Flint Steel Fire Making | Incredible NO CHAR Tinder

Making Flint & Steel Fires using uncharred plant tinder, no char cloth, or fungi including one plant that took a spark on the first strike three times in a row. In this video we'll use two common plants (that we had never seen used) as tinder for flint and steel fires.
Making a fire using flint and steel typically requires char cloth or tinder that has been charred first. There are some exceptions which include types of fungi like Chaga, and also Stinging Nettle which we have covered in previous videos. Our quest has been to find common, reliable, non-fungi, plants in our area that will consistently, reliably, take a spark from a Flint and Steel.
In this video we'll highlight two more plants that can do this; Pacific Waterleaf & Great Burdock, but our discovery mission is ongoing, and we have now found SEVERAL more which we will demonstrate in future videos.
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[@wildernessstrong6131]

See our recent complete updated list of incredible Flint/Steel No Char Tinders here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2KxYamlpqmeZrs

[@iridios6127]

Now we need a video on how you made a stone mortar and pestle. 😉

[@bonanderson9398]

These videos and channel are the best!

[@KnifeCrazzzzy]

Y’all are a hidden treasure. I’ve been into bushcraft and survival for a long time and somehow just now discovering y’all. Glad I did though. Way to go y’all!

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Glad you’re enjoying the videos!

[@lisamcqueen8509]

Blessed to have an abundance of nettle here! Gotta try to find the water leaf now. Thanks again, Steve

[@Jadeeboy]

Well, now I got to go out and find these leaves so I can test this out. This has always been a burning question of mine that no other site has answered. I knew there had to be some kind of natural tinder to use flint and steel with. Thanks for all the work in testing and discovering.

[@charlesartificer2158]

Yes! A fire video from you is like Christmas morning!

[@ARAW-__-]

So useful. Glad you documented your trials ! I make fire videos and will be sure to give you due credit if I use the burdock to light a no char fire !

[@johnscrivy]

Nettles are just flowering here in the southern united kingdom, just as lucky as you guys 2 or 3 strikes with the fire steel and it catches, just want to thank you guy's for helping me continue my journey with Bushcraft skills.

[@wildernessstrong6131]

We love hearing that! Thanks.

[@markpeatrowsky3023]

Ive just watched a few videos. This is superior content and research on your site! Thank you for your willingness to share your hard won knowledge.

[@wontonsoup3916]

Great Video! 👍🏽

[@user-ly9ql3bc1f]

This is awesome! Have you tried dried mullein leaves?

[@wildernessstrong6131]

We did try it, but with no success. It really seemed like it should work.

[@easternadventures4254]

Love your channel so much! I’ve tried burdock with no luck so far. Going to try again today. I have burdock everywhere. I’m having trouble finding nettle and done believe we have pacific water leaf in PA. I really hope I can get a spark to catch! Thanks guys keep up the great work!

[@HarshmanHills]

great work bud

[@RookKnight]

Love these videos guys!! Excited to see the next one!

[@larryhawkes1347]

You guys are awesome, thanks for all of your time extensively doing all of this research and testing and sharing all of this great information. It's much appreciated. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@joodhepa3450]

We love you man yeeeeees thanks again that was very awesome to see keep up the good work we love you and we respect your San to

[@KettleCamping]

Great video!! Thank you! 👍

[@ulrichreinhardt8432]

That is amazing !!! Never seen or heard such thing before. Very very seldom i have seen such valuable and awesome videos !

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@charlesartificer2158]

Ha, loving how you did all that on a green Burdock leaf!

[@feralenergy9123]

Any tips on Burdock ? I tried it here in France (decaying leaves) and even with a bic lighter i can t get it to make a nice propagating amber. maybe the season ? the ground ? else ? thanks

[@krisvq]

Burdock? Nope. I tried this for hours. Collected dead, dry leaves. Processed them into near dust. Then I started throwing ferro rod sparks at it, and nope, wouldn't hold a spark. Finally I used a lighter and sure enough they wouldn't burn. I can't explain it, but it is what happened. Will try a lot more of this and get it on video this spring. I appreciate your videos because you clearly have success with this but I wonder if other details like humidity, ambient temperature, barometric pressure, etc., have an effect and to what extent.

[@wildernessstrong6131]

What part of the world do you live in?

[@feralenergy9123]

same experience as above in France, summer/ocean side/ 83% humidity

[@erycougar9698]

Greet riset...💪💪🙏😘

[@bushcraftbasics2036]

In Larry Dean Olsen's book, Outdoor Survival Skills he indicates that no char fires might be possible with finely shredded dry inner bark of cottonwood and sagebrush. I haven't seen any where I currently live to try. Have you tried these? Just curious as many survival books only give vague advice or parrot what others have said without trying. This is what I like about your channel is that you try. Also Dan at Coal Cracker Bushcraft had no char success using the inner ovum of a dried milkweed pod. So that might be another for your list. Thank you for doing these videos.

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Great comment, thanks! Larry's book is on my desk and you're right, he does mention cottonwood. We were barely able to make it work with rotted cottonwood bark that had been sitting for many years, but we have not tried the others. Cottonwood is something we'd put in the category of possible, but not something we'd recommend first. We've had the most success with Stinging Nettle, Great Burdock, Pacific Waterleaf, and Mugwort. Those are the big ones. Larry reached out to my dad when I was a kid and they had a great conversation about things. We received this comment below from Mtn. Mel DeWeese who was another legend in our field and good friends with Larry. I thought his comment was pretty interesting regarding Flint/Steel without char. Sounds like in 1978 there wasn't a lot of information or published research on the subject of No Char Flint and Steel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @meldeweese6875 • 1 year ago 2 subscribers Have to watch over & over ! So AMAZING ! Way back when I met Larry Dean Olsen - Richard Jaminson- Jim Riggs - Ernest Wilkerson and all the other " Greats " at the first " Rabbit Stick " gathering in 1978 ---- I was / we were questioning the " Well, ya gotta have fire - TO MAKE FIRE ( char tinder ) !" Great, Thanks to you , WOW ! All my orig. R.S. friends have passed now ---- I wish they could have shared your knowledge. Sincerely, Mtn Mel, Ret USN SERE Inst. W. Colo. Note - My Negrito Troopers in P.I. JEST school did show me my first " Fire Piston " , 1968, using natural , unprepared tinder from the Fish Tail Palm tree, a " fuzzy like cotton " from inside bark = Amazing .

[@bushcraftbasics2036]

@@wildernessstrong6131 Thank you very much. I think there was very little information available previously and why I enjoy online resources like your channel being available to those wanting to learn more.

[@charlesartificer2158]

Okay I just finished the video. I had the same problem with trying to dry my own green Burdock leaves. I wonder if there's some kind of chemical change as the leaves die and turn brown because when you try to dry the green leaf it just stays green. I wish I knew somebody that was into botany that could kind of answer that question because I believe that it could open other doors for flint and steel fire making where other plants are concerned. Anyway thank you so much for these videos you've reignited my passion for primitive fire making.

[@Mark--Todd]

I wonder if the Gt Burdock will make a Rudiger roll? Something for me to try

[@wildernessstrong6131]

it seems to have the right consistency...let us know if it works for you.

[@lyonmandan]

Is the waterleaf you’re referring to the same as ball head water leaf? It has almost identical leaves.

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Ball head waterleaf is Hydropyllum capitatum, and pacific waterleaf that we use is Hydropyllum tenuipes. They look very similar. Another name for ball head waterleaf is wool breeches. It's appearance and this name makes it very likely that it has the same fire making quality. We haven't tried it. If you have it, let us know.

[@quercus6052]

Conyza canadensis (horseweed) will also work. Great video, Thank you.

[@charlesartificer2158]

One last thing. It looks like in my state here in Michigan that we have three species of Waterleaf. We have what is called great Waterleaf. Canada water Leaf otherwise known as broad-headed water leaf. And Virginia Waterleaf. I have been since your first video got me going on this doing some research on them and looking for him in my local Woods here. Interestingly enough these three species the leaves don't quite look the same. I haven't found any yet but when I do I'm definitely going to try what you showed here. Now I know you said Pacific Waterleaf in your video. Do you have any other species of water Leaf in your area?

[@wildernessstrong6131]

This link lists the types of WL around us including Pacific Waterleaf. science.halleyhosting.com/nature/gorge/5petal/water/hydrophyllum/hydrophyllum.htm

[@charlesartificer2158]

@@wildernessstrong6131 thanks!

[@jerrytalley802]

Do you think the success of the one strikes was due to the spark landing on the fine dust? Could you separate the fine powder from the larger pieces, have only powder to catch a spark? Thanks

[@wildernessstrong6131]

That’s an interesting point and we have played around with it. Sometimes the dust lights and sometimes the spark lands right on the fiber. More experimenting to be done I’m sure…

[@jerrytalley802]

How about using quartz rocks? Are there places there’s only round river rock? Thanks

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Quartz rocks can work. We’ve found it more difficult to maintain a sharp edge in some quartz we’ve used.

[@iridios6127]

Quartz rocks IS work. 😉 It edge spoils faster, but is much easier to find everywhere than flint and chert.

[@christineedwards4865]

Have you heard of retting? Basically, it's just a fancy term for soaking a plant in water for a period of time to help it break down. It's typically used for processing fiber, but I wonder if green burdock leaves (and other difficult green materials) would take a spark after that.

[@wildernessstrong6131]

gave us something to consider...thanks.

[@robertmschwab9365]

Do you have a printed list of these tinders?

[@wildernessstrong6131]

It’s in the works. We keep discovering new tinder that works. We’ll have an updated video and list out soon.

[@JohnVance-fz1rd]

just asking where i live in west Virginia we have wood stinging nettle would it still work where i live

[@wildernessstrong6131]

Good question. We only have experience with common nettle- Urtica dioica, but it would be educational to know if wood nettle works as well.

[@JohnVance-fz1rd]

@@wildernessstrong6131 i am not so good at this just started out when spring get here i will find some and try it out i bought flint and steell it is all new to me i am still learning like what your farther and you are doing thanks for replly

[@iridios6127]

@@JohnVance-fz1rd If you have reached for any durable fibers like nettle, jute, cotton, yucca, hemp e.t.c. - learn the technique of fire-rolling the fibers. You don't even need flint and steel (with all due respect). 😉

[@joshblackman2380]

Absolutely awesome, can y’all do a follow on video on visual ID, most common way to find it, and regions of North America where it grows.

[@surface2wherever]

Is anyone actually able to reproduce these results!? 😵‍💫 I have tried it with stinging nettle and great burdock, and no success... Either they use way better flint with hotter and bigger sparks, or it is so dry in their area that almost anything will catch fire. Here in the Netherlands, where we just had a drought, I couldn't make these techniques work 😐

[@feralenergy9123]

Any news on Burdock ? I tried it here in France (decaying leaves) and even with a bic lighter i can t get it to make a nice propagating amber. maybe the season ? the ground ? else ? thanks

[@theplantista25]

Do you think you can sell me some waterleaf seeds or do some research on it ?? ( I've tried to find some but they are all a different variety, I think ????? ) thanks a lot I love your videos, from Spain 🔥🔥🌱🌱🌱🌱👍👍😎😎

[@taguanskorch178]

I find that punk wood lights on fire with flint so fast into flames

[@heyarno]

I think the biggest lesson here, is to practice whenever you can and experiment with anything you find. No instructions are conclusive.

[@joodhepa3450]

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