Tinder
Encyclopedia
Tinder is easily combustible material used to ignite fire
s by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling
. Anything that can be ignited by a match
can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of sparks. The more restrictive definition is important in the study of survival skills
, which redefines kindling as material requiring a match to ignite it. Materials commonly used as tinder:
Whichever material is used, the thinner it is and the more surface there is, and especially edges, the more easily it will ignite. With wood, this can be achieved by shaving slivers off it. One method to keep these together is to make a feather stick
. The best wood from a tree is dead branches that have not fallen to the ground yet.
If a fire is to be lit by sparks rather than matches, char cloth, punkwood, fungus or down are commonly used to catch the sparks. However, fungi should be selected with care as some release toxic fumes on combustion
. Char cloth can be made by placing plant-based fabric
(usually cotton
) in a tin box
into a campfire; like charcoal
, it is the product of anhydrous pyrolysis
. It is very fragile, and should usually be prepared only in small quantities.
Pitchwood can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Fir
trees, especially the Douglas fir, wil leave stumps in the ground when they die. These stumps contain spires of resin-impregnated wood which can easily be lighted using only a single match or lighter. By shaving the pitchwood into small splinters, it will readily ignite. Pitchwood does not absorb water, and so will ignite in any weather when sheltered from rain and wind. In the southeastern United States it is formed from the heartwood of Longleaf pine
trees and is called "fat lighter" or "lighter'd" (a shortening of lighter-wood). (Reference—Ratliff, Donald E., Sr., Map, Compass and Campfire, Binford & Mort, Publishers, 1964, page 45.)
Embers of burned paper, leaves and other sheetlike materials are easily carried off by air currents, where they can alight upon other objects and ignite them. In outdoor campfires, paper can be wadded up to reduce this hazard; wadded paper also burns more quickly.
Magnesium is sold in stores in shaved or bar form. Shavings burn white-hot, are impossible to smother with carbon dioxide or sand, and can ignite even wet kindling. Solid bars are impossible to ignite under normal conditions (and difficult even with a welding torch
), and are thus very safe to carry. Magnesium powder and shavings are pyrophoric (they oxidise rapidly when exposed to the air). It is dangerous to carry pre-shaved magnesium — at best, it loses potency, at worst, it can spontaneously ignite and is then nearly unquenchable. Magnesium bars are sometimes sold with a length of ferrocerium
cast into one edge.
The gathering of tinder, and perhaps more importantly, its dry storage is one of the most critical aspects of many survival
situations.
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling
Kindling
Kindling is a term to describe small pieces of wood and twigs used to start a fire.Kindling may also refer to:* Kindling, a 1915 film directed by Cecil B...
. Anything that can be ignited by a match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of sparks. The more restrictive definition is important in the study of survival skills
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
, which redefines kindling as material requiring a match to ignite it. Materials commonly used as tinder:
- Dry pine needles, leavesLeafA leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
or grassPoaceaeThe Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges... - Birch barkBirch barkBirch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus Betula.The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times...
- Dead, standing (usually one season old) goldenrodGoldenrodSolidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are also a few species native to Mexico, South...
- Cloth, lint, or frayed ropeRopeA rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
(if made from plantPlantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
fibers and not treated with fire retardantFire retardantA fire retardant is a substance other than water that reduces flammability of fuels or delays their combustion. This typically refers to chemical retardants but may also include substances that work by physical action, such as cooling the fuels; examples of these include fire-fighting foams and...
) - Char clothChar clothChar cloth is a swatch of fabric made from vegetable fiber that has been converted via pyrolysis into a slow-burning fuel of very low ignition temperature. It is capable of being ignited by a single spark that can in turn be used to ignite a tinder bundle to start a fire...
- Cotton swabCotton swabCotton swabs or cotton buds or ear buds consist of a small wad of cotton wrapped around one or both ends of a short rod, usually made of either wood, rolled paper, or plastic...
s, tamponTamponA tampon is a mass of cotton or rayon or a mixture of the two inserted into a body cavity or wound to absorb bodilyfluid. The most common type in daily use is designed to be inserted into the vagina during menstruation to absorb the flow of menstrual fluid...
s - PaperPaperPaper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, paper towelPaper towelA paper towel is an absorbent textile made from paper instead of cloth. Unlike cloth towels, paper towels are disposable and intended to be used only once. Paper towels soak up water because they are loosely woven which enables water to travel between them, even against gravity...
s, toilet paperToilet paperToilet paper is a soft paper product used to maintain personal hygiene after human defecation or urination. However, it can also be used for other purposes such as blowing one's nose when one has a cold or absorbing common spills around the house, although paper towels are more used for the latter...
, etc. - Dry bread or knäckebröd and shoe polish
- Punk wood (in the process of rotting) or charCharChar is the solid material that remains after light gases and tar coal tar have been driven out or released from a carbonaceous material during the initial stage of combustion, which is known as carbonization, charring, devolatilization or pyrolysis.Further stages of efficient combustion are...
red wood - Some types of fungusFungusA fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
(best known is the amadouAmadouAmadou is a spongy, flammable substance prepared from bracket fungi. The species generally used is Fomes fomentarius which in English is also called horse's hoof fungus or tinder fungus. The amadou layer can be found on top of the fungus just below the outer skin and above the pores...
or horse's hoof fungus) - Bird down
- Small twigTwigA twig is a small thin terminal branch of a woody plant. Twigs are critically important in identification of trees, shrubs and vines, especially in wintertime. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away...
s (poor tinder but commonly available) - FatwoodFatwoodFatwood, also known as "fat lighter," "lighter wood", "rich lighter", "pine knot","heart pine" or "lighter'd" , is derived from the heartwood of pine trees. This resin-impregnated heartwood becomes hard and rot-resistant. The stump left in the ground after a tree has fallen or has been cut is an...
, also known as rich pine or pine knot. - Fine-grade soap-coated steel woolSteel woolSteel wool, also known as wire wool, is a bundle of strands of very fine soft steel filaments, used in finishing and repairing work to polish wood or metal objects, and for cleaning household cookware....
- Shaved magnesiumMagnesiumMagnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
or other alkaline earth metalAlkaline earth metalThe alkaline earth metals are a group in the periodic table. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, the alkaline earth metals are called the group 2 elements. Previously, they were called the Group IIA elements . The alkaline earth metals contain beryllium , magnesium , calcium , strontium , barium and...
s
Whichever material is used, the thinner it is and the more surface there is, and especially edges, the more easily it will ignite. With wood, this can be achieved by shaving slivers off it. One method to keep these together is to make a feather stick
Feather stick
A feather stick is a length of wood which has been shaved to produce a head of thin curls.It is used when starting an outdoor fire or campfire when dry tinder is hard to find, and is often used in conjunction with charcloth....
. The best wood from a tree is dead branches that have not fallen to the ground yet.
If a fire is to be lit by sparks rather than matches, char cloth, punkwood, fungus or down are commonly used to catch the sparks. However, fungi should be selected with care as some release toxic fumes on combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
. Char cloth can be made by placing plant-based fabric
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
(usually cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
) in a tin box
Tin box
A tin box, or tin for short, is a metal container with a re-closeable lid. Despite its name, a tin box seldom involves more tin than a thin plated layer whose purpose is to inhibit corrosion.-Construction:...
into a campfire; like charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
, it is the product of anhydrous pyrolysis
Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible...
. It is very fragile, and should usually be prepared only in small quantities.
Pitchwood can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
trees, especially the Douglas fir, wil leave stumps in the ground when they die. These stumps contain spires of resin-impregnated wood which can easily be lighted using only a single match or lighter. By shaving the pitchwood into small splinters, it will readily ignite. Pitchwood does not absorb water, and so will ignite in any weather when sheltered from rain and wind. In the southeastern United States it is formed from the heartwood of Longleaf pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
trees and is called "fat lighter" or "lighter'd" (a shortening of lighter-wood). (Reference—Ratliff, Donald E., Sr., Map, Compass and Campfire, Binford & Mort, Publishers, 1964, page 45.)
Embers of burned paper, leaves and other sheetlike materials are easily carried off by air currents, where they can alight upon other objects and ignite them. In outdoor campfires, paper can be wadded up to reduce this hazard; wadded paper also burns more quickly.
Magnesium is sold in stores in shaved or bar form. Shavings burn white-hot, are impossible to smother with carbon dioxide or sand, and can ignite even wet kindling. Solid bars are impossible to ignite under normal conditions (and difficult even with a welding torch
Oxy-fuel welding and cutting
Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals, respectively. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903...
), and are thus very safe to carry. Magnesium powder and shavings are pyrophoric (they oxidise rapidly when exposed to the air). It is dangerous to carry pre-shaved magnesium — at best, it loses potency, at worst, it can spontaneously ignite and is then nearly unquenchable. Magnesium bars are sometimes sold with a length of ferrocerium
Ferrocerium
Ferrocerium is a man-made metallic material that has the ability to give off a large number of hot sparks at temperatures at when scraped against a rough surface , such as ridged steel...
cast into one edge.
The gathering of tinder, and perhaps more importantly, its dry storage is one of the most critical aspects of many survival
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
situations.