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Thread: can you char a mushroom?

  1. #21
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Oh just sit there in the dark and we'll keep covering you in......................um....................fert ilizer.
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  2. #22
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    OK Crashdive, (and anyone else interested) here are the definitions:

    Fun gi: Guys with a sense of humor.
    Shelf fun gi : Guys who never crack a joke for fear of forgetting the punch line.
    Poly poors: Guys who remember all the jokes and tell them all, but never remember the punch line.
    Conk: What happens when you persist in posting a thread like this.

  3. #23
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    Hmmm. Trouble with double post...please ignore this until I figure out how to delete it.
    Last edited by Pale E O; 10-10-2012 at 04:40 PM.

  4. #24
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    I suppose I could delete it for you...........unless of course what we are experiencing is conk like behavior.
    Can't Means Won't

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  5. #25

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    never tried a mushroom, but what i have tried and imo is better than just a cotton shirt is..... an oil lamp wick (new of course). its thicker than the shirt and seems to hold up much better

  6. #26

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    one nice thing about the horse hoof fungus... if its a big enough one you can actually cut the top off and use it as a strop for your knife. it has that nice leathery texture to it!

  7. #27
    Senior Member jfeatherjohn's Avatar
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    This is a 2 page thread? Charring mushrooms?
    I'm stunned...
    Carry on!
    KF7ZJR I always carry a pocket knife, just in Case.

  8. #28
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    I'm telling Mom, that you boys are playing with those mushrooms again, and getting goofy, seeing double, talking to yourselves......

    One shoom make you taller, ...one shoom make you small.....but the ones that Mother gives you , don't do anything at all..........Ask Alice when she 10 ft tall......
    Or something like that.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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  9. #29
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    "Gill"-ty as charged.

  10. #30

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    Heyah,
    I've had a bit of success with charred false tinder fungus aka horseshoe fungus, however it doesn't really work all that well charred. I've seen a youtube video of Dave Cantebury (i don't know if i spelled his last name right) cut a false tinder fungus in half and use the powder to strike into without charring. I tried this and could not get the same results, I think maybe his saw had much finer teeth than mine or perhaps my fungus had been sitting around to long. anyways I've had a lot of success using charred tinder bundle material, most of the time the cambium layer of tulip poplar bark. I teach wilderness skills for a living and most of my students have repeatable success with charred tinder. check out a video I just made for more about charred tinder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLUCUWaRp-8

  11. #31
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Well, that's the same video twice in 3 minutes.......2 different threads....?

    Hunter63 saying Hey, and Welcome......
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
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  12. #32
    Senior Member LarryB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pale E O View Post
    OK Crashdive, (and anyone else interested) here are the definitions:

    Fun gi: Guys with a sense of humor.
    Shelf fun gi : Guys who never crack a joke for fear of forgetting the punch line.
    Poly poors: Guys who remember all the jokes and tell them all, but never remember the punch line.
    Conk: What happens when you persist in posting a thread like this.
    rofl Thanx Pale E O. lb
    Have a super one...

    larryb

    http://larrybass.tripod.com/Surviving.html

    Still Surviving, after all these years...

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyt View Post
    it's not charred but there is a tinder made from fungus called armdou. I was used for catching sparks and if memory serves I think I read that ozti the iceman carried some.
    Sorry I can't post pictures, I tried but I was denied because I'm new here but I will try to post again but without my pictures.

    You're right, Otzi was carrying amadou from Fomes fomentarius or horse hoof. It was often processed by extracting it from the horse hoof bracket (tree fungus) and then smashed flat. After it was smashed flat it was then scraped to increase surface area. I have tried with flint and steel to get it like this is rather difficult as the spark is very cold. With a ferro rod it is not incredibly difficult. Could you imagine using iron pyrites to ignite something??? They had a trick in Otzi's time, though. They would urinate into a hole filled with straw to produce salt peter crystals and then gather them and concentrate them in water. In this concentrated water they would soak the amadou to impart the flammable properties of the salt peter into the amadou and making it much easier to spark. Otzi was found with amadou that was untreated, perhaps telling us that he was very skilled and confident in his fire making and was not worried about it, however, the bag in which the amadou was produced traces of salt peter indicating that he was using this technique at various times as well. Amadou could also be processed into felt and was commonly used to produce things like hats.

    To the OP,

    I have tried charring a couple different fungi now with different success. I have tried charring amadou from horse hoof and it burns up rather quickly when done in the altoids tin modern way of burning it without oxygen like char cloth. This way is "cheating" and produces "perfect" charred cloth compared to what would've been done in the 1800's and before which was holding the cloth near the fire on the ends of sticks producing uneven char and burning up some of it in the process. I think that may be the best way of approach when trying to char the amadou, holding it on a stick. I have also used Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) to catch a spark. When going after chaga it's usually the orange corky insides that you're after. The problem with this is that it can be hard to find any that actually have a corky core as the vast majority of the ones I have found are all rock hard. The corky textured stuff takes a spark fairly well and holds up much better when charred compared the amadou from horse hoof. If you can't find the corky stuff in chaga, it can still make a good coal extender. I've had a small piece smoulder for the better part of an hour before I doused it in water, impressed by its ability. It can be very difficult to get a spark to land on a hard piece of chaga but is much much easier to once you find some of the soft corky innards. Perhaps I live in a strange regional area where they don't like to get corky, I do not know?

    Sorry I can't post my pictures yet of me utilizing both sources, I'm still new.

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by dragon383 View Post
    one nice thing about the horse hoof fungus... if its a big enough one you can actually cut the top off and use it as a strop for your knife. it has that nice leathery texture to it!
    I believe you're talking about a different bracket called Birch Polypore. It's true, horse hoof is a polypore and found on birch too, it's a different species. The one you are talking about is white and is leathery on the inside when you cut it, yes? It's Piptoporus betulinus if you want to look it up vs. horse hoof which is Fomes fomentarius.

    Interestingly enough, Otzi was also carrying birch polypore. He's said to have been riddled with intestinal parasites and had this fungus. We know now that birch polypore has antibiotic effects and can help in the ridding of intestinal parasites. He was attempting to medicate himself and rid these internal worms!

  15. #35

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    Interesting question. Do you have a specific use or scenario in mind other than char for catching an ember with F&S?

    Chaga, Hoof, Artists Conk and Shelf make great coal extenders uncharred. Never had the need to char them. If they work great uncharred, they ought to work better charred.

    BushcraftBartons on YouTube charred some Hoof for use with F&S. Called it "charmadou" as it was charred amadou.

    Hope that helps.

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