Tag: Fomes fomentarius

PK Podcast 039: How Many Knives? Alternatives To Birch Bark; Sharpening Spoon Knives; Plant Toxins In Water; Bushcraft Benefits To Woodland.

PK Podcast 039: How Many Knives? Alternatives To Birch Bark; Sharpening Spoon Knives; Plant Toxins In Water; Bushcraft Benefits To Woodland.

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In this Paul Kirtley Podcast I return to Q&A, answering listener questions on a range of topics – Is there an issue with collecting water from streams or ponds containing poisonous plant species such as hemlock water dropwort, Oenanthe crocata? What are the benefits or disadvantages to a woodland if it is being used for bushcraft? How many knives is too many knives? Is a belt knife and a pocket knife enough for a wilderness trip? How to sharpen spoon knives? How to tell the difference between birch species? What are the alternatives to birch bark for lighting fires with sparks from a ferro rod?

Green and red berries of Lily of the Valley dangline from stem
Wild Wanderings 9 – Gottröra, Sweden

Wild Wanderings 9 – Gottröra, Sweden

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Gottröra, Sweden, was the venue of the 2017 Bushcraftfestivalen. I was there with a couple of my team from Frontier Bushcraft to run fire workshops at the event. We had to source the materials we needed for our workshops from the surrounding woods and while we were there, I spotted a number of other interesting plants and fungi too, which I cover in more detail in this article…

Paul Kirtley answering bushcraft and survival questions in episode 56 of Ask Paul Kirtley
#AskPaulKirtley Episode 56 – Fire Reflectors, Sleep Rotation, Tarp Set-Ups & Kit Weight, Plants As Insect Repellents and Healing Agents

#AskPaulKirtley Episode 56 – Fire Reflectors, Sleep Rotation, Tarp Set-Ups & Kit Weight, Plants As Insect Repellents and Healing Agents

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In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about what plant can be used for a midge repellent, processing horse’s hoof fungus, tarp set-ups, kit weights and load outs, sleep rotation for fire watches, the efficacy of Platago major as a healing agent vs yarrow, as well as having a bit of a rant about fire reflectors…

The Easy Way to Use Fomes Fomentarius as Tinder

The Easy Way to Use Fomes Fomentarius as Tinder

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Fomes fomentarius is a bracket fungus, more commonly known as Hoof Fungus or Horse’s Hoof Fungus. It is also known as the Tinder Bracket. This fungus can be prepared into first-rate tinder. Whichever process you are using to produce tinder from Fomes fomentarius, it is the trama…