Today I experimented with five different types of tender which are available on my property to see what works the best for starting a fire. I'll put the in order of what worked the best to what to the most effort to light.
By far the easiest to light was some fat wood curls. This took almost no effort as expected.
Next was some dry grass which I pulled apart and rubbed between my hands to get it nice and fluffy to catch a spark.
The next option was bark from a Juniper that I rubbed back and forth in my hands until adequately broken up and somewhat fluffy. It started after a few tries but was not the easiest of the items I tried.
I also tried just simple curls made from a Cedar Elm and they lit rather easily. The thinner the curls the better.
Last, I was able to light some pine needles. I cut and scrapped these with my knife to get them to catch a spark. I thought they might light easier but they actually took a little work.
