
It's pretty easy to recognize once you find some. It looks like a burnt, black mass growing on the side of the tree. It doesn't have a particular shape or form like a hoof fungus.
This is what works best for me. I scrape some of the inner orange part with my knife..making a powder. I knock a spark onto the powder which catches easily. I then take a larger piece and catch it on the powder. Once you get it lit, it won't go out unless you pour water on it.
You can also make a tea from this stuff, but I haven't tried it yet. It is supposedly full of antioxidants, and it is a natural cancer fighter. It also smells good when it is burning...sort of like incense. I've read that you can inhale the smoke to help with a headache.
It's pretty easy to recognize once you find some. It looks like a burnt, black mass growing on the side of the tree. It doesn't have a particular shape or form like a hoof fungus.
This is what works best for me. I scrape some of the inner orange part with my knife..making a powder. I knock a spark onto the powder which catches easily. I then take a larger piece and catch it on the powder. Once you get it lit, it won't go out unless you pour water on it.
You can also make a tea from this stuff, but I haven't tried it yet. It is supposedly full of antioxidants, and it is a natural cancer fighter. It also smells good when it is burning...sort of like incense. I've read that you can inhale the smoke to help with a headache.
Does it take on moisture and become less usable? Seems I read somewhere that is the case. Will the soaking in the lye water help prevent this? Is this also called "tinder cock"? I have a piece I got at the Bloody Lake rendezvous in May that I haven't experimented with yet. Curious minds want to know.... :hmm:
Well i didn't have to resort to having plates of porrigde out for the "tomten", but i stumbled over it when t was looking for some other stuff at my mothers and i can say it worked like a charm even tho it had been laying on the concrete floor for over a year, the striker had gone a bit rusty...
Regards
Mathias
Regards
Mathias
