Trails Across The Prairies
Fuzz Stick
Well maybe not, as my choice of wood on this morning for creating a fuzzstick may be somewhat on the large size, but you get the idea as to how you would go about creating a fuzzstick.
If your not familiar with the "fuzzstick" its a length of wood that is shaved with a knife to produce a cluster of thin curls used in starting a fire when tinder is hard to find.
Normally you would chose a dead branch from from a tree or shrub that has not yet fallen to the ground.
Once a piece of the branch has been sectioned from the tree, you shave the bark from the branch, and then shave curls with the use of a knife or possibly a hatchet. The finer you shave the wood into curls, the easier it is to start a fire.
If your wondering about the bushcraft knife, it's one that I built in my workshop. The blade was ground to shape from D2 high carbon steel, and then hardened to 58 Rockwell. The handle material is Cocobolo wood native to Central America.
On another note, this old abandoned fence line goes back to a much earlier time when they chose cedar to build it with. I suspect the price of cedar at the time made that an easy choice, today not so much.
Expand the photo for a closer look.....
