help with a ferro rod.,,,please.

I have not tried moss although I am sure it would work great. The cat tails have proven to be very good. I am no even sure what fat wood looks like? Does it smell like vicks vapor rub?
 
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adam0321 said:
I have not tried moss although I am sure it would work great. The cat tails have proven to be very good. I am no even sure what fat wood looks like? Does it smell like vicks vapor rub?
Click to expand...
Fatwood is created when a resin producing tree (would probably be pine in your parts) is cut or knocked down. The roots still pruduce resin and it collects in the stump.

Once the tree dries out the resin stays collected in the wood. the outside of the stump will normally rot and become punky. Knock off the punky layers and get to the solid resin covered wood underneath. It will be kind of glossy and sticky and smell like a fresh cut pine tree.

here is a video that's pretty good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dVdepPA-gc
 
cool thank you. I will have to try that. I was glad that after a bit of practice I was able to get small enough shavings to catch spark.
 
adam0321 said:
I have not tried moss although I am sure it would work great. The cat tails have proven to be very good. I am no even sure what fat wood looks like? Does it smell like vicks vapor rub?
Click to expand...
It smells like turpentine, which I think, is part of the resin. When the sun is shining on a warm day, I can often find it here in Colorado by following my nose.
 
I wish my nose were that good. I always keep p cotton balls. But I like to know I can do it with natural tinder. Next. Is to try at night. Then on a rainy day.
 
I have some of those going gear ferro rods and they are okay, but I have found that the light my fire swedish firesteel works much better for me.

For me, it has absolutely NOTHING to do with how many gobs or sparks it throws. Maybe my technique will change in the future, but for me, it is all about producing a small bright spark that I can aim and control. I have never started a fire with natural materials by "throwing" gobs or sparks. It is more putting a small steel into the tinder and being able to produce a spark that makes contact with the tinder.

There is a lot of discussion about what tinder to use, and I find that preparation in getting the right tinder makes all the difference in the world. I need to learn more about what is out there, such as the fat wood. But I can tell you that the closer it is to either tissue paper (in my part of the country, this is something like paper bark) or feathery material (think the sorts of feather seed type materials you can find near water, such as the inside of the hotdog plants), the better it will take a spark. Also, old man's beard type materials have worked very well for me. i was in the desert and grabbed some of this and it lit up almost effortlessly. I personally have not had a lot of luck with straight wood or wood shavings, but I need to try the fat wood method.

Keep working with natural materials. To me, if you are going to use cotton balls and tissue, then might as well just use a lighter.
 
I agree. Lighting a cotton ball takes nothing. I at first just made wood shavings, no luck. Then I actualy turned the wood into saw dust and got it lit within 2 minutes. Perp is everything
 
One other point I wanted to make is not to think in terms of universal materials that work as tinder ... what will work well as tinder is determined by the environment you are in. I use entirely different materials from one environment to another. In some environments, everything seems to light up like a christmas trees. In others, even the seemingly perfect tinder gives you fits. Be observant as you are hiking around, collect tinder, and experiment and learn.
 
learn how to make and use charcloth, then move from ferro rod to flint and steel. Eventually you will move to friction fire (i haven't mastered this yet) and you won't need ANYTHING but natural materials.
 
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