I see this stuff every time I go to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Lots of birch out there, literally everyplace. When there is birch on the ground I see this fungus as well as on standing trees nearby. I actually take the birch bark off dead trees for fire starting. I had no idea the fungus that killed it can be used as tinder! Thanks for sharing some info!
Thanks Zachary. Beautiful part of the world your in brotha. Yes, the Birch trees got so many uses. You can tap them like Maple trees, extract the sap. kinda like sugar water, very refreshing. plus you can heat it up & make birch syrup. The barks awesome.. you can soak it & make casts for say a broken arm, Canoes, Containers & like you said.. great as a tinder & fire wood too. Cheers buddy Andy
@@ClanGunnBushcraft I just saw your vid and subscribed . This was really informative and I liked your style because you act like a normal human being ; none of this flirting with the camera and some of them when they are looking at the camera are really admiring themselves and it's rather disgusting to watch the narcissism nowadays . Thank you for being you , being so helpful without the swagger and without making a big production out of it . All of these positives will make it so much easier for me to share these vids with others . I actually did not know that you're supposed to boil the Amadou and I had never seen that before . The first time I ever heard of amadou was when they found an ancient man in the ice of the Alps I think they said he was over 5,000 years old and in his little bag was some amadou .
Apparently you can char your spores part, for like a charred punk wood type ember catching sinario, that type of principle.casting flint and steel onto it, or using your ferro rod. So its a useful by product. Not to be wasted.
I have seen people tease out and shape the amadou with their fingers and it really stretches the amadou out a ends up like a suede type leather, for flint and steel. Like natures char cloth. Wish i could get that technique mastered.
You're welcome. I think I'll run with your idea and go to a hardware store and get a length of swing set chain and a couple of black bungee straps to get the hooks from. Hope you don't mind. Thanks for the video.
Nice work mate! Greetings from clan Gunn Florida US! Aut pax aut bellum! As an aside I find belly button and clothes dryer lint the best tinder ever. We don't have this in Florida but we do have pine tar/sap/pitch which is like petrol!
Welcome brotha, great to meet another clan member. Our heritage is getting lost over the generations. Glad you know where you come from. Alba gu brath, Slan's beannachd. You must have alot of belly button fluff! haha. Pine resin is a great resource! I use pine pitch glue in my latest video to bind arrow heads to shafts. Makes a great natural glue. Take care brotha. Cheers, Andy
I take it apart in sections process it seperatly, the part in the middle is grains up and down you can peel it off in small peaces and fuz them up after they dry, you should try it,and make another video.
Thanks, I'll try that. I'm off to record another camp video tomorrow, only got one little piece of amadou left, going to process some more. I'll give it a go. Lovin the country singing, good voice! Very cowboy :) Cheers buddy Andy
Nice one mate - Gonna give this a go - I made char cloth for the first time last week while I was out - didn't realise it was so simple,, and it catches a spark - Bonus!!!ATB bud - Marcus
Nice one buddy. Char cloths a great tinder. Have you lit it with a flint and steel yet? Amadou's an excellent tinder too, humans have been harvesting it for donkeys mate. It burns a very hot ember. In modern times its only really practical as a tinder you would light with a flint and steel. There's many other easier thing's you can light with a ferro rod without much or any processing. But back in the day before ferro rods, and when cloth either didn't exist or was too valuable to char, amadou was widely used. Cheers Marcus, let me know how it goes bud. atb Andy
+john mcivor Thanks John Nice one, great knowledge to learn brotha. A little daunting at first, but a huge sense of satisfaction when things start to click. Where about's in the world are you?? Cheers Andy
+john mcivor Origanally Stranraer, but moved to Derbyshire (Buxton) in the late 80's. Do most of my camping & videos around Galloway forest area. I feel at home in them woodlands :)
Brilliant, thanks very much. I was first shown amadou techniques on my 3 year shamanic training but you have added quite a degree of clarity I may well be back for further insights. A very well put together video. I best go and look for some more horse hoof fungus. I think I missed the boiling part before so perhaps that is where I went wrong. x
Thanks Ray. Yeah, back in the day before steel pots n cooking vessels, they'd just leave it to soak for 2-3 days, rather than boiling it. Iv only ever made one batch this way, but it produced good quality amadou. Cheers buddy atb Andy
Thanks for the video but I just tried my first attempt and my knife safety is obviously not up to scratch and the whole process takes so long I think I'm going to stick with charring cloth or punk wood. Anyway thanks again.
Hey dude how you doing? another great vid man. Just out of interest what camera's do you use for video and photographs because they are excellent quality. love the photos you take man, really cool.
Thanks Paul, I'm good, hope your well brotha. My kits not too good though, really could do with an upgrade. I'm a tech idiot. Been watching endless amounts of boring camera reviews for a few months now lol. For most of my recording I use a Sony Cybershot HX50 & my phone.. Samsung Galaxy S6. Earlier vids was the S4. Most of the photos are with the Galaxy's, photos turn out really well. Then end part of this vid is recorded with my crappy cam that I attach to my rifle.. Panasonic SRD-S45, but I'm looking forward to the day I replace it as I'm guna launch it into the woods!! lolhaha I hate it!! :) I think I'm guna get the Go-pro 4 silver!? Maybe Santa will bring it for me? Cheers bro Andy
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft that surprises man. it does the job though dude, nice bright colourful videos. I can imagine you launching that the old pannasonic. don't shoot a squirrel all day then knock one out with your camcorder hahaha
Really cool man! Have you learned how to turn it into a hat yet? I have seen a guy with an Amadu hat on. I think the kind of make a felt out of it or something. I was reading about it a few years ago. See CZcams video "Paul Stamets at TEDMED 2011" he is wearing a hat in it. Just found your channel. Subscribed! :)
Cheers brotha. Iv seen a few pictures of the amadou hats, but I haven't a clue how they process it into a workable fabric. I'll defantly check out that link tho. Thanks and iv subbed back :) Cheers Andy
I wish someone would make a horse fungus/amadou mushroom tea video to show how they process it. Can i just cut up the entire amadou and throw it in boiling water to make tea? Or do i peel the outer layer off? Can i put the pore stems in the tea too? I forget what that part is called oops
It's a form of chaga from what I understand.... I was getting chaga fairly cheaply about 10 years ago from a Russian shop in Tampa Florida . I was in an Asian supermarket the other day and I could not believe they were selling chaga ( a small amount of it maybe an ounce ?... for $27 .
@@gardensofthegods and usually when chaga is bought it is not grown naturally in nature because they grow it in bags or containers and not on real birch where they get their medicinal value from. Needs to grow in nature on a real tree for the medicine to be potent. Best we all just forage for medicines rather than buy them i think. It's fun too. And i know what you mean about high cost of supplements. I use to spend a few hundred dollars a month on supplements for yrs then realized i can forage it all. Now i'm hooked! Btw SOME suppliers will sell naturally found mushrooms but you must check the company to see if they do.✌
Thanks buddy. No, it's an old Yew tree stump. There's a lot of downed pines in the area with great fatwood tho. I tend to pick pine resin straight from damaged trees. I find it more useful than carrying fat wood. Cheers Andy
Yes, the shell is basically tree bark, it'll burn well. Do you mean putting the hole hoof in a fire or get it lit with a spark straight off the tree? I prefer to remove the amadou pieces and process them in the ashed boiling water. Produces much better quality material.
Hello. Nice video! I was wondering about the soaking in ash part. Is there an ash water ratio that is needed? Is there a PH you're trying to get? Also, will this method work for the cooler spark of flint and steel?
I heard it was a 1:1 ratio of birch ash to water. It was in another CZcams video but i never tried it. I imagine it helps to soften and further dry out the fibers bit that is just a guess
Thanks Mark. I'm demonstrating it as a tinder which when processed lights with just a spark. Handy in the world of bushcraft, but it's also been used over the years and processed to make material / fabric and when boiled, makes a herbal tea to treat a bunch of illnesses. Cheers, Andy
No, you shouldn't. We've all lost so much knowledge when we compare ourselves to our ancestors. Wow! Great heritage. I know the native Indians use to smoke this stuff haha. Medicinal properties I guess? Thanks Mark, take care brotha
Amadou is a inner layer you process, chaga you dont need to process and looks different. Your amadou if processed properly you can flint and steel. You cannot flint and steel chaga like char cloth, as you can amadou. Both are great coal extenders.
I have done this. My pile didn't take a spark from flint and steel and with a ferrocerium rod you can easily light up birchbark or any woodshavings directly... so whats the point of this?
What's the point!? sure using a ferro rod & processed birch is much easier, but then I could say... Why are you using o ferro rod & processed birch bark when I could just pull out ma zippo and light a fuel cube!! It's alot easier, so what's the point??? This is a bushcraft channel, we're I practace bushcraft. Learning old primitive skills, ancient ways of living, living off the land & utilising what's on it. Nothing in reality is easy or quick, it's hard & slow paced. And just to correct ya, YES you can light amadou with a flint & steel. Think about it... The earlyest evidence of people using amadou for fire lighting is 5,000+ years ago! Do you think they used their ferrocerium rod they bought off eBay to light their amadou? No they used flint & iron pyrite or marcasite, which was what peeps used before the advent of steel. People then used steel as their main tool for lighting & charred wood, plant material or amadou as their tinder. Cloth was also relatively new & too valuable to use as charing material. They used these methods from the iron age up until the invention of the match. You do know that ferrocerium rods are man made rite?? None natural! Not that you could make one. Maybe instead of leaving hard working channels dick head comments, maybe you should put that time to practacing your skills ;)
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft Well, my comment wasn't ment to be offensive. I just didn't and still dont understand why you would use a firerod in combination with Amadou tinder - which you did in your video. From my experience, I doubt that amadou tinder - processed like shown here - will take a spark from flint and steel. Nevertheless I can be wrong about that, since I'm speaking from my own experience with that fungus. Under that assumption, the only thing I see what amadou would be used for, is as an additive to prosecced birchbark or powdered punk wood, to receive an longer lasting ember. Bushcraft is all about getting things done with the possibilities you got, in the most efficient way. Processing tinder fungus for hours to light them up with a ferro-rod is inefficient, therefore pointless. By the way: Your offensive interpretations about what I think or don't think are wrong.
+Schn00bs This video is on how to process Amadou. Not how to make fire with it. I'm at work and on my phone, so I can't add the link, but please type in... Flint & steel + horseshoe amadou = fire. By a channel called g0lb. It's only 40 seconds long. If you still don't believe your eyes? Watch the other dozens of videos below it. If you still don't believe it? I'll make a fire with it on my next camp video. I'm back out at the weekend.
Thanks bro and I agree! There's many more easier tinders to use nowadays with more modern materials like ferro rods, pistons and high carbon steel with flint, but it's more so the primitive, ancient side of learning this knowledge that interests me! Back in the day before modern fire making tools, we used friction, or iron pyrites with flint to create a very dull, cold and few and far inbetween spark. Amadou was one of the best and widely used tinders to hold such a cold spark. Thanks for watching
Good vid. Clear concise and none of the usual 'look at me' bull. Well done.
Haha, cheers Leo, and happy new year buddy.
Thanks
Andy
Good comment, I hate the look at me bull, sometimes I wont watch a video because of it lol seriously, I get annoyed.
I never realized the amadou layer was so thin or that it took so much work to get a usable amount. Thanks for the video--very informative!
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed video. Love how the amadou tinder has such a slow burn. Cheers!
Your welcome and thanks for watching.
Great channel you've got... subbed
a minute and a half in and I've learned more than I knew and it's ongoing. *smashes the sub button*
Thanks Jinx, glad you enjoyed it bro.
That was great. Your reasoning was extra helpful....pictures, commentary, and description was the best I've seen. Thanks again.
+Dennis JJ
Thanks Dennis.
I'm glad you enjoyed it bro.
Cheers
Andy
Life is like a box of horsehooffungus, you never know what u gonna get
I have also found them growing on aspen and even poplar trees! they're abundant little suckers
Cheers - brilliant and clear amadou prep guide. I'm going to have a go for sure. Thanks!
I see this stuff every time I go to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Lots of birch out there, literally everyplace. When there is birch on the ground I see this fungus as well as on standing trees nearby. I actually take the birch bark off dead trees for fire starting. I had no idea the fungus that killed it can be used as tinder! Thanks for sharing some info!
Thanks Zachary.
Beautiful part of the world your in brotha.
Yes, the Birch trees got so many uses. You can tap them like Maple trees, extract the sap. kinda like sugar water, very refreshing. plus you can heat it up & make birch syrup. The barks awesome.. you can soak it & make casts for say a broken arm, Canoes, Containers & like you said.. great as a tinder & fire wood too.
Cheers buddy
Andy
Really clear and informative video, thank you.
Thanks Anthony, glad you enjoyed it
Picked up some of these ages ago.. need to get my ass in gear and process them.
Best processed straight away
I found some today and wasn't sure of how to process it. top video buddy answered all my questions. cheers
Very helpful video. The best one I have seen on the subject. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience :)
Thanks Samantha, muchly appreciated 😊
Great informative piece of video! Thank you and be well. Doc
Thanks for another wonderfully professional video.
+Anthony Jacobs
Thanks Anthony, muchly appreciated buddy.
Cheers,
Andy
Thanks for sharing that. I learned a lot from that one
Your welcome mate. I'm on my last few pieces, so I'll be making another batch next time I'm out.
Thanks
Andy
@@ClanGunnBushcraft I just saw your vid and subscribed . This was really informative and I liked your style because you act like a normal human being ; none of this flirting with the camera and some of them when they are looking at the camera are really admiring themselves and it's rather disgusting to watch the narcissism nowadays .
Thank you for being you , being so helpful without the swagger and without making a big production out of it .
All of these positives will make it so much easier for me to share these vids with others . I actually did not know that you're supposed to boil the Amadou and I had never seen that before .
The first time I ever heard of amadou was when they found an ancient man in the ice of the Alps I think they said he was over 5,000 years old and in his little bag was some amadou .
Apparently you can char your spores part, for like a charred punk wood type ember catching sinario, that type of principle.casting flint and steel onto it, or using your ferro rod. So its a useful by product. Not to be wasted.
Thanks for sharing this. Really appreciate the info.
Thanks buddy, glad you enjoyed it.
thanks for taking the time to make and post this video. I can't wait to get out and collect the materials to try this.
I have seen people tease out and shape the amadou with their fingers and it really stretches the amadou out a ends up like a suede type leather, for flint and steel. Like natures char cloth. Wish i could get that technique mastered.
Very informative and I like your idea of using what appears to be swing set chain and hooks for your pot hanger.
Cheers Billy.
Yeah, the pot hangers just an old bicycle lock chain with four Ikea utensil hooks clamped on to it. Works well.
Thanks for watching
You're welcome. I think I'll run with your idea and go to a hardware store and get a length of swing set chain and a couple of black bungee straps to get the hooks from.
Hope you don't mind. Thanks for the video.
nice video on how to make amadou ,thanx for sharing, going to be on the look out for horse hoof fungus so i can make some
Thanks pal.
Defantly, let me know how it turns out. Great tinder to harvest, takes a spark from a flint n steel as easy as char cloth.
Cheers
Andy
Nice work mate! Greetings from clan Gunn Florida US!
Aut pax aut bellum! As an aside I find belly button and clothes dryer lint the best tinder ever. We don't have this in Florida but we do have pine tar/sap/pitch which is like petrol!
Welcome brotha, great to meet another clan member. Our heritage is getting lost over the generations. Glad you know where you come from. Alba gu brath, Slan's beannachd.
You must have alot of belly button fluff! haha. Pine resin is a great resource! I use pine pitch glue in my latest video to bind arrow heads to shafts. Makes a great natural glue.
Take care brotha.
Cheers,
Andy
Excellent video showing the process in great detail. 👍🏽
awesome thanks, a buddy at work was telling me about chaga so i went lookin and found some of this stuff
What a brilliant demo mate, cheers for sharing and I've subscribed. Got some horses hoof yesterday so will give it a go next weekend.
Thanks Andrew.
That's awesome buddy, let me know how it turns out.
Cheers
Andy
I take it apart in sections process it seperatly, the part in the middle is grains up and down you can peel it off in small peaces and fuz them up after they dry, you should try it,and make another video.
Thanks, I'll try that. I'm off to record another camp video tomorrow, only got one little piece of amadou left, going to process some more. I'll give it a go.
Lovin the country singing, good voice! Very cowboy :)
Cheers buddy
Andy
They make a great tea. It helps me sleep a lot,
I've never tried it, but I hear its got alot of medicinal qualities!
Thanks for watching brother
Great video, very helpful. It's good to have several tinder options, I will look out for these on my next outing !!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed my video. Happy new year
Nice one mate - Gonna give this a go - I made char cloth for the first time last week while I was out - didn't realise it was so simple,, and it catches a spark - Bonus!!!ATB bud - Marcus
Nice one buddy. Char cloths a great tinder. Have you lit it with a flint and steel yet?
Amadou's an excellent tinder too, humans have been harvesting it for donkeys mate. It burns a very hot ember. In modern times its only really practical as a tinder you would light with a flint and steel. There's many other easier thing's you can light with a ferro rod without much or any processing. But back in the day before ferro rods, and when cloth either didn't exist or was too valuable to char, amadou was widely used.
Cheers Marcus, let me know how it goes bud.
atb
Andy
I came to see it processed into an amadou hat but still a good video haha. I need that hat though.
Great video... it would be nice to mention that it’s also a medicine. Do you use the spore tubes for anything? You could probably make tea from it.
I always read that the reason for the birch ash is because it does a sort of a lye, and not that the ash soaks into the amadou.
really good that pal love the vids , just starting to get into bush craft so every bit helps
+john mcivor
Thanks John
Nice one, great knowledge to learn brotha. A little daunting at first, but a huge sense of satisfaction when things start to click. Where about's in the world are you??
Cheers
Andy
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft burnley lancs bud
+john mcivor
Lovely part of the UK & not to far from the lake district. Amazing place to camp & practace them skills.
its not bad where abouts are you
+john mcivor
Origanally Stranraer, but moved to Derbyshire (Buxton) in the late 80's.
Do most of my camping & videos around Galloway forest area. I feel at home in them woodlands :)
Nice demo on Amadou my friend !
the mi woodsman Cheers pal, thanks for watchin
Take care.
Excellent! Concise! Instructive! 10/10.
Can I ask where in the Uk you are for vid? Shropshire? Wales? Thanks ✌🏽️🐝
Derbyshire?
Well explained, and very helpful. Thank you.
9:12 that burning pile of Amadou looked like Scooby Doo
Great video. Cheers, Steve.
C Veg Thanks Steve
Appreciate it Brotha.
Andy
Awesome video, educational and well presented 💪
Thanks, from this, I could do it...
Brilliant, thanks very much. I was first shown amadou techniques on my 3 year shamanic training but you have added quite a degree of clarity I may well be back for further insights. A very well put together video. I best go and look for some more horse hoof fungus. I think I missed the boiling part before so perhaps that is where I went wrong. x
Where did you do a 3 yr shamanic training? So cool!!
I read that an amadou mushroom can hold a spark for up to 3 days. Wonder how true this is? Would you happen to know? Thanks for the video!
Nice video. 👍🏻
I need to try this
Great video and great info mate, cheers
Thanks Nat, appreciate it buddy.
Cheers
Andy
most excellent--thank you!
Great vid - thanks!
Mushrooms are a good option to start the fire, its texture is much softer than wood.
Mate you have very good videos keep it up by the way nice knife you go their the big one! Thanks for sharing ;)
Thanks Keller. Glad your enjoying my videos brotha.
Cheers,
Andy
very helpful. Thanks much!
Thanks Karl.
atb
Andy
Interesting.
Nice video! Very informational. Sub'd
Thanks David, appreciate it buddy.
Cheers
Andy
Eventually found one today. didn’t know about the ash being added in the process.
Very nice indeed.
Hello mate, thanks for the vid, just a question do you have to boil the Amadou in the ash water or can you leave it in the water to soak, cheers mate.
Thanks Ray.
Yeah, back in the day before steel pots n cooking vessels, they'd just leave it to soak for 2-3 days, rather than boiling it.
Iv only ever made one batch this way, but it produced good quality amadou.
Cheers buddy
atb
Andy
Have you tried making a cap/hat from this?
Thanks for the video but I just tried my first attempt and my knife safety is obviously not up to scratch and the whole process takes so long I think I'm going to stick with charring cloth or punk wood. Anyway thanks again.
Hey dude how you doing? another great vid man. Just out of interest what camera's do you use for video and photographs because they are excellent quality. love the photos you take man, really cool.
Thanks Paul, I'm good, hope your well brotha.
My kits not too good though, really could do with an upgrade. I'm a tech idiot. Been watching endless amounts of boring camera reviews for a few months now lol.
For most of my recording I use a Sony Cybershot HX50 & my phone.. Samsung Galaxy S6. Earlier vids was the S4. Most of the photos are with the Galaxy's, photos turn out really well.
Then end part of this vid is recorded with my crappy cam that I attach to my rifle.. Panasonic SRD-S45, but I'm looking forward to the day I replace it as I'm guna launch it into the woods!! lolhaha
I hate it!! :)
I think I'm guna get the Go-pro 4 silver!? Maybe Santa will bring it for me?
Cheers bro
Andy
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft
that surprises man. it does the job though dude, nice bright colourful videos. I can imagine you launching that the old pannasonic. don't shoot a squirrel all day then knock one out with your camcorder hahaha
+Paul Clifford
Haha Cheers buddy.
Really cool man! Have you learned how to turn it into a hat yet? I have seen a guy with an Amadu hat on. I think the kind of make a felt out of it or something. I was reading about it a few years ago. See CZcams video "Paul Stamets at TEDMED 2011" he is wearing a hat in it. Just found your channel. Subscribed! :)
Cheers brotha.
Iv seen a few pictures of the amadou hats, but I haven't a clue how they process it into a workable fabric. I'll defantly check out that link tho.
Thanks and iv subbed back :)
Cheers
Andy
Clan Gunn Bushcraft Cool man! :) Thanks! Lol!
I wish someone would make a horse fungus/amadou mushroom tea video to show how they process it. Can i just cut up the entire amadou and throw it in boiling water to make tea? Or do i peel the outer layer off? Can i put the pore stems in the tea too? I forget what that part is called oops
thanks 💪
it also makes good tea, i made some and im still alive and well.
Johnnie Blevins , its medicinal.
It's a form of chaga from what I understand.... I was getting chaga fairly cheaply about 10 years ago from a Russian shop in Tampa Florida .
I was in an Asian supermarket the other day and I could not believe they were selling chaga ( a small amount of it maybe an ounce ?... for $27 .
It’s been proven non medicinal
@@gardensofthegods and usually when chaga is bought it is not grown naturally in nature because they grow it in bags or containers and not on real birch where they get their medicinal value from. Needs to grow in nature on a real tree for the medicine to be potent. Best we all just forage for medicines rather than buy them i think. It's fun too. And i know what you mean about high cost of supplements. I use to spend a few hundred dollars a month on supplements for yrs then realized i can forage it all. Now i'm hooked! Btw SOME suppliers will sell naturally found mushrooms but you must check the company to see if they do.✌
i charred a load of this works well il try these ideas too ty
Thanks pal, never even though about charing it, I'll give it a go next time I'm out.
Cheers
Andy
great vid ! your stump wood looked like fat wood ??
Thanks buddy.
No, it's an old Yew tree stump. There's a lot of downed pines in the area with great fatwood tho. I tend to pick pine resin straight from damaged trees. I find it more useful than carrying fat wood.
Cheers
Andy
I find that the whole thing can be used for tinder i have burned it right from the tree still moist.
Yes, the shell is basically tree bark, it'll burn well. Do you mean putting the hole hoof in a fire or get it lit with a spark straight off the tree? I prefer to remove the amadou pieces and process them in the ashed boiling water. Produces much better quality material.
does any ash make an improvement with the mixture or just birch ash?
Hello. Nice video! I was wondering about the soaking in ash part. Is there an ash water ratio that is needed? Is there a PH you're trying to get? Also, will this method work for the cooler spark of flint and steel?
Old question but still. Ash from leafed trees contains potassium nitrate (pot ash ium). The idea is to in a primitive way nitrating the amadou.
I heard it was a 1:1 ratio of birch ash to water. It was in another CZcams video but i never tried it. I imagine it helps to soften and further dry out the fibers bit that is just a guess
great video, but what is it used for ? Mark
Thanks Mark. I'm demonstrating it as a tinder which when processed lights with just a spark. Handy in the world of bushcraft, but it's also been used over the years and processed to make material / fabric and when boiled, makes a herbal tea to treat a bunch of illnesses.
Cheers,
Andy
Ok thanks bro. I feel silly, being a native indian and all. Mark..
No, you shouldn't. We've all lost so much knowledge when we compare ourselves to our ancestors.
Wow! Great heritage. I know the native Indians use to smoke this stuff haha. Medicinal properties I guess?
Thanks Mark, take care brotha
Yeha/Noha
I have collected these. They are dry - too late to process?
K Koktan , if you cant use them as tinder anymore, boil and drink the tea out of them. Very medicinal.
Can this be found on locust as well
There's a dead birch near them but no fungus on it. It's completely punky
Nice Vid! How would one compare and/or differentiate Chaga from amadou?? The same??(??)
Amadou is a inner layer you process, chaga you dont need to process and looks different. Your amadou if processed properly you can flint and steel. You cannot flint and steel chaga like char cloth, as you can amadou. Both are great coal extenders.
I have done this. My pile didn't take a spark from flint and steel and with a ferrocerium rod you can easily light up birchbark or any woodshavings directly... so whats the point of this?
What's the point!?
sure using a ferro rod & processed birch is much easier, but then I could say... Why are you using o ferro rod & processed birch bark when I could just pull out ma zippo and light a fuel cube!! It's alot easier, so what's the point???
This is a bushcraft channel, we're I practace bushcraft. Learning old primitive skills, ancient ways of living, living off the land & utilising what's on it. Nothing in reality is easy or quick, it's hard & slow paced. And just to correct ya, YES you can light amadou with a flint & steel. Think about it... The earlyest evidence of people using amadou for fire lighting is 5,000+ years ago! Do you think they used their ferrocerium rod they bought off eBay to light their amadou? No they used flint & iron pyrite or marcasite, which was what peeps used before the advent of steel. People then used steel as their main tool for lighting & charred wood, plant material or amadou as their tinder. Cloth was also relatively new & too valuable to use as charing material. They used these methods from the iron age up until the invention of the match.
You do know that ferrocerium rods are man made rite?? None natural! Not that you could make one. Maybe instead of leaving hard working channels dick head comments, maybe you should put that time to practacing your skills ;)
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft
Well, my comment wasn't ment to be offensive. I just didn't and still dont understand why you would use a firerod in combination with Amadou tinder - which you did in your video.
From my experience, I doubt that amadou tinder - processed like shown here - will take a spark from flint and steel. Nevertheless I can be wrong about that, since I'm speaking from my own experience with that fungus.
Under that assumption, the only thing I see what amadou would be used for, is as an additive to prosecced birchbark or powdered punk wood, to receive an longer lasting ember.
Bushcraft is all about getting things done with the possibilities you got, in the most efficient way. Processing tinder fungus for hours to light them up with a ferro-rod is inefficient, therefore pointless.
By the way: Your offensive interpretations about what I think or don't think are wrong.
+Schn00bs
This video is on how to process Amadou. Not how to make fire with it.
I'm at work and on my phone, so I can't add the link, but please type in... Flint & steel + horseshoe amadou = fire. By a channel called g0lb. It's only 40 seconds long. If you still don't believe your eyes? Watch the other dozens of videos below it. If you still don't believe it? I'll make a fire with it on my next camp video. I'm back out at the weekend.
+Clan Gunn Bushcraft
Thanks for your response.
👍👍👍
How do you store the amadou for future use?
In a little tin or bag is fine.
amazing video but id rather just grab 1 cat tail as I walk past a lake and be done.
Thanks bro and I agree! There's many more easier tinders to use nowadays with more modern materials like ferro rods, pistons and high carbon steel with flint, but it's more so the primitive, ancient side of learning this knowledge that interests me!
Back in the day before modern fire making tools, we used friction, or iron pyrites with flint to create a very dull, cold and few and far inbetween spark. Amadou was one of the best and widely used tinders to hold such a cold spark.
Thanks for watching
Where is new video Türkis men
You still out n about fella???