playing with tinder

[kgd]

Still have this nasty cold and so I took the dogs for a short walk. Nothing ambitious, just took them around the neighborhood and behind the public school which has a bit of prairie.

Looking at the prairie this time of year, the tinder is abundant and easily had. Tonnes of dried fragmities, milkweed pods and dried weeds.

A little comparison...

First up - milkweed seeds - wow this stuff is great. One spark and it lit up, not only that, but it wasn't all flash. As the seeds caught fire a steady flame for a good 35-40 s or so. John's little kit knife did the striking. The squared spine really throws the sparks!

Next was the fragmities. This is all flash in the pan. One hit of the ferro rod and flames. However, by itself the flames only lasted about 5-7 seconds.

Finally, a thicker, more seedy plant. This one wasn't as easy to light. It would catch a spark alright, flame and just sort of smoulder. When I sprinkled a bit of milkweed around it, it went up pretty nicely though and burned for a good 60 s. I guess this plant is more like semi-kindling. The spine of the Kephy throws those sparks like the best of them!

Max helped judge things. He is the patient and more social dog of the pair. Beta can't keep still.

 

[kgd]

This shrub was in abundance and I didn't notice it before. At first I thought it was wild grape vines hanging on the tree, but nope.

Well I wasn't about to gobble the stuff down, but there was a slight bit of sugar taste to it. Doc - any idea what this is?

Now you might be wondering why I would take three knives around with me for a dog walk around the block? Well I need something for the camera to look at!

Fuzzy test....First the pathfinder

Then the JK

Both did pretty good, not as good as the mora #1 at this. The nod goes to the Breeden pathfinder for ease though. This has more to do with the geometry. I really thinned out the bevel on the pathfinder while the JK is still working off the initial edge. It will be thinned a bit in the future. Both handles feel great in the hands!

I read recently somebody complaining about O1 rusting easily and not forming a patina. I beg to differ. You can see the O1 pathfinder has a nice patina. The JK is in 1095, another carbon steel that I really like.

John's leatherwork as is Bryan's are tops in my books. However, the black mircata kephy is screaming for kydex. Normark is going to be getting a call after the holidays.

 

[KuRUpTD]

How those milkweed seeds took a spark is very impressive.

That Max is a good looking dog :thumbup:

Love the knives too.

Thanks

 

[JK Knives]

Looks like you had a nice day to get out, it`s snowing like crazy here, possible 3" expected. When I was younger we lived right next to a big prairie that looked just like the one you show, we were always running around there. Great photos!

 

[cmdr249]

Good report kgd.

I was going to take the boy out today and build a fire in the pit but it is raining waiting to change to snow.

Thanks for the pics and info.

 

[Will Power]

Impressive photography there:thumbup:

Those berries look like a shrub/tree here in Scandinavia whose Latin name is aronia. The berries are black with bloody juice, not favoured by birds except in extreme conditions as they have little nutrition or sugars, harmless though to us but bland and unattractive.

That fire-raising material is really an eye-opener, everything here is wet or snow ridden now, dark 19 hours of the day as well...

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Looks like Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). Check to see if there are spines on the tips of the short shoots. Also look at the leaf scars - if they're opposite or sub-opposite it is cathartica. There are a couple of other Buckthorns around but they have no spines AFAIK and generally, alternate leaves.

Generally considered a toxic berry. The species name cathartica refers to it being used, medically, as a cathartic, IIRC.

I've never really looked that close at the berries, though. The birds don't seem to be that fond of them, and so, they are seen in abundance, usually.

The bark will burn something like young cherry bark.

Doc

BTW, it is considered an invasive alien, although it is quite naturalized now.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Also, BTW, k you mentioned that you thought, at first, it looked like Wild Grapes (Vitis spp.) be aware that we have another poisonous look-alike called Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense).

It looks quite similar to Wild Grape. 3 things to help you differentiate is that Wild Grape has more than 1 seed, whereas Canada Moonseed has only 1 and it is shaped like a crescent moon, hence the name.

2.- Wild Grape climbs with the use of tendrils, whereas Moonseed's stalk twines around whatever it is climbing.

3- Moonseed leaves are peltate which means that the stalk of the leaf does not join the leaf on the margin (edge) of the leaf but rather somewhat inboard.

Many years ago, while out hiking with my daughter, I almost made the mistake of Moonseed instead of Grape!!!

Doc

 

[Fonly]

Nice spot Ken, too bad I wasn't around more of that here, Ive got good ol' soft wood surrounding me, fun......