Willow fibre tinder

[Longstrider]

Have any of you guys ever used this stuff as tinder/coal carrier material? What I'm on about is the compressed mass of dusty fibrous dead stuff from within the trunk of a split mature willow tree. The balsa-like pith is useful too, but the fibrous stuff seems better. I've used it as a fire starter for years, but having recently bought a lovely fire steel (from Jason 01) I've been wondering whether it was fine enough to take a spark from flint and steel. I gathered some of the willow fibre this morning and tried it but without success. It is plenty dry enough to take a coal if I add a smouldering piece of charcloth to it, but as yet I cannot get it to take a spark on its own.
Then I had what I think might just be a great idea. I'm going to try charring some of both the fibre and the pith just like I do with cloth, in an old Duraglit tin.

Come to think of it, what else might be even more useful if it was charred first?
I can think of cramp balls and other fungi to start with. Ideas anyone?

 

[Nemisis]

what about small twigs etc thinned out with a pencil sharpener? I've used them with a coal to get a flame before but never charred them to light with the steel
Dave

 

[Toddy]

Try a split willow branch as a hearth for a firebow/drill. Elder's better but willow's good.
Never thought of trying a firesteel on the pith .....must play

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Longstrider]

It's easy with a ferro rod Toddy. What I'm on about is getting it to take a coal from the sparks from flint and steel. Cannot really tell from your post which method you mean to try.

I'm hoping that the willow pith at least will be firm enough to hold against the top of the flint, just like you do with charcloth. Nemisis' idea is a good one, but I think the resulting bits of charcoal would be hard to hold like this. I might try it anyway and see if I can get a coal by just showering the sparks down onto a little heap of the charred shavings.

 

[Toddy]

Firesteel = ferro rod. I tried it this afternoon and it works fine I've got some more drying out to try with flint & steel later on; it didn't look interested earlier

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Nemisis]

Longstrider I was helping a friend fit a window last weekend and it occured to me that fine shavings from a plane might make better char wood being slightly bigger but almost as thin as those from the pencil sharpener.
Dave.

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Also the fine shavings from tillering a bow. These will ignite in flash with a shower of sparks from your fire steel.

 

[Infragreen]

Firesteel is a widely-spread mistake.

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

Please do not refer to a ferrocerium rod by a firesteel.

The firesteel is a (currently) handcrafted item, made of steel, used to strike fire from flint (not lighter flints, which are ferrocerium, as are "swedish firesteels").

Let's keep the commercial chatter off these pages, and use the real names for the real things.

Infy

PS. Double-posted on general discussion. Admin: Feel free to remove if necessary.

 

[British Red]

Infragreen,

That came over a little rude . The people you are "informing" by the way have made fire pistons for others and sent out samples of various fungi to help people (me amongst others) with firecraft. Both know the difference between a "firesteel" and flint and steel.

Interestingly, neither the Cambridge nor Oxford nor Websters online dictionaries recognise "firesteel" as a word at all although the OED does recognise the phrase "flint and steel" in the following


tinderbox

noun historical a box containing tinder, flint, a steel, and other items for kindling fires.




Worthy of note that it doesn't refer to a "flint and firesteel"

I have also checked various etymological sites and no reference to the single word "firesteel" was found. Given Wikipedia is compiled from user contributions, I venture to suggest that there is a chance that the wikipedia entry is perhaps erroneous.

I think it is also true that language evolves and that "firesteel" has become a generic term to cover ferrocium (in itself a pseudo scientific construct attempting to describe 22 pyrophilic and stablising elements) wheras "flint and steel" describe a carbon steel alloy and the geologically altered remains of sponge like creatures!

Generally I find etymological discussions are fairly moot and certainly a matter of opinion rather than definitive fact

Red