View Full Version : Tinder
Greenleaf
22-08-2008, 22:55
Hopefully we might end up with a decent sized list...
Best tinder? Easiest to aquire?
Dry wood shavings/bark is good, best off a dry stick rather than a sappy pine.
I find the heads of bull rushes quite good, you know the fluffy ones.
Standing dead wood split down or scraped into small bits...The easiest to find tinder me thinks..
Bulrush seed heads will flare up fast with a spark, but I have never seen them hold a flame. Good mixed with other tinders though.
Standing dead wood split down or scraped into small bits...The easiest to find tinder me thinks..
Bulrush seed heads will flare up fast with a spark, but I have never seen them hold a flame. Good mixed with other tinders though.
sorry yeh thats what i meant, i have used them as a 'core' in amongst others stuff such as dead wood shaving or birch bark etc
I always carry some cotton wool at it takes a spark really easy, also some with petroleum jelly rubbed into it.
Second tinder of choice for me is birch bark some whole and some scrapings
Third is char cloth, I carry a small amount in a plastic film container in my pocket.
Lastly I carry either a hexi block which I scrape a little pile off and pile the scrapings on top of the block. I am at the moment trying out that tinder block stuff that's supposed to burn even when wet but so far it looks like I'll have to do the same with that as I do with the hexi block as until now been unable to light it whole from a ferro rod direct.
I also carry inner tube cuttings, although not tinder it does however assist greatly once I get a flame, and even a small piece burns quite a long time.
Fluff from the tumble dryer, not very "bushy" i know. I find it does tend to flare up, but as mixed with wood shavings, and its re-cycling !:)
Need to search my belly button but it's been so long since I last seen it. Lol
Tinder needs to be first rate as its criticle that it starts your fire first time, Birch Bark is good lights even if it gets wet if used properly, Fat wood / Fat or resinous Pine / Maya sticks what ever you like to call it can be used if it gets wet also can be feather sticked or scraped up and lit with a fire steel, avoid Maya dust as can soak up water, carry a couple of sticks in your pack, as said cotton wool and petrolium jelly aka Vaseline is superb also but must be kept dry Petrolium Jelly added to any fluffy tinder improves it no end, slices of rubber inner tube will light with a lighter whan wet and burn long, there are loads of things you can use but it is important its kept dry, mine is in a tobacco pouch and always kept full and a couple of thick rubber bands hold it tightly closed they also can be used to light the fire, and i keep 2 tinder pouches with me at all times one on my person and one in a small dry bag in my pack and each one contains a pack of MOD matches from a RAT pack a small spare fire steel and a small gas lighter. When the chips are down you need a fire quickly, and theres no such thing as cheating to get a life saving fire going quickly.
Old mans beard is great and will catch from a ferro also dry dead pine needles are again good for a flare up but doesn't last long.
Anyone mentioned dry grass or dead gorse yet, and meths of course, obvious I know but fits into the stream.
Also if you get some really fine sawdust put it into a baccy tin and squirt a good bit of lighter fluid into it then keep the lid closed until needed keeping it dry and airtight works a treat just strike a spark onto it with the lid off naturally and hey presto ! you can the light your secondary tinder from it and replace the lid snuffing it out ready for the next time. Only thing is it does need refreshing from time to time with more lighter fluid. but a really good method if in a hurry if a little bulky.
Best thing i've found for starting a wet fire...is pottasium pomanganate & Glycerine (vaseline) mixed, think pin head amount PP to pea size vasaline,mix with a stick & leave for a moment :wink: be every careful as it will burn through metal, & no it's not cheating as i say every FaK should have both products & you should always have a FaK with you :wink:
Cattail Down: Taken from the downy seed head of the Cattail plant during Spring. Excellent for use with a magnifying glass or modern sparks. The same can be said for thistle, Rosebay Willowherb and Dandelion seed heads.
Punk Wood: Soft, decaying wood can be crumbled and lit with sparks providing it is dry.
Wood Shavings: Some wood can be scraped into thin shreds for tinder. See also Feather Sticks.
Resin: Conifers “bleed” resin when damaged, this burns bright and strong. Collect large amounts for improvised candles.
Horsehoof’s Fungus (Fomes fomentarius): This is found on dead birch and beech trees. To produce the useful part you must strip off the outer layer and remove the spores from beneath. This will leave you with a leathery brown layer. Simmer the fungus for 24 hours then hammer it out flat and massage hardwood ash into the fungus until it has dried. This will leave you with a tinder known as amadou which can be lit with sparks. Alternatively instead of boiling you could just scrape up the amadou layer with a knife to produce fine fibres, these should light from modern sparks.
Crampball (Daldinia concentrica): Crampball is another fungus that can be used for firelighting. Although rare outside the UK, it is very good tinder which can even be used to substitute charcoal to cook over. Break it open and ignite the core which is surrounded by silver rings.
Birch Bark Shavings: This is an excellent fire starter when used in conjuction with the natural peelings of the Silver Birch tree. The oils within the bark will help it ignite easily. Scrape the outer side of the bark with a sharp knife so you are left with a golf ball size pile. This can then be ignited with sparks. You can also do the same process with red cedar bark.
Other Tinders: dried grasses, feather sticks, tissue paper, shredded bark, termite mounds (crumble a chunk), powdery dry animal droppings, cotton fluff and lint.
Dead Bracken: A readily available tinder excellent for use with friction fire lighting. Strip the dry leaves and "buff up". Dries quickly and is an effective tinder.
A combination of this has always worked for me:
Firesteel
Cotton ball or dryer lint
Fuzz stick made from inner wood of a split log
Small splits from said log
Large splits from said log
Carrying a knife, firesteel and cotton ball is easy, and finding dead wood is pretty easy as well.
The cotton and firesteel is my preferred method, by far.
My wife uses cotton discs for removing makeup and so on. They are already compressed externally but cottony on the inside (yum) and therefore take up zero space. Pulling the two halves apart make an excellent nest for a spark and having a compressed outer bit burn quite a while without the need for petroleum jelly. However it still feels like cheating to me so i'm hunting for natural stuff that will take a spark (no luck so far). Birch bark seems to be a bit hit and miss. Probably bad technique.
My wife uses cotton discs for removing makeup and so on. They are already compressed externally but cottony on the inside (yum) and therefore take up zero space. Pulling the two halves apart make an excellent nest for a spark and having a compressed outer bit burn quite a while without the need for petroleum jelly. However it still feels like cheating to me so i'm hunting for natural stuff that will take a spark (no luck so far). Birch bark seems to be a bit hit and miss. Probably bad technique.
For ember tinder its the peelings off the birch rather than the bark itself, you want. The birch naturally sheds its bark and you can often find the tree with very fine bits of bark peeling off. Take these and use as an ember nest..
I like the cotton disc idea, new one on me, like you say, already compressed....
Fluff from the tumble dryer, not very "bushy" i know. I find it does tend to flare up, but as mixed with wood shavings, and its re-cycling !:)
Likewise, Dryer fluff, mixed with fine wood shavings (dry twigs & pencil sharpener) mixed and shaped in a cling filmed ice tray, and an old eye-drop bottle with methylated spirit’s a couple of drops and off she goes…..:)
leangth of hemp rope with a knot in it, you fluff one end up and hit it with a ferro rod it burns long enough to catch your kindling then pull it out so you can re use it, the knot prevents it burning back ;)
thistle down works really well at this time of year but be warned it goes off like petrol ,whump!!!, and its gone so have other tinder around the outside of it
I made some home-made waxed paper over the weekend to put in my fire starting kit - took two sheets of newspaper for each, folded till about 6" wide, rolled them up tightly and tied up with string.
Then all you need to do is shave down some old candle ends, heat them up in a foil chinese container over your trangia and throw in the rolled lengths of newspaper. Waterproof and burns well if lit from a lighter or match (you could always unroll them to make them go further) - the ones on the RM website (£8 for three!) claim that you can light them with sparks from a firesteel but I'm not sure if you could do that with these - maybe the Mearsy ones are impregnated with some other chemical as well.
another good one is kitchen roll using the same process you can even put a wick inside and use that to tie it up candle come firelighter.
Carrying cotton balls in a little vaseline can be a pain. Containers get all mucked up and sticky.
A good method is to creat some "firestraws."
- Cut a length of 3-4" drinking straw. Pinch end with pliers, melt closed with lighter.
- Take a cotton ball, shred into 4-5 smaller pieces, swipe in some vaseline and stuff into the straw with a straight paper clip.
- Pack tight and pinch open end, melt closed.
You now have a waterproof fire starter that is easy to carry and easy to use. Cut open tube, pull most or all of the cotton out and give it some sparks. The straw will burn well too, creating a nice little fuel to get other natural tinders started.
Carrying cotton balls in a little vaseline can be a pain. Containers get all mucked up and sticky.
A good method is to creat some "firestraws."
- Cut a length of 3-4" drinking straw. Pinch end with pliers, melt closed with lighter.
- Take a cotton ball, shred into 4-5 smaller pieces, swipe in some vaseline and stuff into the straw with a straight paper clip.
- Pack tight and pinch open end, melt closed.
You now have a waterproof fire starter that is easy to carry and easy to use. Cut open tube, pull most or all of the cotton out and give it some sparks. The straw will burn well too, creating a nice little fuel to get other natural tinders started.
Good one, I like it...
It's all I use now. I can fit about 3/4 of a large cotton ball into a 3" straw. I cut it in half, fluff some of the cotton and get a spark to it. Then light the other half like a cigarette basically and when the hard packed cotton and straw take flame, it will burn for a pretty long time. I'd say every bit of 5-6 minutes.
I like that idea too, great tip mate.
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