urban firemaking-sorta long n rambling...with no real point

sadiejane

sadiejane

Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
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ok so i live in the urban core. fortunately, at my home in kc, the neighborhood is such, an open firepit is a non-issue. it even legal here, as long as it can be covered and is primarily used for cooking. well i do cook on it fairly often, but more so just sit n stare into it. many of my neighbors cook outside often. this is the inner city. my neighbors to the south are from rural laos and cook out almost every nite no matter weather. my neighbors on the north are korean and iraqi. they also cook outside quite a bit. tho both are from urban areas of their respective countries.
i dont buy firewood, but scavenge off the streets. sometimes i have wood from trees cut down. lots of folks have it cut into firewood size pieces and piled on the curb. often tho i only have lumber from construction sites. no i don't steal lumber, but ask permission if theres someone to ask, and only take from the "scrap pile". amazing how much very usable wood is taken to the landfill. i collect and share with friends/neighbors if the woods big enough for use other than the firepit.
anyhoos thought id share a bit o firemaking fun from last nite.
the firewood pile
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some kindling
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didnt get pix of actually making the fire. reckon i was too busy getting it going. and to be honest, i didnt want you guys to see my pitiful attempts at fuzzsticks. for some reason, tho ive practiced LOTS, they never come out "pretty" tho functional enuf...
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did a bit of batoning on 2x4s, 1x4s, and 2x6s. later decided to take an already split in half piece of hedge and quarter it.
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one thing ya have to be careful with using lumber is the possibility of nails or staples. while batoning with my newish robert hawk custom i bit into a hidden staple. it took a bite outta the blade.
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nothing a bit o time n patience wont remove.
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used an old handmade beast i found at a yard sale years ago to take apart the hedge. this is one i split last fall, been in the basement drying. split it again last nite to take a bit to the shop. see if its ready to start working on some knife scales. gotta love that color.
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used the hest to take apart some 2x4s no problemo. even with knots like this. hhmmm, that knot looks a tad like fatwood....
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really dig this little blade. one spark from that fatass firesteel onto a bit of lint with pj and whoosh-fire!
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of course as the evening wears on and theres been a few beers....put the knives away and throw big stuff into the pit
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just a typical nite in my hood. thanks
 
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Awesome pics. I grew up cooking out a lot over a fire pit, a hibachi, or a grill. I think the food tastes much better and it saves on energy costs as well.

BTW...fuzz sticks aren't about aesthetics....they're about creating flames. As long as they work...that's all that matters.
 
Great pics buddy !

Be carefull what wood you use when cooking though, you don't want to be using wood that's been treated or has paint on !
 
yeah i weed out the treated stuff, as you can see in the pix i did burn some painted stuff last nite, but rarely do that. not just for my own sake but for the neighborhood in general. most "indoor" lumber is not treated. dont burn plywood either. that glue is really bad along with the "fiberboard" stuff. mostly its all untreated pine, with some cedar and once in awhile oak. last batch i picked up had a bunch, albiet smallish, pieces of lovely unfinished walnut. needless to say that did not end up in the firepit. along with lots of oak tongue n groove for flooring(also glued-they dont router it anymore) that all went to a pals house who building a new back porch. that will be the floor. some may not understand this on wss, but for me, surviving in the urban environment is often about scavenging and salvaging what i cannot afford. nor should i buy new when there plenty already available that we would otherwise pay to be hidden out of sight in landfills. besides i also like to practice the skills i use in the woods while at home, esp in the winter and the wet. good to know you can do all those things before ya walk all day from the vehicle/trailhead
 
cool, maybe you can scan and post here. someone asked but now i cant find it....thanks
 
Cool, I wish I had a firepit to play with. I love fire, and practicing ways of making it. That Hawk knife is really nice.
 
That hedge as you call it, that you had drying in the basement looks a lot like locust wood.. That's almost like gold to some folks around here as a firewood or fence post to the amish..

Great post !!
 
osage orange, locust, hedge...all the same me thinks. in the midwest it grows everywhere. as it was used for hedge rows after the dustbowl. osage orange cuz of its "fruit" and a local tribe(well local after who knows how many removals before they ended up in ks/ok) yeah a bonfire of that stuff will burn all nite and well into the next day. and it takes many, many yrs to rot, thus good fence post. also a favorite wood for bow staves. and makes mighty fine scales for knives.
 
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