Cold hands, warm flames

[Shoki]

I just went for a quick walk in the woods to try and find some Tinder Fungus and mess with my new puukko. It was getting pretty dark and the temperature at my house read 24 degrees F so I didn't want to hang out too long but brought my fire making and emergency pack just in case. After about 15 minutes of wandering and following some fox tracks in circles, I came accross a stump with a bunch of False Tinder Fungus growing on it.

I knocked a medium-sized piece off and decided to see if I cold get it to catch a spark.

The gloves I was wearing were a bit to bulky for fine work so I had to shed them to scrape and carve some fine pieces with the puukko. Once I had a nice nest of fine pieces sitting in the hollow, I tried getting them to light with my firesteel. After three unsuccessful attempts, I got a little impatient. My hands were freezing and really starting to get clumsy and I was losing light fast. Committed to experimenting with the FTF, I pulled out a PJ ball to help get things rolling. Two strikes on the firesteel and the PJ ball caught and flames sprang to life.

Success! Now that I had a healthy flame going, I decided to warm my hands and quickly found a birch that had nice fluffy bark that came off the trunk in practically pre-shredded handfuls. I tossed a couple handfuls on the flame and warmed my frigid fingers.

Once I could feel my digits again I snapped a couple of pics of my new woods companions.

Once my tiny fire had died, I checked the FTF and it was smoldering slightly with a pleasant-smelling smoke rising from the ember.

I walked all the way home with the fungus and when I reached my doorstep it was still going strong. I'd say it's an excellent way to transport an ember but I don't know if I'd go hunting for it in freezing conditions if I needed tinder. I think I'll go back tomorrow and try and catch a spark with the Amadou and see how it goes.

 

[99f250]

Looks like fun, is that blood on your finger?

 

[Shoki]

Looks like fun, is that blood on your finger?

Yeah, I nicked my thumb slightly on a sharp edge of my firesteel striker. I think I'll just use the spine of my knife next time since it works better anyway.

 

[99f250]

So did the FTF ever start burning? We got lots of that stuff around here! But no real stuff.

 

[Shoki]

Nope, just smoldered once the birch had burned off.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

So did the FTF ever start burning? We got lots of that stuff around here! But no real stuff.

Don't discard False Tinder fungus too quickly. It makes an excellent coal extender, for one thing.

It can be also treated to make it able to catch a spark from flint and steel.

What we call False Tinder fungus here, is what the Europeans (at least some of them) call True Tinder fungus. This is what Otzi (the Iceman) had with him.

They also used to 'felt' it. I have a picture somewhere, of a hat made from felted False Tinder fungus. At least I think it was felted - guess we'll have to check with Hushnel.

Doc

 

[Shoki]

It does seem to be excellent for transporting an ember, burning strong without consuming very much mass. I just couldn't get it to catch a spark and ignite.

 

[Shoki]

Went for another walk today in the same area. I was hunting for True Tinder Fungus and Fatwood again and spent about an hour and a half wandering about in the snow. The snowflakes were larger, wetter, and more abundant today which gave the woods that mystical, hazy feeling I love but kept my hat and gloves wet. I left the camera at home this time in fear of it getting wet and damaged so no pics this time around. I found a few large pine stumps and kicked them apart, not managing to find any fatwood. I still don't know exactly where and how to look for it so I didn't waste too much time busting them apart. After the third stump, I switched gears and started to search for fungus instead and found a nice area full of birch. After twenty minutes or so, I did manage to find what looked like Tinder Fungus but it happened to be about seven or eight feet above my head and impossible to knock off with a stick. I wandered in loops for a while and realized I was starting to work up a powerful thirst so I headed back to where I started my fire yesterday. I found a nice flat rock to build a small fire on, collected a couple of handfuls of birch bark, some small pine twigs, another chunk of False Tinder Fungus and filled my stainless cup with fresh snow. I left the PJ balls at home, confident I could get a fire going without them, and quickly regretted that decision. I first tried to catch a spark in the Amadou of my fungus but after 20 strikes, didn't have any success. Luckily, it was a little warmer today so my fingers were cooperating but things were getting wet and snowy much more quickly than yesterday. I switched over to some fine shreds of birch bark and got a tiny flame going in short order. With the help of the pine twigs and some dry leaves, I managed to melt a few handfuls of snow and quenched my thirst. It's funny how much comfort you find in a small fire and a few mouthfuls of warm water when the weather is wet and cold. I think with a little bit of jerky and a tea bag, I probably could have hung out in that spot happily until nightfall! Once I was refreshed, I kicked some snow over the ashes and explored a bit more, examining the tracks as I went. Near an unfrozen section of stream, I found some Snowshoe Hare tracks that loped to the water and then off into the woods. I followed them for a bit and noticed that at one point, the Hare broke into a sprint and bolted. Nearby, I found the reason why: Bobcat tracks! They were about twenty or thirty yards from the hare tracks and didn't seem to indicate that the Bobcat broke into a run but did follow the general direction of the Hare's. I wonder if he caught his dinner! It was around this time that it was getting a bit dark and I didn't want to risk not being able to follow my own tracks back home, especially with the heavy snow coming down, so I headed back. My fungus and fatwood hunt was a total bust but I had fun anyway! I think I'll be sure to have the PJ balls with me every time from now on but I'm pretty happy that I can make due without them if I need to.

 

[Mistwalker]

Cool pics, the flame shots are awesome.

I have been playing with horse hoof fungus here too, I can get ti to coal...now to take that further i suppose.

 

[99f250]

To find fatwood all you have to look for is a pine tree that has fallen on its own due to age, rot or pine beetles even, when the tree dies the resin settles in the bottom and the roots, even if you find one that is pretty old you can still dig up the roots pretty easily, their the best part anyway, I could find a hundred pounds a day around here. Found a 25lb piece yesterday a hundred yards from my back yard.

 

[Shoki]

I think I just haven't been digging deep enough. The stumps are pretty frozen so it's hard to get down in there. I'll give it another go tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[fishkev236]

Ive heard about using that fungus.. not a bad idea.. now im curious and wanna give that a shot.

 

[Shoki]

I did some experimenting with dryer lint today and had some excellent results. The lint came from the industrial dryers at work and was taken after several loads consisting only of towels. This lint is like the Ferrari of lint; fine, white, and really soft.

I tested a piece about half the size of a cotton ball in the driveway and it caught a weak spark on the first try and burned for over a minute. Always the tinkerer, I was immediately thinking of ways to further improve both it's burn time and it's flammability. Petroleum jelly would be to tough to work into it without getting my fingers covered in a thick coat of powdered cotton so that was out. Melted wax yielded crumbly chunks that didn't ignite well at all. I thought about naptha but figured it would evaporate too readily in a container that wasn't leak-proof. I settled on lamp oil as it's less volatile than naptha and easier to apply than PJ. I filled an empty diabetes test strip container with the invention and set off into the woods.

It's officially my new favorite fire starter. I bought a crappy magnesium bar/firesteel from Walmart today and even the horribly weak spark I got out of it set the ball ablaze. It burned bright and hot, despite sitting directly on the ice and got my little fire going in record time. I know you guys who carry PJB or TJB like the dual purposes for those but you have to give lint and lamp oil a try. Here's a couple shots from my phone, sorry about the lack of quality:

 

[tonym]

This lint is like the Ferrari of lint; fine, white, and really soft.

I tested a piece about half the size of a cotton ball in the driveway and it caught a weak spark on the first try and burned for over a minute.

Really, a minute?



On the False Tinder fungus. You are not gonna get it to flame, that is not what it is used for. When it is dry, it will catch a spark, and smolder for a looong time. You can take that ember and add it to a tinder bundle, then blow it to a flame. It is cool stuff:thumbup: Good to see you getting out and trying different things.:thumbup:

 

[revolverman357]

I filled an empty diabetes test strip container with the invention and set off into the woods.

I use the same; diabetes test strip container but stuffed with pjcb's. I figure since I have diabetes, I may as well get some dual purpose use from the supplies.

 

[Shoki]

I use the same; diabetes test strip container but stuffed with pjcb's. I figure since I have diabetes, I may as well get some dual purpose use from the supplies.

I get them from my father in law and they really do come in handy. I've had to carve labels in the lids because I've got so many now.

Really, a minute?

I didn't time it but it burned for much longer than I expected. Maybe I'll get out my stopwatch and do some more experimenting.