How to Identify, Harvest, Extract and Process Amadou For Fire Lighting !

Please note that this is NOT a period way of charring tinder. Tinder materials were charred directly in the fire, & then the smouldering ember was smothered in a tinderbox. But, this video is very good & in my opinion well made. It does show the process of preparation well, something I am unable to do with Horses Hoof fungus, as it does not grow in Australia.
Keith.

Simple Woodcraft Experiments 1 from Buzzard Bushcraft.

http://buzzardbushcraft.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/simple-woodcraft-experiments-1.html?showComment=1330399120693

Part Two. A Closer Look At Flint and Steel Fire Lighting.

This is my brass tinderbox which I carry with me when in the woods. NOTE, it does NOT have a hole in the lid. A hole in the lid would only let in damp and ruin the tinder inside. The tinderbox is used to prepare plant tinders, but you do not need a hole in the lid, and you DO NOT place the tinderbox in the fire.

Tinder is prepared by simply charring directly in the fire on the end of a pointed stick. Once charred on the outside ONLY, it is placed in the tinderbox and the lid is closed to smother the smouldering tinder.

The misconception regarding the hole in the lid comes from the item below.

Above is a tin used for charring linen or cotton cloth. You will note it has a hole in the lid with a twig stuck in it. This is a modern invention, NOT a period one. In the 18th century charred tow rag was used in the homes, rarely in the wilderness. A person travelling from his/her home may well use charred tow rag in their tinderbox, but a woodsman or woods woman would not.

Amadou was also sold to households in England and Europe by tinder sellers. In this case the Amadou was treated with potasium nitrate to aid in its catching a spark.

Tow rag was charred directly in the fire, placed in the tinderbox, then smothered by placing an inner lid on top of the tinder. The same type of preparation was done using wooden tinderboxes. 

Tinder Fungus For Flint & Steel Fire Lighting.

Ryvardenia Cretaceu on a Stringybark tree

Large Ryvardenia Cretaceu

Fomes Fomentarius

Cut-away view of Fomes Fomentarius showing the Amadou inside.

Amadou.

Tinder Fungus.

Australia: Ryvardenia cretacea ( formerly known as Piptoporus Cretaceous). This bracket fungus grows on the trunks of trees anywhere from the ground up. The fungus itself requires charring before it can be used as tinder, but the resulting fungus dust caused by a fungus beetle will catch a spark as is.
http://zipcodezoo.com/Fungi/R/Ryvardenia_cretacea/Default.asp

Northern Hemisphere: Fomes Fomentarius.(also known as hoof fungus or horse hoof fungus). This fungus also grows on the trunks of trees and contains a tinder known as Amadou. To remove the Amadou the outer hard shell of this fungus must be removed. Some say that once dry this Amadou will catch a spark as is, others say it requires soaking in a mixture of water and saltpetre. In the 18th century this tinder was sold on the streets and at the apothecary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomes_fomentarius
http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/id_guide/Poriales/fomes_fomentarius.htm

www.capnfishy.co.uk/resources/Articles/amadou.htm

Primitive Fire Lighting-Flint & Steel, By Keith H. Burgess (Author of this Blog).

Knowing the correct name of a plant or animal is not as important as knowing what it looks like!

Amadou. Tinder from Fungus.

Amadou was used as tinder in England, Europe and the New World. Amadou is the soft cloth-like substance found under the hard outer layer of the Horse Hoof Fungus, also known as Fomes Fomantarius. This Amadou was also used for drying fish hooks.