# Survival > Survival Kits & Survival Products >  ferro rods and natural tinders

## your_comforting_company

I'm not a gadget guy, but I recently purchased a ferro rod from SafeZone LLC. I figured it'd make a nice back-up in case I can't find the perfect sticks in the woods (even though I already know good stuff grows there). Not diverging toooooo much from the primitive, I've tried char cloth but in order to make that you already need fire... (Is that called a paradox?) That set me out on a quest to find good natural spark extenders.
the best natural tinder I've found so far is punky pecan wood. I'd imagine any punk would work just as well, but this is just something I found in the yard and said, Lets see if it'll catch a spark.
It did.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Wrap some nice shredded tree bark around that, and grass around that lump and even my 12 year old can make fire with a ferro rod!

I've tried thistle and cattail fluffs, and they work good, but punk wood propagates the spark much better.
If anyone else has tried natural tinders in conjunction with this, please post up your findings.

----------


## klkak

I like to use birch paper.

----------


## Alaskan Survivalist

A Seasonal thing here is Cotton wood pollen that can blanket the ground here. I like to save a few unburnt coals from my last fire. They catch pretty easy. I think its kinda like charred cloth.

----------


## Rick

YCC - Two things we did not talk about are True and False Tinder Fungus. Both are pretty dang good at catching a spark, even if they have been wet. I posted some time ago about a fungus stove. You can actually use the True Tinder fungus as a great primitive stove that will boil water. But the two fungus's work pretty good at catching a spark. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=fungus+stove

----------


## your_comforting_company

Cool. I'll try to catch a spark on some fungus in a little while. I try to keep a little on hand. I also have plenty of char coals in "dirty ashes" so I'll have to give that a try too!

----------


## hunter63

YCC, I think you have hit on a good subject, natural tinder's.
I look at tinder as something take can catch a spark, and start smoldering long enough to get a flame.
I am assuming that these are things you have used and were successful with.

Lets start a list:
YCC-punky pecan wood or punky wood in general
Cattail fluff
thistle fluff

klkak-birch paper (Do you have to powder this first, or just use the very fine wisps of the bark?)

AS-cotton wood fluff

GI Joe-Mullen leavs, milkweed inside seed pod seed fluff 

YCC, eucalyptus tree cone crushed

Rick-True and False Tinder Fungus ( been looking for this stuff for a while , haven't found any of either yet, but I do hunt in areas that have birch)

Several people- char cloth or possibly even powdered charcoal? ( need to try this)

H63-dry grass, think it was marsh grass, very fine, and kinda balled up, rubbed and crushed.

rwc1969-Hornet nest, Inner bark of a dead elm, cedar bark

Batch-fibers in Sabal Palm/ Cabbage Palm

Preachthe word-pocket lint.

So what else do y'all have?

----------


## GI JOE

Mullen leavs milkweed inside seed pod seed fluff true tinder fungus

----------


## Rick

Hey GI Joe, how about building a fire over at the Introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself? 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=7813

----------


## Rick

Hunter, you'll generally find the true tinder fungus on living birch and the false fungus on downed birch. I have no idea how they know the difference.

----------


## GI JOE

True and faluse tinder from wildwood surival

----------


## Rick

Yep. That's what the thread above reference.

----------


## GI JOE

Fat Wood you find in dead pine trees whre the pich is near roots or trunk You were looking for natural tinders You can get at store

----------


## hunter63

I'll be watching for it, will be heading out for turkey hunting in April.

Milk weed fluff, might be an idea, all of it I have found is pretty wet and available in the fall, unless there is still some hanging around in the spring on dried pods.

Brings to mind,..... talking about punky wood.
I have been cutting down elms (a lot of them) that died of disease.
Some are past useful fire wood, and the is a lot of punk and dry rotted wood in side some of them.
So I guess I'll try some of that.

----------


## GI JOE

Milk weed fluff when a spark hits gos fast its like magnssium not as hot gos fast the seeds will make a poping sound in flame.  The inside of pod will hold a spark and stem fibers to Also try cattale fluff

----------


## your_comforting_company

I couldn't get a charcoal to catch. tinder fungus, true or false, caught readily. I actually blew it into a ball of grass and big flame for a little excitement today  :Big Grin:

----------


## GI JOE

Great job you have fun makeing fire there is a lot of tinder to try out there

----------


## hunter63

> I couldn't get a charcoal to catch. tinder fungus, true or false, caught readily. I actually blew it into a ball of grass and big flame for a little excitement today


Well I guess i don't have to try that then.
I would have thought the powdered charcoal would be like char cloth, but there would be more mass to ignite.
Intresting.

----------


## rwc1969

My sparker puts out tiny sparks and very few at that. These are what I've tried and can remember having tried.

Cattail fluff, took a spark, but flamed up and burned out quickly. I could not relight it after it did, with a spark or a lighter. I mighta just had some bum fluff. I could not start a fire with it and resorted to birch bark, a lighter and extremely punky pinewood.

Hornet nest, took a spark and flamed/ burned on it's own until comletely consumed without aid. Best of all listed in my post. One small spark sets it ablaze. Would most likely make a great wick. Very common.

Mullein leaves, took a spark and burned down until completely consumed, unaided. Very good! The center stem of leaf makes an excellent wick too. Extremely common and can be found dry almost year round.

Dogbane fibers, took a spark and would burn unnattended for a bit, but needed to be blown on to stay lit. Might make an ok wick. Great cordage, even after standing all winter long. Fairly common.

True tinder fungus/ chaga, took a spark ok, but once lit burned unattended just like incense. Would be good for carrying an ember over a long way. It burns quick though so you'd need a big chunk. It's only somewhat common a few hours drive north of here so it's not on my list of look fors. But, it makes a great tea if harvested from birch.

False tinder fungus/ horses hoof, took a spark after I gouged out the underside and loosened it up a bit. Required a bit of blowing to get started. It continued to burn with little assistance, much slower than chaga, but it ignited easier from a spark. Another good one for carrying an ember to another location. I stuck it in my pocket, walked for a couple miles, pulled it out and it was still going. I would blow on it every so often and it didn't get hot in my pocket. Very common! I find it and similar fungus growing on Beech, birch, oak and several other species of trees. Many of the shelf fungus work good for tinder.

Cedar bark fluffed up, Took a spark after many attempts and required a lot of assistance to maintain, but worked. I think I used this to start my first fire from a spark. Very wet conditions. It was not easy, but it was one of the only dry materials around. I don't consider this a good firestarter, but it can be found dry in wet conditions and is abundant so I don't rule it out.

Any dried grasslike material fluffed up, took a spark fairly easy and kept burning with assistance, except when wet conditions. I can't find dry grass when it's wet. Up until last year this is about all I ever used. Pretty much any field weed crumbled and fluffed up will make tinder. I have yet to find one that won't unless it's wet which is a problem here. They usually have some kind of seedhead which will take a spark if the plant itself won't.

Inner bark of a dead elm, worked better than cedar bark. Even in very wet conditions it was dry and made fire from spark. Extremely common and a great habitat for yellow morels. The bark makes a great white smoke signal too placed over a fire and wetted slightly.

Homeade charcoal, I could not get it to take a spark, maybe if it was powdered or crumbled into tiny pieces. Works good for drawing on stuff though.

100% Cotton charcloth, took a spark about the same as mullein or wasp nest. The wasp nest burned much better though.

Not 100% cotton charcloth, took a spark just as well as 100%, but did not burn as well, required more assistance and wouldn't burn completely. I'm not a fan of charcloth, etc. because it has to be premade, but IAwoodsman has a vid of charrred natural materials he experimented with on youtube. Good stuff!

I couldn't get a spark on fatwood, pine sap or Black cherry sap. I didn't crumble it up very fine though and didn't try too hard. It will light with the smallest flame though. And combined makes good torches/ candles as erunkis.... has shown. Pretty common materials.

Crumbled up punky cottonwood would probably work good, but I haven't tried it yet. It's real light and airy and I find it dry even in wet conditions.

There are other unknown plants I've used the fibers, leaves, stems and/ or pithy inner stem material to start fires from spark. When I go out I just start grabbing any material I see and break it open, crumble it up, looking for fine, airy dry matter and see if it'll catch a spark. I usually find something within a few feet and rarely know what it is. I just know it burns and happens to be there. When it's wet is when I have trouble and knowing/ finding materials that stay dry after a snow melt or rain is important to remember.

That's all I got!

----------


## your_comforting_company

excellent post rwc. sorry, I can't give you any more rep ATM. Good info and lots of things for me to try today. It's raining so I might play with some wettish stuff to see what happens.
Hunter, I didn't powder the charcoal, so you might still try that.
cotton works too, not as well as fluff IMO but it did catch a spark that I could have blown into some grass.

----------


## Batch

By far my favorite natural tinder is the fibers in Sabal Palm/ Cabbage Palm. You can find dry tinder on the tree in a rain. It lights very readily and sabal palms are every where down here. 

Also if you find air plants, there is a fine silk like fiber inside that lit pretty easy when I tried it. I did not light a fire with that. I just pulled some out of the plant and lit it with and put it out. I should have been a little bit more observant about exactly how it burned.

I have heard of birch bark being a good tinder. But, down here we have two birch cousins, Gumbo Limbo and Torchwood. I have found torchwood in a beach park in Dania Beach. I did not try that because it looks to be the same as gumbo limbo and that is all over down here. I have yet to get gumbo limbo to take a spark. Though I may not have fluffed it enough. 

I have yet to camp in a spot down here where you couldn't find a sabal palm near by.

----------


## hunter63

rwc, very good list, lots of ideas. 
Like the hornets nest, liitle buggers gotta be good for something.

I can see me now in the woods turkey hunting, picking and sparking any thing I can find, with the turkeys watching, wondering, what the....?

I'll have to tell them, "Go away, can't you see I'm busy?"

----------


## finallyME

Great thread.  This is my all time weakness.  I have yet to start a fire with natural tinder and a fero rod.  It is kinda frustrating.  I always carry lint, and have had to fall back on it all too often.  I guess what I really need to do is study up on herbology and start learning more trees and fungi.

----------


## your_comforting_company

finallyME, you dont have to know what they are to see if they'll catch a spark. If it works and you can recognize it again, that's the important thing.

I got a picture of those turkeys gobbling at each other, saying "If he'd just go over there and get some of that stuff..." lol

----------


## hunter63

LOL,
Yeah, I get led astray a lot.
Something about sitting still, and having the woods come back alive and you start noticing things all over the place.

So you just open your mind, and let the sights, sounds, movement sorta take over, all the while the scan is working with the "What is that?"

Funny how that works, but you start picking out things that you missed before, that were already loaded into your head.

So now that I have my "look for list" loaded, it's a matter of getting out.
Just need to find one stupid Tom the thinks I sound sexy.....................

----------


## Rick

Finallyme - Look for a shroom growing on the side of a tree that looks like a horseshoe. See this bad boy? 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

  FALSE tinder fungus, a.k.a. horseshoe fungus. It's easy to identify if you remember the horse. 

Here's another pic. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


EDIT: I incorrectly labeled this as True Tinder Fungus. It is False Tinder Fungus.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Rick, the kind I use is reddish brown and upside down from that. Maybe I have False tinder fungus? It's also flatter and bigger around. I'll spot some more on a tree soon and snap a pic. I've seen it on lots of different trees. Not just birch.

----------


## Rick

No, no. You're right. Mea Culpa. I typed wrong. Sorry. That is false tinder fungus or Horseshoe. True tinder fungus looks like a big brown blob. A big tree scab. I'll go back and change my post. Sorry....(trudging off with eraser in hand.)

----------


## your_comforting_company

You could have fooled me buddy. I didn't know one from the other  :Wink: 
not next time tho. I'll remember the horse foot!

----------


## Rick

I think those are one of the easiest to spot. They look exactly like a horse's hoof. You can even see the growth rings just like a real hoof.

----------


## Rick

And by the way, RWC, I would have never consider a hornet's nest although I should have. They are super easy to spot in the winter when leaves are off the tree and no problem with getting stung.

----------


## rwc1969

I haven't seen a live hornet's nest down here for a few years now. I can pretty much shake the tree and the whole thing comes falling down, if it isn't already down. There are many live ones up north though. I found that out the hard way. 

Not first hand, but, you can process the horse's hoof into a felt like stuff called Amadou. It makes a great tinder, so I hear, and folks actually make hats and such out of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou

----------


## Rick

I ran into a bunch of hornets on a trail last year. There must have been 25 or 30 collecting sap out of a damaged place at the base of a tree. They were too busy to worry about me so I just sat down and watched them for a spell. Here's a pic of four of them on the tree. The rest were buzzing all around waiting their turn.

I would think in winter with snow on, when it's hard to find some forms of tinder, a hornet's nest would be just the thing.

----------


## your_comforting_company

I ran across a piece of a pinecone yesterday that was shredded, almost like a squirrel had stripped it. had some very papery shreds near the sappy core. threw a few sparks on it and it caught *flame* instantly. Not like a coal that I blew on, I mean full flame. I could not reproduce this with whole cones and didn't find another one in the same condition that would work, but it's an option worth exploring.. maybe we could shred some fresh cones similarly? I'll try shredding one soon, unless someone else beats me to it.

----------


## Rick

I wonder if scraping some tinder off the pine cone would work? I suppose the cone has some level of terpenes in it as well so it makes sense that it would burn like that. Good find.

----------


## Rick

I suppose the ideal would be to create a small bundle of fire starting material with a good spark catcher in the middle. Two or three of those in your fire starting kit would provide you with a ready made, dry fire starter in bad weather.

----------


## preachtheWORD

Let's not forget one source of tinder that we generally have with us at all times - pocket lint.  You can also use fleece or polyfill from your jacket.  It's not exactly "primitive," but it will work in a pinch.  Dryer lint makes really excellent tinder, especially for a flint striker.

----------


## preachtheWORD

> I suppose the ideal would be to create a small bundle of fire starting material with a good spark catcher in the middle. Two or three of those in your fire starting kit would provide you with a ready made, dry fire starter in bad weather.


That is a really good idea!

----------


## Alaskan Survivalist

I always think of tinder as anything you can light with a match. I never used a spark to light fires but have caught my sweater on fire a couple times grinding metal. I have used birds nests for fire with bow drills before. Starting a fire with an ember is probably not the same I guess.

----------


## Rick

At the next jamboree I suggest taking either Hunter or AS along. We can use one of them as a fire starter. 

DOC - I suggest sending both these guys a fire extinguisher.

----------


## hunter63

> At the next jamboree I suggest taking either Hunter or AS along. We can use one of them as a fire starter. 
> 
> DOC - I suggest sending both these guys a fire extinguisher.


Hey, the hair on my arm is purtty much growed back, and haven't been fooling with my alcohol stoves, much.
(Gotta go see if the little bottles of "Heat" made it thru the winter with out evaporating, I used eye drop .5 oz bottles for the pack).

Anyway, in my previous life, working 2nd shift, had a lot of time to fool around, my first flint and steel fire, was on a metal work bench in the shop, got it out before the sprinklers went off, but was close, LOL.

I liking the items listed, boys, keep it up!

----------


## klkak

> klkak-birch paper (Do you have to powder this first, or just use the very fine wisps of the bark?)


Hunter I use the fine wisps of bark. They catch a spark and start burning, they don't smolder.

When I'm preparing to build a fire I'll gather a large handful of the birch bark.  It catches fast and burns very hot.

----------


## hunter63

> Hunter I use the fine wisps of bark. They catch a spark and start burning, they don't smolder.
> 
> When I'm preparing to build a fire I'll gather a large handful of the birch bark.  It catches fast and burns very hot.


Got ya, I have bark in my tinder kit, I guess I never though about just sparking the bark wisps.........Hummmmm, 
Thanks.

----------


## klkak

No problem Hunter, thats what brothers are for.

----------


## your_comforting_company

AS, it's not the same at all. The sparks are gone pretty fast from a firesteel or ferro rod (I will use the term interchangably sometimes), so you need something to catch one and smolder into tinder.
MY definition of tinder is something used to catch fire. Bowdrill tinder and firesteel tinder aren't the same, although I use some of the same ingredients. You can light fatlighterd with a match, but without something to produce a flame first, you won't light fatlighterd with the bowdrill ember nor firesteel spark. Fatlighterd by my definition is "kindling" and not "tinder". Does that make sense?
tinder can catch a spark or ember and propagate it further into a "tindle" which is a bundle of something flammable, like dry grass or bark. once you have established a flame in your tindle (tinder-bundle), you use *kindling* (like fatlighterd) to establish fire by adding more twigs (also called kindling down here) of increasing size.
hopefully I haven't completely confused anyone, but that's my redneck dictionary for ya  :Wink:

----------


## Batch

You can't even catch lighter knot shavings with a spark.

I gave a buddy a ferro rod as I do most people that camp with us. He was beside his self with the ability to make fire by spark. His Gerber Gator folder would not make sparks and so he got a strip of hack saw blade.

----------


## crashdive123

> You *can't* even catch lighter knot shavings with a spark.
> 
> I gave a buddy a ferro rod as I do most people that camp with us. He was beside his self with the ability to make fire by spark. His Gerber Gator folder would not make sparks and so he got a strip of hack saw blade.


Did you mean to say can't?  I've not had a problem with fat lighter shavings catching a spark.

----------


## your_comforting_company

More to add to the list.
We have a eucalyptus tree in my grandma's yard. The squirrels have been climbing up it and have knocked off a few nice chunks. (I really gotta get some pics uploaded!). Crumble up, and fray one end and it catches flame real easy. Transfer the flame to a piece of fatlighterd, and put the piece of bark out. save it for another fire. I'm gonna stick a few pieces in my bag.
I think the "mystery pine cone thing" was a female cone in it's growing stage. I found a few more that the wind knocked out. They all worked really well.
I crushed and frayed a regular cone by stomping and rolling it. It worked very well also.
admittedly, everyone might not be able to find a eucalyptus tree, but odds are you can find some bark with similar properties.
Might be time for hunter to update that list. It's getting to be a pretty good one!

----------


## hunter63

YCC dod make some additions to the list, might have missed some, been packing up for a trip to " The Place"
I check it tomorrow to see if I missed any.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Found some sycamore "puffballs" today and fluffed one up. tucked it in some dry grass and had fire in seconds. A few were still hanging on the trees so you can find that stuff in the woods this time of year, both on and off the trees.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Bonus points for Klkak. Check this out!
Wen fishing yesterday for white bass. We caught a good mess.
We pulled up on a sandbar, and I got out to cool off in the water, and I noticed behind me this tree:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

so I pulled a little of the loose bark off and pulled out my EDC ferro rod.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I might mention I sharpened one side of the striker to be somewhat more knifelike. gave it a quick shave and voila. No powdering or anything. this was straight off the tree.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Excellent! Thanks Klkak!

----------


## your_comforting_company

I grabbed a couple handfulls of what was on the ground and some that was really loose on the tree and stuck in a waterproof bag in my tacklebox. If I ever get caught in the rain, I'll have some dry tinder to start a fire and dry off with while fishing!

----------


## justin_baker

The only tinder that you can find in my woods during the winter is old mans beard. In the summer i just use the dry dead grass.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
I try to supplement that with douglas fir resin when i need that extra room to get damp wood going.
If its raining out and i have nothing in my pack, i always have to use dry wood scrapings which can be a real pain in the ***. Nearly impossible when your shivering from the cold. Occasionally ill find redwood trees, if i cut into the inner bark i can get to the dry stuff. It works ok but tends to burn itself out at times.

----------


## Batch

> Did you mean to say can't?  I've not had a problem with fat lighter shavings catching a spark.


I should have said I can't. I find with lighter knot you have to heat the resin to burn. Then once it goes it goes good and hot.

I shaved as fine as I could down some shavings and tried to spark them with a fero rod. I got nodda. 

Maybe you could post how you got it to work? It is all over in the places I camp so it would be nice to add it to something that will flame from a spark.

Actually, I should I haven't yet. But, just might with a little help from my friends!  :Wink:

----------


## justin_baker

> I should have said I can't. I find with lighter knot you have to heat the resin to burn. Then once it goes it goes good and hot.
> 
> I shaved as fine as I could down some shavings and tried to spark them with a fero rod. I got nodda. 
> 
> Maybe you could post how you got it to work? It is all over in the places I camp so it would be nice to add it to something that will flame from a spark.
> 
> Actually, I should I haven't yet. But, just might with a little help from my friends!


Well, i have gotten non fatwood wood shavings going with a ferro rod, mabeye your not shaving a big enough pile or concentrating your sparks  enough. Or mabeye you have one of those POS light my fire firesteels, the harder to strike "misch metal" ones make much hotter sparks.
This guy does a good demo on using heartwood shavings to start a fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I_WSt4tJu0

----------


## Batch

I thought I shaved off enough. My POS fire steels are from firesteel.com. I think the 5/16" or 3/8" is the biggest one I have tried. They light all of my fires. But, if there is something that is that much better please let me know.

I'll have to try again.

----------


## crashdive123

I scrape a pile much like I do with a magnesium block, add a few shavings to the "powder" scrapings so there is something to burn for a bit.

----------


## Batch

I have a good bit of it on hand and will be experimenting this week as time permits. I will be happy as a PIS if I can get this to burn. 

But, in all honesty, I can just use readily hand tinder and I usually don't have a problem getting the lighter knot lit that way.

Here some picks of lighter knot. I cut a sliver and it takes a couple of seconds to light with a lighter. Then it really doesn't like to go out.

Lighter knot on the ground. Drift wood style. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Whats inside.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

This whole tree is lighter knot.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Don't ask me why it didn't all burn up in the fire.  But, we have standing dead trees all over. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

I used a lighter to light this. But, I use fire steel with tinder to light all my fires.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum. 

The place we are at in these photos taken last weekend and where I went this weekend do not have a lot of hardwood. So our fires are pine and we usually put charcoal on the ground and cook on a metal grate or pans. I use match light and then add kingsford. I can not get match light lit with firesteel either. A tleast, not quickly enough to justify not just walking a few feet and grabbing tinder from a palm and putting that on the side of the charcoal and hitting the tinder with sparks.

So, if you can light match light with fire steel also then it must be my technique or the fire steel I am using.

----------


## your_comforting_company

you mention palm.
My BIL gave me a piece of palm bark to try as a hearthboard. I wonder if I could shave some of it off and catch a spark. I haven't walked up on one in the woods, but would still be interesting to know.
I found some tall unknown grass today that had wispy blades on the upper part.. reminded me of the birch bark wisps. took a few of those and tucked under the bulk of the grass and after just a few strikes, fire. It was cool because I ran off and left my Bic at home. surprising how much stuff will propagate a spark into flame when you actually go trying random stuff  :Big Grin: 
Crash, don't you have a palm tree in your yard? You might try it too, I don't know right off where I tucked the piece I was given.. probably buried in one of my cabinets lol. If you take a notion, let us know how it goes.

----------


## crashdive123

@Batch - I've read that the most resinous woods are found when a tree suffers sudden damage (lightning or fire) which causes it to start producing massive amounts of sap to try and protect the tree.

@YCC - The palms in my yard have the spiked (really sharp) stalks.  They would probably make a better field expedient weapon.  I'll give em a try at some point.

----------


## Batch

Crash, I have heard the same thing.

YCC, Palm is very prominent down here. The place I hunt lists slash pine and sabal palms as the two most common trees. Do you known what type of palm tree the bark is from?

----------


## your_comforting_company

I have no idea what kind of palm or where he got the piece from. He probably doesn't know what kind either, but I'll ask him anyway next time I see him. I'm gonna get out there and try to find that piece in a little while and give it a go.. got some diggin' to do!

My co-worker has a date-palm (the kind with the little orange fruits) in his yard.. It looked like the same bark and I'll get him to bring a piece of that over to try too.

----------


## your_comforting_company

For some odd reason, I had stuck that thing in the bottom drawer of my toolbox..
I shaved and crumbled the palm bark and tried for a few minutes to get it to catch a spark and failed miserably.. It's very dry and crumbly and shaved down easily with my old hickory, almost to dust reminiscent of the fire-bow but I couldn't get it to catch. Maybe one of you guys can try some too and have more success.

----------


## Batch

The two palms to the right of my tent are sabal palms also called cabbage palms. This is the tree we get swamp cabbage from.

It is Florida and North Carolina's state tree.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


Close up of the boot jacks which might make a fire board.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

You can see the tinder in there:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

This is one pull of tinder. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## your_comforting_company

That looks like some good stuff to work with. The stuff I have here looks nothing like that. perhaps it's a different kind of palm?
Have you tried the ferro rod on that stuff with any success? It also looks like it'd be a really good tindle for friction fire.

----------


## Batch

This is my tinder of choice and I can find dry tinder and kindling (I have to split the boot jacks or burn the palm leaves). This tree is fire if you have a spark in any weather. Guaranteed!

I just think I didn't fluff my tinder enough. There are many palm species down here that have the palm fluff. This makes awesome and easy to make cordage as well.

----------


## Batch

> I scrape a pile much like I do with a magnesium block, add a few shavings to the "powder" scrapings so there is something to burn for a bit.


I followed Cash's instructions and had no problem getting fire!

----------


## Batch

> I followed Cash's instructions and had no problem getting fire!



I should have said I was talking about the lighter pine.

----------


## your_comforting_company

My 11 year old made his first fire last night with a ferro rod. He gathered a handfull of false dandelion  seedheads. The pappus hairs ignite and burn hot enough to catch a handfull of dry grass on fire. add a few fatlighterd matches and a few twigs, then some dry limbs. In 5 minutes he had built a nice hot fire. It burned till it started raining last night.
A proud moment for YCC Jr.

----------


## crashdive123

> My 11 year old made his first fire last night with a ferro rod. He gathered a handfull of false dandelion  seedheads. The pappus hairs ignite and burn hot enough to catch a handfull of dry grass on fire. add a few fatlighterd matches and a few twigs, then some dry limbs. In 5 minutes he had built a nice hot fire. It burned till it started raining last night.
> A proud moment for YCC Jr.


Woo Hoo!  Tell him congratulations from all of us.

----------


## justin_baker

Just curious guys, how many here have started a fire with wood shavings and ferro rod, like what you do with fatwood shavings but with regular, unresined wood? The only people i have seen do it are iamwoodsman and bushcraftbartons. Its a really good skill to have. Very tricky and hard to do, but it could save your life when your out of stashed tinder and all of the tinder in the forest is wet.
Heres a good video example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I_WSt4tJu0

----------


## Rick

I've used shaved cedar bark if that counts as wood. You can fuzz it almost like cotton.

----------


## hunter63

Well, boys I want to add another item to the tried and had only limited sucess.

Dried rabbit pellets.....looked like balls of sawdust, so though I would give it a try.

Crumbled them down into dust, but they were kinda damp.
Did catch a spark w/ferro rod, but couldn't get it to stay going for long......maybe dry them out more?

----------


## Rick

Oh, well, ooooooooh. 

Hey, Mrs. Hunter!!!!! Hunter is playin' with poop again!!!!!!

----------


## hunter63

> Oh, well, ooooooooh. 
> 
> Hey, Mrs. Hunter!!!!! Hunter is playin' with poop again!!!!!!


LOL, these were past the smeary stage, now the deer poop, on the other hand, need to dry ALOT before smooshing them down.

Besides some one had to try it, right think about the poor souls that tried Preparation- A thru E, before H?

----------


## crashdive123

Passerby:  Hey Hunter63 - what are you doing?

Hunter63:  I'm trying to light some deer poop.

Passerby:  Well it looks like you've got is smoking a bit.

Hunter63:  Yep.  I've heard it's some good s**t.

----------


## your_comforting_company

I tried cow chips a while back with no luck too. hey if it looks flammable, I'll try it!

----------


## Batch

> Just curious guys, how many here have started a fire with wood shavings and ferro rod, like what you do with fatwood shavings but with regular, unresined wood? The only people i have seen do it are iamwoodsman and bushcraftbartons. Its a really good skill to have. Very tricky and hard to do, but it could save your life when your out of stashed tinder and all of the tinder in the forest is wet.
> Heres a good video example
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I_WSt4tJu0


After, the lighter knot worked. I took and powdered hickory wattle and lit a powdered version of that with shavings.

Seems most any wood will burn if it is made small enough.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Birch paper
Cattail / dandelion / thistle fluff
Cedar Bark
Char-cloth
Charcoal
Cottonwood fluff
Dogbane fibers / various fibrous plants
Dry Grass
Elm inner bark
Eucalyptus tree bark
Fatlighterd shavings
Hornet nest
Mullien leaves
Milkweed seedpods
Old Man's Beard moss
Pine cone crushed up
Pine female fronds
Punky (rotten) Pecan wood
Pocket lint
Rabbit pellets/ various grazing animals' poop
Sabal / Cabbage palm fibers
Sycamore fluff balls
True / False Tinder fungus
Various wood shavings / powders (non-resinous)
Willow seed fluff (beard)

Just wanted to make sure we have the list further into the thread. *Should we label each one for ease of use?* I didn't worry with credits. Sorry if anyone is offended.
Lets try to keep the list updated and at least on each page of posts (mine shows 20 posts per page) If that's do-able. If your post is #81 (it would be at the top of a new page) please copy the list and paste it.
This is a very good list we are compiling here and I'm commiting as much as possible to memory.

THANKS EVERYONE!!

----------


## your_comforting_company

Black willow trees are going to seed and have long fluffy beards.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

It catches a spark as well as any dandelion or thistle fluff I've used.

----------


## hunter63

> I tried cow chips a while back with no luck too. hey if it looks flammable, I'll try it!


I would guess that in a lot of places burning dung as a fuel source is a major deal, but I have to agree, "It don't take a spark well", need to be really dry.

But thanks for bringing it up.......I guess I'm not the only one that "Plays with poop"........

----------


## rwc1969

This thread should be a sticky, if it ain't already. But, I'm gonna reneg on a couple natural tinders I posted about here.

Now, it could be the time of year or maybe these items have a shelf life or something.

But, hornet nest that I saved from last winter would not take a spark from my ferro rod, it would last winter though.

Cattail fluff wouldn't take a spark, but it was slightly damp.

Cedar bark did take a spark and actually flamed up momentarily, but I wasn't able to keep it lit. Better prepared I think it would have worked well.

Dried oak leaves, a no go. They were real dry too.

Chaga aka true tinder fungus worked repeatedly and it was two years old and was stored in a non airtight container right along with the hornet nest.

Cherry sap, nothing. I even held a charcoal extendo-lighter to it today and all it would do is get red and snap and pop. But, it wouldn't hold an ember. When I gathered it this spring it would burn just like pine sap when lit.

That's it, my rant is over.

Oh wait! one more, birch bark! not as tinder or from a spark, but, I've lit this stuff on fire when it was soaking wet, just wiped off the excess water with my pantleg or shirt, but the other day it was very hard to get lit and it was only a little damp.

----------


## Rick

Good trials and good info!! I like cedar bark fuzzed up and I like birch bark, too. I prefer cedar bark from a standing dead tree. I don't know what why the difference but it seems to work better for me. Both cedar and birch work pretty well. The tinder fungus is always a good one. Everyone should be able to find one or more of those three when in the woods and gather them as they walk along. 

Thanks, RWC! Good stuff.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Good to know the storage times on some of this stuff. Thanks RWC! I'll have to run some tests on my stored items to see if they are still viable. Bow season opens up on 9/11 so I'll be spending a LOT more time in the woods, hopefully finding new sources for resources. 
Excellent review and great reminder to check our little stockpiles!

----------


## rwc1969

The storage part was more of a question than anything. I can't see why dry tinders would hAVE a shelf life unless they get damp, but???

The dead cedar definitely works better even though they both appear the same. Some of my cedar was gathered from a live tree, but was flaking off.

The thing that surprised me most was the hornet nest. I thought that would be a sure thing, but it wasn't.

----------


## Rick

The hornet's nest is chewed up plant material mixed with their saliva. There's no telling what they used. I don't know if the plants used vary by insect or not.

----------


## your_comforting_company

Dog fennel leaves when dry work. It might take a few strikes to get them to catch, but they work. I have a few dead in the yard, and the rest will be dying back soon.

pretty soon we'll have a list of materials available for each season!

----------

