Bushcraft Beginnings - Fire.

[THOaken]

[video=youtube;eTB9t3KXJO0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTB9t3KXJO0&feature=youtu.be[/video]


-Very thin bark, doesn't seem at all like the material I've seen in other videos.
-Different consistency. Had to scrape a lot just to get a small pile of dust, whereas Ray just scrapes a little and comes up with proper curls. It's more like the texture of sugar/sand granules than small curls of paper.
-There's not enough surface area to even hold the embers.

Peace of mind will come from knowing if this is even the correct Birch. Well, I'm sure it IS birch, but I'm not sure why it's not "acting" in a similar fashion to the bark in the Mears' video I posted. Is it possible that it's actually lost oils or that it's too thin in the first place?

 

[Shewie]

You're nearly there I'd say.

First thing I'd do is separate the striker from the ferro rod to give yourself more room so to speak. Hold the striker right over the tinder, bracing your fist on the table if you like, then give the ferro rod a good hard tug. It looks like you're not putting enough pressure on it to me.
When you see the sparks coming off just keep going until one lands right where you need it. The birch fluff won't ignite like a gas or other fuel, what you're trying to do is get a good cluster of hot sparks landing in amongst your pile, rather than them just flitting away and burning out.

So right hand holding the striker, right hand fist placed on the table top right next to your tinder. Get a good angle on the striker and give the ferro rod a good pull along the full length. Once you get the consistency of good sparks you can reduce the length of the pull stroke, it's a it trickier but once you know what you're looking for you can do small pushes with the striker and just take an inch or so off the end of the rod each time.

Keep going, you've done the hard work

 

[THOaken]

You're nearly there I'd say.

First thing I'd do is separate the striker from the ferro rod to give yourself more room so to speak. Hold the striker right over the tinder, bracing your fist on the table if you like, then give the ferro rod a good hard tug. It looks like you're not putting enough pressure on it to me.
When you see the sparks coming off just keep going until one lands right where you need it. The birch fluff won't ignite like a gas or other fuel, what you're trying to do is get a good cluster of hot sparks landing in amongst your pile, rather than them just flitting away and burning out.

So right hand holding the striker, right hand fist placed on the table top right next to your tinder. Get a good angle on the striker and give the ferro rod a good pull along the full length. Once you get the consistency of good sparks you can reduce the length of the pull stroke, it's a it trickier but once you know what you're looking for you can do small pushes with the striker and just take an inch or so off the end of the rod each time.

Keep going, you've done the hard work

Thanks, Shewie.

Well, yes, that covers the technique, and I'll have another go at it, but what do we say about the actual tinder scrapings themselves? They don't look right to me, but I'm only basing that from the few videos I've seen.

 

[Fraxinus]

The texture (of the scrapings) should not make much difference.( maybe lack a bit of aeration).
I use the same RM firesteel, however, I either use the spine of my carbon steel mora or take the supplied scraper off the cord and use that. It affords better control I find.
As others have said I also hold the scraper/knife still and pull the steel away in longer strokes than you show in the video....slow down a bit too, to gain more control.
Don't forget ray's vids make it look so easy 'cos he's been doing it for years, relax, you are doing fine.

Rob.

 

[THOaken]

Maybe it's just me and my weak hands, but I managed to get some good sparks with a fizzling sound, but it required a great amount of effort. The sharp RM striker has been digging into my hand the entire time. It requires an unusual amount of force to the point where I've got skin peeling from my index finger...

 

[THOaken]

I've compiled a list of the questions I've asked previously on this thread into a video format. Perhaps I can better convey my problem this way?

This quick video explains it all, but as it's pretty poor quality and of little production value, I won't be keeping it on my channel for very long.

The process of using Birch bark as natural tinder seems very simple, but I'm running into the same problem every time I collect a piece and scrape it up. Again, the video explains everything.

Thanks for watching.

[video=youtube;ta3r4pfUyK0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta3r4pfUyK0[/video]

 

[THOaken]

Hello, everyone. It's been a while since I've posted in this thread and, truthfully, I've not made any progress with fire lighting. I stopped after I continuously tried to light those birch bark scrapings that were "perfect" about one hundred times and it just didn't light.

Problem 1: Every time I go out into the woods for a walk I rarely come across birch trees. If I do find birch, there's rarely any fallen logs to be found.

Problem 2: If I do happen to come across a fallen log and cut a section of it with my mora to take home, like I did with my previous experiments, we come to the whole problem of scraping it up. I understand that the dust scrapings looked perfect as they were very thin and dry and should've lit easily, but they didn't... It seemed to me so dry that it lost all the oil preservative in it. When Ray Mears scrapes birch bark it's a very different texture and there's a body to the scrapings, whereas what I porduced was more like sand... I've said all of this before and the facts still elude me.

Question 1: After some research, it seems that there are a few ways to go about lighting birch bark. You can cut a square sheet off and scrape it, or you can actually take peelings from the birch itself. Seeing as I just couldn't seem to light the scrapings last time, and I couldn't find a log to cut a section off on my walk yesterday, I've decided to try this other method.

Question 2: With the peelings that I've taken (see the picture below), will this light automatically after roughing it up a little bit? Surely it's the same as the scrapings from an actual sheet of birch taken from a log, except taken from the tree itself?

Please have a look at this video.

[video=youtube;idJQXrUkpls]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJQXrUkpls&feature=youtu.be[/video]

It just seems as if it's incredibly easy for everyone to find birch and light it. I was a bit disheartened then, and I feel like I'm over thinking things, but I'm determined to make a sustainable fire. I've got bags full of kindling and fuel ranging from all sizes, more than enough.

Here are my peelings. I've also got cotton wool which I know I can light. And, of course, I would've had a section of birch with me to try scraping yet again, which would be my sixth try, I think, but I couldn't find a single fallen log.

I have to say I'm almost scared to try and light those peelings because if they don't light, then I've tried all the birch methods.

 

[swright81076]

If your struggling with the birch, it might be worth getting a few shavings of your ferro rod into the birch scrapings first.

As before, line up your steel over the shavings, then slowly and firmly scrape off some shavings onto your pile. Then give it a proper scrape for some sparks. The metal shavings in the birch will ignite from the sparks. Igniting the birch in the process.

Once you've nailed it, by getting your sparks accurately where they need to go, you'll be cooking on gas.

Doing it this way, you'll get a result, keeping your spirits up, just use less as less rod shavings each time you practice.

Steve

touched by nature

 

[crosslandkelly]

+ 1 to the above.

 

[THOaken]

Yes, that is good advice. Thanks, swright81076.

I've just come up with a question... Is there a particular reason some people use the scraping method as opposed to peeling strips off the tree itself? What's the difference? I know that you can't light big strips of bark with sparks, but small, thin peelings are exactly the same as scraping with a knife, right? Strange. I know I over think things too much, but this seems a bit odd. They're the exact same method.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Scraping the bark will give you a fine fluff or powder, this will take a spark more readily.

 

[THOaken]

Scraping the bark will give you a fine fluff or powder, this will take a spark more readily.

So the peeling method is for the unlucky sods like me who a) can't find fallen logs and b) can't seem to light the fluff/powder at all? Heh heh.

 

[swright81076]

So the peeling method is for the unlucky sods like me who a) can't find fallen logs and b) can't seem to light the fluff/powder at all? Heh heh.

We've hundreds of em and there's a big fallen silver birch near me, I'm not gonna get there till midweek, but if you pm me your address, I'll get a few sheets off to you.

touched by nature

 

[THOaken]

We've hundreds of em and there's a big fallen silver birch near me, I'm not gonna get there till midweek, but if you pm me your address, I'll get a few sheets off to you.

touched by nature

Ah...I was thinking of doing this. It was always in the back of my mind to ask someone if they'd mind sending a few sheets of to me. It's just that I live in one of the least wooded counties in Scotland, East Lothian. It's a 15 min drive to an actual woodland from my town. Sure there are the occasional hedges and the odd patch of woodland, but there's never any birch there. If you could send me one I'd feel like a big cheat, but at least it'll be a bit of a boon to the spirit. I'll see what I can do about the peelings first and then I'll get in touch with you.

 

[Ogri the trog]

THoaken,
If birch-bark is proving to be a (temporary) nemesis, concentrate on the methods that you have succeeded with. There is no shame in using cotton wool to take the step from spark to flame and then using torn strips of birch bark (or other tinder's) to increase the amount of flame!
Around the base of all of the birch trees you have shown in your video, there will be arm-full's of tiny twigs - only as thick as a pencil lead - a good bundle of these will catch from a cotton wool/birch strip - burning bundle.

Similarly, any dry, straight grained branch can be shaved into a feather-stick -which should also catch from the smallest flame.

If there are any climbing vines in the woodland, they often shed an outer layer of dry, if twisted, tinder in fine layers.

No one said that fire-making is easy, but these really are important lessons that you are learning.

ATB

Ogri the trog
In your video's, the bark that you say is as brittle as burnt toast is more likely to be the decaying inner wood that is snapping and not the bark itself - careful peeling of the brittle wood away from the more flexible bark might result in some usable bark for future use.

 

[THOaken]

Video title says it all, folks.

[video=youtube;AZjXAaGN6pI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZjXAaGN6pI&feature=youtu.be[/video]

If you care to watch the entire video, that'd be great.

Thanks.

Edit: Apparently I forgot to edit out some bits.

 

[Ogri the trog]

WOOHOO!



Great stuff

Ogri the trog

 

[THOaken]

WOOHOO!



Great stuff

Ogri the trog

Thanks. I reckon the end of the video is a bit cheesy, but it's all genuine. It's odd because what I've done to day will pale in comparison to the day when I'm able to create fire using a bow-drill. Well, I guess I'll be able to look back at this year as the year I first created fire with natural bark, that sort of thing...

 

[crosslandkelly]

Well done mate,

 

[THOaken]

Hello, everyone. I'm delighted to have received Steve Wright's generous export of Birch bark from England.

The birch is all good, of course, and so are the scrapings, but I'm not having the best luck with the actual lighting of it. I thought it'd be a little easier than it's actually turned out. Unfortunately, I seem to have blistered my hand with so many attempts... I don't know if I'm holding the striker correctly because I literally have taken some skin off my index finger. I'm taking a little break just now. I know I'll get it soon enough.

Thanks again to Steve Wright.