firesteel tinder?

T

tkbill

Joined
Oct 30, 2006
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Hi all, I am trying to practice my firemaking skills, but can't seem to get a flame going with my firesteel. The tinder im using is dry grass that has been fluffed up a bit. Im using a small fluffy ball about the size of a golf ball. Do I need to make the bundle bigger, or maybee use some different type of tinder? Im trying to stay away from cotton balls, and stick with material i can find in my woods. Any ideay?
Thanks a bunch!
 
I use shaven bark more than grass,but field grass,what ever its called will work it broken down well enough.One of my favorite natural tenders is fat wood. I just scrape a small pile with my knife and it burns very well,and for a good while, much longer than magnesium shavings.

I had more trouble with natural materials until I practiced enough that I could light a paper towel or piece of waxed paper without shredding it.

Good luck!
 
Start with the cotton balls, and practice, practice, practice, and then move on to natural tinder.
 
Myakka is very correct. Start with some cotton balls and learn what takes a spark and why. Then try vaseline soaked cotton balls, then other tinders. Experimenting with different things is a lot of fun, too.
 
I agree with the above comments, start with stuff that should be relatively easy to ignite. Moving on to natural materials, I would take your dry grass ball and press my finger into the middle of it making an indentation where the sparks can be directed. Keep the ball lightly fluffed, you want plenty of air space.
 
What are you using for a striker? The ones that come with the firesteel are not very good. Find a hard steel striker with a sharp edge. The spine of many knives works well, and a piece of hacksaw blade does, too (try the back, not the teeth, if you don't want to wear out your firesteel too fast). And if you have a Spyderco Native, the notched thumbrest on the back of the blade really works well.

Hold the striker close to the tinder, and pull the firesteel away from the tinder, and you will be able to get the spark source closer to the tinder without knocking it all over the place.
 
Shredded and fluffed cedar bark might be the best natural tender I have found where I live, also cattail fluff, birch bark, any weed with a fluffy cottony seed head will work. Once you know what to look for it will be easy, grass will work but it is far from the best. Chris
 
Bigger firesteels throw hotter sparks. Sharper edges throw hotter sparks. Get your firesteel right down in the tinder so the sparks stay hotter.
 
Yup, start easy. Cotton balls or cotton dryer lint work well by themselves and when you add wax or PJ, they get much better.

While you're out and about in the bush, collect different possible tinder materials. Have a notebook with you and make notations including when, where, what part of the plant/tree it came from, etc. Practice with the material freshly gathered and dried completely to get an idea of what can be used immediately and what can't. What is a marginal material and what is best. It's a learning experience from A-Z and have fun with it.
 
Hey Guys..

TKbill...

I also agree with what everyone is saying..

As Longbow says..
Pay special attention to stuff you find in the outdoors..

Different kinds of bark from cedars, grapevines, underside of cottonwood bark, differnt fluff from plants ie. milkweed,dandilion,cat tails,horse tails, poplar cotton and the like all work Extremely well... bird feathers can also work...

The Scraper, because that is what you are doing,,scraping the firesteel..People will interchange them, however they are two different things...

A Scraper is what you use with a Firesteel

A Striker is what you use with flint as in Flint and Steel...

Not getting on anyones case,, because I do it myself All the time..Just trying to be a little more accurate with this...

Anyway..

The Striker,, Ummm I mean Scraper is a huge part of your firesteel.. I actually like the first scrapers that the Swedish steels came with.. The new style I don't care for so much...

Basically pitch the OEM scraper and use something else..Spine of a knife, a small paring knife even makes a Great Scraper..You could even get a full tang paring knife from the Thrift store, snap or grind off all but 2" of blade and that would be handy to use.
I have several different paring knives that I use...

Hacksaw blades also work well ,but I find them a bit flimsy and uncomfortable to hold..I prefer a little bit of something to hold onto...

you need something stiff and sharp...

Lambertina has the right idea about pulling the steel away from the scraper...This usually won't upset your tinder bundle...

You may also want to try some char cloth...
Very traditional method..

As for your tinder bundle,, you will what a nice sized bundle,,about the size of a baseball,, nice and tight,lots of Exposure for one of those sparks to catch..

If you use fluff, keep in mind that we regard these things as Flash tinder.. They ingite very easy,, however are gone in the blink of an eye..Gather as much as you can find,, have your fire set ready to go..
Preperation is 3/4 of the work in making a fire..On the first try!

Once you get a coal,, gather the bundle up,, hold it Above your head and blow on it as needed.. Try to blow through the bundle and hold it tightly together...

Once you have ignition,, add it to your fire set and you are good to go...

Have fun...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Practice make perfect with a fire steel. I have actually got dry dead leaves to light before but it is not easy. Toilet paper and cotton balls should are the easiest to ignite and you will have no problem with these.
 
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