Harvesting materials for Friction Fire

Rosebay Willowherb

Autumn is here! A great time to get out in nature and harvest materials for friction fire!
A key part of friction fire, is identifying and collecting suitable materials. Some people pride themselves on gathering the materials on the spot in the wild and others prefer to collect their's in advance (or a bit of both.) It does help to learn about what works and identification of species (handy pocket guides are useful.) It's also useful to understand burning qualities of wood - what burns quickly, slowly, smokes etc (see knowing-your-firewood.html.)

I've also found that I'm always on the lookout for materials, and sometimes I find them in unexpected places such as car parks. So even if you live in a city, you'll be surprised at what you can find in often unusual places. I am lucky to live near to amazing open green spaces that have diverse habitats including woodland, meadows, rivers, and ponds, which provide me with everything I need. Unfortunately this year, 2018, Bristol Council have started being more brutal in cutting vegetation back so I'm having to hunt out certain materials including Rosebay!

​Where possible I prefer to use materials native and local to where I am.

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Please do forage with responsibility and put nature before your needs!

It is best to collect dead standing\fallen wood as this is best for friction fire rather than cut green wood. If you need to cut green wood (e.g. Elder spindles)  try to only cut a couple from one tree, use a diagonal  clean cut (do not snap) and don't cut flush to the branch it is sprouting from. 

For plants (e.g. teasel and mullein) you'll need to wait until Autumn once they have seeded before you can  cut (they won't season like wood anyway) and if they still have seeds then shake them to scatter the seeds and cut the seed heads off in situ.

It's always wise to use discretion (especially in public places) and don't take too much at a time.

Here are some materials which work really well for me:

Bow Drill Spindles

• Hazel &Willow - there is lots and lots of hazel in my local woods, and it tends to grows straight this so this is what I commonly use.

Bow Drill Hearth boards

• Ivy - Ivy tends to soaks up moisture\water (even when dead) so it is best to strip the bark and carve into boards first then dry and store for future use, otherwise it tends to rot.
• Hazel, Lime, Willow, Poplar (to name a few) - again if you carve into boards first, then they will dry out quicker.

Hand Drill Spindles
It is best to select the straightest possible rather then trying to straighten out. If they are still a little wonky then straighten and tie to a broom handle, using elastic bands etc, while still green and drying.

• Elder - best to cut green and season - it is hard to find dead standing Elder as it usually goes punky quite quickly. Elder will season quickly though (in a couple of days if in a warm place or hours if next to a fire etc.)
• Teasel & Mullein - best to collect in Autumn - cut from the bottom and cut off the seed heads and shake and leave the seed heads in-situ. Wear gloves with Teasel as they have thorns (you need to scrape these off with a knife.)
• Cat tail (bulrush) , broad leaved Dock, Ragwort, Burdock - I haven't tried these yet. Again, collect these, once they've started dying off.
• Willow 

Hand Drill Hearth board

• Wild Clematis (Clematis Vitalba\Old Man's Beard\Traveller's Joy) - wild clematis looks like Tarzan vines hanging from the trees. It can be quite difficult to find in some parts of the country, but is quite prevalent in the South of England. Like Ivy, it's best to carve into hearthboards then dry and store.
• Ivy and Willow is also supposed to work well

​Note: Ivy and Clematis don't have a grain so they don't split well so it's best to carve.

Tinder - most tinder materials are best collected dead and dry it out.

• Rosebay  Willowherb seed heads are fantastic for tinder, for extending the ember. Willowherb tends to be very common in the UK and starts seeding in mid to late Summer - collect the fluffy seed heads and throngs. Try to find Rosebay rather than other types of Willowherb as it's easier to collect Rosebay seed heads as they all grow at the top of the plant.
• Thistle seed heads (very common!) - again for lining tinder nests. Thistles start to seed in mid to late summer.
• Dead dry grass - loads of it in meadows (as long as your council haven't cut early!)  You need to collect it dead yellow, rather than green.
• Clematis bark - collect the bark which is falling off the vine and you need to buff it up and separate it out for the tinder next. It works really well.
• King Alfred Cakes fungus  (grows on dead ash) - you need to collect these when they are black (dead), not brown (alive.) These act like coals and you only need a small spark\ember to light one so useful to have a couple of these, just in case.  You can then place your tinder ontop of the fungus, and blow on it.
• Bracken - One of my favourite tinder materials is bracken and it's best to collect it when it's died off in late Autumn. I collect sack fulls (but only where it's plentiful.) Snap the bracken - don't pull out by the root as it propagates from the rhizomes (roots). Wear gloves as dead bracken can rip your hands to shreds! Collect the stalks and leaves, as it all burns very well.

Cordage 

• Stinging Nettles - Wait until late Summer\early Autumn when the Nettles are at their tallest, and wear gloves! Again cut the nettle at the base of the stalk, rather than pulling out.
• Willow and Lime bark - I've not collected or tried this yet. One for the to do list.

Jon's Bushcraft has good articles on collecting and processing Nettles, Willow and Lime for cordage.

Store everything away dry and in a dry place.
And keep those eyes peeled, it's amazing where you can find materials!
Caution-Ticks! Also be aware of ticks (which can pass on Lymes disease.) If you are in places frequented by Deer (especially if in long grass \ bracken) then check yourselves thoroughly (and best to wear long socks, long sleeves, trousers etc) and use Tick removal tools to remove any as soon as possible.
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Happy responsible foraging!

Wild Clematis

Teasel

King Alfred Cakes

Mullein