Featherstick

The word feather in featherstick is there for a reason. Very thin curls of dry core wood can mean the difference between comfort or suffering or perhaps even death.

If there’s one thing worth more than the effort you put into learning how to make them, next to the bowdrill, that’s the art of featherstick making. If they are well made they work like a tinder bundle, ready to be ignited by a small spark.

Because the core of dead wood rarely gets very wet, it is possible to collect phase 1 tinder even during wet periods. The featherstick even works as phases 1 through 3 if it is made properly. Preferably choose wood types with long straight grains for optimal results. Under the header knowledge I will soon write a more extensive article about these rescuers in need.

This skill is also discussed in several courses and courses of Living by Nature. There is even an extensive howto circulating on Thijmen’s Facebook. In this he explains the ins and outs of Feathersticks. As soon as I find it, I will put a link to it or include it in the message.