Using Natural Tinders

[Humakt]

Ruddy weather.
Anyway, I decided to use my time constructively and thought I would do a test and comparison of different natural tinders.
I tested five:
Amadou
Cramp balls
Clematis down
Birch bark
Dried bracken

I found the birch bark was best of all, since it took a spark really well and also provided an actual flame rather than just an ember. Didn't think much of amadou. Not that it was bad, just that it had nothing to recommend it over other tinders.
Anyway, if you want to read more words and see some pictures then click on the link to my blog in the signature below...

[Silverback]

excellent.......i too cant be bothered with amadou as the results are much better with other easier to prep tinders

[wildish64]

excellent.......i too cant be bothered with amadou as the results are much better with other easier to prep tinders

+1 for that

my favorite 2 are birch bark and fatwood shavings,both take a spark and burn a treat

[snowleopard]

birch bark is great in football size!!!

joel

[FishyFolk]

This depends on what I am creating a spark with. If I use a modern type fire steel i.e an LMF type, then of course it is birch bark that wins. Why on earth use Amadou that grows on a birch tree when the bark is a much easier source for tinder.

However when using the old school steel and flint to create a spark, the spark won't be hot enough to start birch bark. Thats when you need amadou, punk wood, chaga etc to crerate an ember that you can blow into a flame in dry grass or birch bark. With a modern fire steel you skip that process so the ember part is not needed.

[paulthefish2009]

Birch bark for me too.

[OakAshandThorn]

With a firesteel, I prefer thistledown, juniper bark, pitchwood, and dried grass. I haven't tinkered much with birch

[Humakt]

Chaps.
Well, the reason I decided to test using both flint & steel and firesteel is for the reasons some have already highlighted - some tinders work better than others.
The firesteel was pretty much a given on all, as you would imagine.
The flint and steel was a more eye-opening test. In some cases it proved very difficult indeed (birch bark and dried bracken in particular). It was hard to improve the efficiency of the bracken - it is what it is. interestingly I found the bracken worked better if it was bunched up into a tighter wad. I presume this was because it turned the leaves into a more substantial fuel. Ditto the clematis.
For flint and steel ignition the birch bark was improved by scrapping it into a saw dust like material. Then all that was needed was for a spark to land in the right spot. Which it did after a great many strikes!

Birch bark would be my tinder of choice. If all I had was flint and steel I'd be hoping to stumble upon a few cramp balls as well, and just use them to take an ember before transferring to something else.

The biggest surprise was amadou. I just wasn't impressed with it. Oh, it works. Not saying it doesn't. But, as Sapper says, it doesn't do the job any better than other tinders and comes with a lot more trouble.

[FishyFolk]

Chaps.
Well, the reason I decided to test using both flint & steel and firesteel is for the reasons some have already highlighted - some tinders work better than others.
The firesteel was pretty much a given on all, as you would imagine.
The flint and steel was a more eye-opening test. In some cases it proved very difficult indeed (birch bark and dried bracken in particular). It was hard to improve the efficiency of the bracken - it is what it is. interestingly I found the bracken worked better if it was bunched up into a tighter wad. I presume this was because it turned the leaves into a more substantial fuel. Ditto the clematis.
For flint and steel ignition the birch bark was improved by scrapping it into a saw dust like material. Then all that was needed was for a spark to land in the right spot. Which it did after a great many strikes!

Birch bark would be my tinder of choice. If all I had was flint and steel I'd be hoping to stumble upon a few cramp balls as well, and just use them to take an ember before transferring to something else.

The biggest surprise was amadou. I just wasn't impressed with it. Oh, it works. Not saying it doesn't. But, as Sapper says, it doesn't do the job any better than other tinders and comes with a lot more trouble.

Ammadou needs to be treated to work well.

One recepee I'vee seen is to boil it for 24 hours in a mix of pine ash and urine, then beat it dry with a hammer...

Or you could just charr it like you would with char cloth. Then it will take a nice spark.

But both methods require some work.

You can also scrape it to fluff it up to take a spark. But as stated. it's just easier to take some bark off the birch tree you found the amadou on...

Anyway, Mike who has the Bushcraft Bartons channel on YT has a nice video on it.

[Svedberg]

Birch bark works best for me - its easy to obtain and works great with firesteel, even in bad conditions. Usually try and make sure i'm always carrying some.