Mora Firecraft. Chaga!

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Mora Firecraft. Chaga!


Don't eat or drink anything found in the woods without DD and some guy on the internet doesn't count.


This is the 3rd episode using a Mora knife to start fires. I go into the woods with only a Mora knife and a chunk of chaga. I found this chaga despite packing some. It's wet however did a video on field processing wet chaga. Still given it was humid and pushing into late afternoon decided to use the foraged chaga for something else.


j4GDSMy.jpg



Yellow Birch bark.


TEMjYl4.jpg



Cedar bark.


YuzdJg1.jpg



Quartz in an area of erosion. Quartz can be inconsistent and more so with a marginal striking implement. A Mora knife isn't a dedicated striker


xfEY3Ul.jpg



Foraged materials.


ofmajiT.jpg



pZhzO45.jpg



Processing the quartz for a sharp striking edge.


k38JrtZ.jpg



Twig fire methodology. Have kindling ready to go before trying.


D7RCv9n.jpg



I will be using this as my method of ignition however that's the first step. Ignition is no guarantee of success.


Y1gIU4U.jpg



I decided to turn the chaga to dust. A leaf will hold the dust but have a small Ti fry pan.


E7Ou0Qy.jpg



To maximize the chance of catching a spark from hitting the spine used a fry pan to hold the dust. Also placed the larger chunk near the pan to offer another chance.


exQf7OT.jpg



jPYOlkW.jpg



Ignition. The first thing is to transfer the coal to a larger chuck just incase wind or mistake dumps the contents.


wgvWchT.jpg



Done.


e7HWynN.jpg



Dust placed on the cedar bark tinder bundle. Unlike a friction fire coal there is no fear of it breaking apart or going out. In fact it's very hard to extinguish without water or being tossed into the wind.


vthgTYE.jpg



The size of the coal assures ignition.


GFljfFA.jpg



The fire lay is setup not to go out when tossing big bundles of kindling over the flames. Using single sticks can have undesirable results. This way the fire gets going fast with less change of failure.


9U3fLY7.jpg



mYkhlT6.jpg



Chaga tea being made from fungus foraged that day.


5OfXNgu.jpg



Boiling the tea.


ds7FmMG.jpg



Black as coffee.


ihOlNSX.jpg



Bacon!


dGsgFzq.jpg



Done!


lY3ZfqW.jpg



Conclusion.


This is a difficult way to start a fire. As always my advice is to carry a PSK with 3 modern ways to start a fire. That said options are never a bad thing. Here is a video and thanks for looking.



 

parametrek

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
578
When I read the thread title I thought this was going to be about the Mora with a ferro rod in the handle. Boy was I in for a surprise :) Great stuff. I bet filming it makes catching pictures of the sparks a lot easier than trying to do that manually ;)

I routinely carry a carbon Opinel 6 or Mora 2/0 for this "in theory" but I am ashamed to say that I have not gotten it to work in practice. Both of these knives are a lot smaller than your Mora 2. I don't think that matters nearly as much as using really good tinder but would a larger hunk of steel make things easier? I do like the idea of throwing sparks from an Opinel since the knife can be closed for it.
 
Last edited:

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
When I read the thread title I thought this was going to be about the Mora with a ferro rod in the handle. Boy was I in for a surprise :) Great stuff. I bet filming it makes catching pictures of the sparks a lot easier than trying to do that manually ;)

I routinely carry a carbon Opinel 6 or Mora 2/0 for this "in theory" but I am ashamed to say that I have not gotten it to work in practice. Both of these knives are a lot smaller than your Mora 2. I don't think that matters nearly as much as using really good tinder but would a larger hunk of steel make things easier? I do like the idea of throwing sparks from an Opinel since the knife can be closed for it.

I have a Number 8. Also a Mora 1/0. I did a ferro rod mora thread. https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?443559-Mora-Firecraft-The-Ferro-Rod Thanks for watching!
 
Top