What tinder for flint and steel?

I think some of you are confusing traditional flint and steel with modern ferrocerium rod (firesteel) and scraper...... big difference!

We are discussing traditional flint and steel... as in a piece of rock and a forged steel striker.

Rick
 
i knew he was talking about a striker with flint rock o_O.

hence why i suggested the charred cat tail from dirt time. the guy there says it can be lit with dull sparks from two rocks so i figured hotter sparks from a flint and steel will easily light on it.???
 
I probably misread the original post but I recall Bill mentioning specifically in his header "tinder" and then he mentioned Old Man's Beard so I was thinking of the tinder itself. But if you're meaning a replacement for the char cloth itself then, Bill you can char the punk from a Mullein plant, or from horseshoe fungus or other suitable materals. Both are abundant here in the Pac NW. But you'll need a tin or other container to char the material just like you would the cotton cloth. Then you strike your sparks into the tin, once the char lights then you transfer a piece of it into your tinder bundle.
 
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Vaseline smeared cotton balls do work but I sometimes found them to be harder to start with the fire steel and flint.

I make my own wax impregnated cotton balls. They are kinda like tinder quik fire starters but this is my home made version.

They're dry which makes it much easier to store and carry compared to vaseline balls. They are very light weight and water proof. The best thing is (if you rip them open to expose the fluffy fibers) they are extremely easy to light with a fire steel/flint spark. I can just about get it lite with the first spark each time.

Here's my how to make it on my site. (just a few articles at this stage)

http://www.walkincountry.com/fire/how-to-make-a-tinder-quik-quick-substitute

Its not as simple as the vaseline balls but the effort is well worth it when it could be an important part of a survival kit.

I hope it helps you.
 
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