Suggestions for firestarters

Normark said:
Hey Guys...



Birch bark is good,, but not always the answer..
In wet conditions it will fail, and something premade must be used..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Hey Eric,

What's up with that, bro? I've taken Birch bark off branches underwater and it burned like crazy.

Doc
 
Hey Doc...

I haven't had any luck with wet birch...

First of all I'm talking about catching a spark on birch bark...

I've never tried wet birch back with a flame....

I'm looking at things from a spark based standpoint,,not a flame based standpoint...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark said:
Hey Doc...

I haven't had any luck with wet birch...

First of all I'm talking about catching a spark on birch bark...

I've never tried wet birch back with a flame....

I'm looking at things from a spark based standpoint,,not a flame based standpoint...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Sorry, Eric,

I misunderstood. I was talking about it as a flame accelerant (when using a lighter, etc.)

Doc
 
I have one small issue regarding Birch bark.
I don't have any!!

Was in the woods yesterday, we have tons of poplars, oaks, maples, wild cherry, mulberry, locust, even some hickory and of course conifers/ pine trees. I didn't see one single Birch tree.
We call them "paper birch" and are more often seen as specimen trees in planned landscapes.

Tinder Fungus, while on this topic.....
In what regions do tinder fungii grow?

I'm sure we have fungii growing here and there, but, how would I know if it's "tinder" fungus.
 
SkunkWerX said:
I have one small issue regarding Birch bark.
I don't have any!!

Was in the woods yesterday, we have tons of poplars, oaks, maples, wild cherry, mulberry, locust, even some hickory and of course conifers/ pine trees. I didn't see one single Birch tree.
We call them "paper birch" and are more often seen as specimen trees in planned landscapes.

Tinder Fungus, while on this topic.....
In what regions do tinder fungii grow?

I'm sure we have fungii growing here and there, but, how would I know if it's "tinder" fungus.
Click to expand...

A link for 'True Tinder fungus'

A link for 'False Tinder fungus'.

True Tinder fungus (Inonotus obliquus) will catch a spark from flint and steel, False Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius - this is what the Iceman had with him, IIRC), without treatment, generally does not, allow I read somewhere that somebody could consistently get it to take a spark if they used the edge of a thinly sliced piece - haven't tried it myself yet.

BTW, Cherry (Prunus spp.) and Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) both have bark that will burn, just not as good as Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera).

Doc
 
I'm no means an expert...if I was I wouldn't be asking dumb questions here and lurking to glean every idea or suggestion offered...but at my basic skill level I have yet to find at least an ample supply of either fatwood or other materials to make tender in the wilderness.

You just gotta learn to find it and apply it...I have also not found a wilderness area yet where a fire couldn't be started (in dry or wet) with a Swedish Firesteel, Flint 'n Steel, or Bow/Drill without the aid of commerical tender or materials. The good Lord provided us with a sufficient supply of materials to work with and I'm finding more...I got tired of trying to learn by reading books, lurking on forums and messing around with commerical products and finally went out and got some one-on-one training. I've learned more in two days than in my entire lifetime in the woods prior.

I'm putting in a plug here for training...because knowledge and skills are light in the backpack and unlike cotton balls never run out when you need them the most and/or are not left behind.
 
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