Tinder Bundle Construction 1
This page details a method of building tinder bundles that can take a coal and reliably produce flame. There are literally hundreds of different ways of constructing these bundles. This is merely one that works well for northern New England and adjacent areas. For this method, I assume you have access to varied plant communities, including open areas and/or wetland edges (where excellent tinder material can be gathered). For me personally, this has been the most difficult part of refining my fire-making skills using the bow drill. Countless trials with the coal eventually extinguishing has led me to this method of tinder bundle construction, one that can even work with some damp materials.
I start with a piece of paper birch (Betula papyrifera) bark that will serve as the outer wrap to hold all of the components together. It also serves as a hand-hold when the inner materials begin to burn. I then place a liberal amount of very fine shreds of paper birch bark (though other birches with exfoliating bark would work as well). Next, fine shavings from northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) can be made with a knife or sharp flake of rock (a piece of flint was used in the image below). The shavings are made by dragging the blade over the bark at a steep angle. This creates shavings with many fibers that are easily ignitable. Next, I place a handful of broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) "down" (which is actually the fruits) on top of the cedar shavings. The cattail down is very easy to ignite and extends the coal readily (though it will not flame). If my materials are at all damp or of poor quality for any reason, adding some thin slices of tinder polypore (Fomes fomentarius) will help to extend the coal and give me a longer period of time to dry materials and produce flame.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| paper birch outer wrap to support tinder materials | very fine strips of paper birch | strips of paper birch placed in the outer wrap | scraping outer bark of northern white cedar with a flake of flint | fine shavings of northern white cedar | northern white cedar shavings placed in the tinder bundle | broad-leaved cattail "down" to act as a coal extender | thin slices from the tinder polypore | completed tinder bundle ready for use |
A few additional notes that may help you to produce flame. Keep all materials dry (i.e., protect them from snow and wet ground). I frequently collect tinder materials on dry, sunny days and save them in containers for "less than perfect" days when the humidity or precipitation is not cooperating. Plan everything out and have extra tinder materials on hand (in case you need to feed the bundle more material). Don't panic, you have plenty of time. This type of tinder bundle will last for minutes; therefore, slow down and think about what you are doing. Sometimes the fine materials have burnt in such a way that they are not contacting the next coarser layer. Take the time to carefully push the material in contact and then continuing blowing on the embers. Lastly, experiment. There are lots of other materials and methods (depending on where you practice primitive skills). The more you practice, the better you will become (as long as pay close attention to what is happening and try to determine why a particular attempt has failed).
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| bow drill used in this example to create fire | bow drill in action | using blade point to carefully remove ember from notch | ember placed in tinder bundle | flame from tinder bundle! |
Other species in New England that work well to take the ember produced from the bow drill and readily burn to extend the life of the ember.
 |
 |
 |
| goldenrod (Solidago) | virgin's-bower (Clematis) | milkweed (Asclepias) |