Bamboo Tinder ?

Mistwalker

Mistwalker

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So…since I am messing around and working with bamboo anyway…I’ve read of friction fire making by rubbing two pieces of it together. So I thought I’d see how it did for tinder. This piece has been drying for a week or so now since I whittled the green off of it. It was easy enough to get some pretty fine slivers using the BK7, I’ll be trying other knives for this experiment along the way, but I couldn’t get this to catch by a spark. It was sundown and I ran out of patience with the mosquitoes and phone calls so I stuck a flame to it just too see how it burned. It actually ignited very quickly and burned pretty hot. I think there is definitely the possibility of getting it to catch a spark from a firesteel and I’ll try again tomorrow. Any body else out there have any experiences at using bamboo for tinder?

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BarberFobic1992 said:
it has worked for me. I scrape the bamboo rather than cut it though, it gets finer shavings.
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Cool, thanks. I was actually trying to get a mix of shavings and slivers thinking the thinner shavings would burn up very quickly. It's all still a new experiment for me. Since it grows so fast I am wondering about it's viability as a fuel source for cooking fires...I don't know if it puts off any bad smells or tastes yet.
 
Actually bamboo is used a lot here in the Philippines for a lot more than just fire starting. but as tinder works extremely well. but like barber said the scrapings work very well as tinder then the shavings added to that should provide an excellent mix. and in my experience it doesn't emit any bad taste or smells . In fact it can be used as the cooking pot in a survival situation.:D
 
direct 90 degree angle and a very sharp blade are the way to go. I tried to make a video at night demonstrating it with a machete but it came out bad. Check out youtube and bamboo fire saws.

Roll the tinder in your hand to break up the fibers.


J
 
I use bamboo quite alot, It does make good tinder and takes a flame easily as long as you scrape off the outer coating.
One thing I find though, is if you just burn bamboo on a fire you get a silly amount of oil in the smoke.
The bottom of my pot looks like its been dipped in tar after even just boiling water for a few minutes.
It does burn nice and hot but it burnes out really fast too so you need to use quite a lot.

I have used the bamboo saw method for lighting fires with some success but with all friction fire lighting its hard work, especially if its hot and humid. :p
 
Heres a few pics of a bamboo fuzz stick that took a flame with a fero rod spark.

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While not specifically about bamboo tinder I demonstrate the process in my machete modification video. Starting at about 2:30 in the video I show the tinder-making process I use. While I do this with bamboo, it also works with just about any hardwood.

Machete Modifications for the Bush

Mac
 
Picts video shows it very well. A well-squared spine of a knife or machete works the best for getting tinder scrapings that take a spark easily, in my experience. It also saves the blade for other things.
 
Thanks all for your input, it is much appreciated. I was thinking I may rather use a sharp spine edge. Lol, I get fussed at by some of my friends for using my edge to scrape fatwood dust and told to slice it in thin slivers, though old habits are hard to break and I still scrape with my edge at times...it just works better. I am definitely going to be practicing and training more with the bamboo. There really is a lot of it around here now and with "Global Warming" and all it grows pretty well here. People are even planting banana trees here now, even though they have to cover them in the winter, I don't remember any here when I was a kid. It'll be just my luck though if I spend the money on the type I want to grow...I'll get it planted and growing good and then we'll go through another "mini ice age" like we had in the seventies :rolleyes:
 
I grew up in the sub-uruban and rural areas here in my country. The usual species that around here was the green, thorny kind. It's actually the staple firewood in my grandfolks' home in the farm, as it was plentiful and renewable. Just as long as it dried well, it's more than OK for tinder.
 
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untamed said:
I grew up in the sub-uruban and rural areas here in my country. The usual species that around here was the green, thorny kind. It's actually the staple firewood in my grandfolks' home in the farm, as it was plentiful and renewable. Just as long as it dried well, it's more than OK for tinder.
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Thanks for the information, what is your country?
 
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