I use spruce sap. I try and find it where it is not full of allot of bark, softer. In spring it is good. Then I roll it into a nice ball as seen here on a stone (rolls nice).

Then I find some materials I will roll this into. In this case it was cedar and cattail down (you can use a variety of materials here, i.e. milkweed, poplar bark, cotton grass, etc.)

You have two choices here now.
You can roll it into a ball, then break it in half and with the inside, flip it to the outside and roll this section now in the cedar and cattail -- that way the inside and outside have been rolled.

Or choice two, just do the one side as seen in these pictures.

First, I roll it in to a tight ball, then with my stick I make a hole.

I will then select my charred material, in this case poplar char. You can select from a variety of char and non-char materials for this -- the choice is yours, i.e. birch fungus, Mullen, inner piths of mushrooms, etc. However, I have found that in some seasons some materials offer better choices than others.

And then I will put a small piece inside.

Once this is completed I roll the ball into more cedar and more cattail down.
This makes it not as "sticky" and more manageable.

If you wish you can close the top over as I do sometimes, and I can leave them in the rain and of course they are very water proof!

The char will ignite very quickly with any kind of spark at all, whether from your magnesium stick or using your knife as I do, then glancing it off a nice rock into your char hole. When you need it all you needs to do is open the little flap on top and send a spark into the char spot of the tinder ball and in no time you will have a long lasting, hot tinder pile!

I sometimes place this ball in a clam shell for transporting, and even sometimes I make "bows bush candles" from these balls, (used somewhat differently) and I have a little light in the bush!

I hope you enjoyed this!

--Allan "bow" Beauchamp

Survival Fire Tinder Tinder Fungus Tinder Bundles

READ THE DISCLAIMER