Feather stick

Feather stick ready for action

A feather stick (sometimes referred to as a fuzz stick) is a length of wood which is shaved to produce a head of thin curls protruding from the wood. It is used for damp wood to start a fire (or campfire) when dry tinder is hard to find.^[1]

It has been popularised recently in the media by proponents of bushcraft such as Ray Mears.^[1]

It is believed to be a traditional method of fire starting, utilising basic tools and methods.^[1]

Using feather sticks

Feather sticks are made from dead "standing" wood, such as a branch that has broken from a tree and died, but has not yet fallen to the ground.^[2] The bark and the outer layer of wood are removed to reveal the drier heartwood. This is then shaved, with axe or knife, to produce as many curls as possible.

While the flakes can be fairly coarse, the finer they are shaved the more easily they ignite.

When used in conjunction with char cloth, a small piece of charcloth is wound around the curls and a spark is struck on to it, using either the traditional flint and steel or a modern ferrocerium striker.^[1] This is then blown onto until the curls catch fire: the whole feather stick is then placed into the waiting kindling to start the campfire.

External links

• Using Charcloth Website showing feather sticks in use.

References

v t e Firelighting Campfire Bonfire List of firelighting topics Components Ember Firewood Spark Tinder Wood ash Wood fuel Topics Autoignition temperature Combustion Friction fire Minimum ignition energy Smouldering Early starters Burning glass (Solar Spark Lighter) Fire piston Fire plough Fire-saw Fire striker Flint Hand drill Bow drill Pump drill Modern starters Chisquero Black match Electric match Ferrocerium Lighter Other equipment Char cloth Feather stick Fire pan Fire pit Fire ring Matchbook Matchbox Punk Tinderbox Torch Related articles Control of fire by early humans Native American use of fire Outdoor cooking Firem'n Chit Pyrolysis Survival skills Fire portal