Starting a fire Without matches;
- Thread starter Levi Garrett
- Start date
+10
There is nothing like starting a fire with real flint & steel. The nice thing is they NEVER run out and work even when wet.
The only question I have is how long does char cloth last? I have some that is a few years old and it is not as good as it once was but it still works.
The trick to starting a fire with flint & steel is a small bit of manilla rope. Pull the rope apart into its finest strands and roll it around between your palms till it forms a nice fluffy ball. Make it into a nest and put the char cloth in the middle.
As soon as the char cloth catches a spark, blow like hell and fold the manilla rope nest over top of the glowing char cloth. You get instant fire.
I once did this in under 10 seconds. That is from first strike to flames.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
LOL, not sure, still packed away , the blackend denim sure stays lit a long time though, and easy to light with the flint.
I also soaked denim in parrifin wax, in strips, works great, good use of old jeans.
Also old snow shoes of magnesium scraped with a knife fire up good.
Frank
I also soaked denim in parrifin wax, in strips, works great, good use of old jeans.
Also old snow shoes of magnesium scraped with a knife fire up good.
Frank
.... Always carry a couple of the small BICs, and a chunk of the solid (white) Bar-B-Q lighter stuff. Candle works OK if decent tinder is found. Highway flare is effective, tends to stink and throw sparks and will spread tinder around if held too closely. I've also heard that Vaseline saturated paper is another good source(kept in a zip-Lock type bag) .... being a belt and braces type of guy, OK, anally retentive, I also pack around one of the magnesium fire starters ... a knife is definitely needed with one of these to shave off "flakes" of the stuff ! Years and years ago, back when Dinosaurs walked the Earth, I tried the flint and tinder, and the rubbing two sticks thing... The fire bow method did work, but a lot of time and effort, and without decent materials, I doubt it'd be a viable option. If you can get them, the old type Lifeboat Matches work well, stay lighted even in a strong wind! 'Not sure about the more modern and readily available versions from Canadian Tire etc. .... In a survival situation, save the empty BICs, as they have a steel and flint, and therefore a spark that is still usable ! .... Better safe than sorry ! Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst !!! .... David K.
SuperCub said:When hunting, a good way to start a fire is to carefully remove the projectile from one of your ammo w/o spilling the powder. Just pour the powder onto your dry fire starter kindling stuff and then load the empty, primed, case into the rifle. Hold the muzzle to the powder pile and pull the trigger. The primer flash will ignite the powder and you now have a fire.
Otherwise, I always carry a BIC lighter.
sc
The air moving ahead of the primer flash will blow your powder and kindling about six feet away... you obviously have not tried this.
heres one i have used
take one round of ammo remove bullet use pliers vise grip or whatever set aside round minus bullet take your flash light out and remove bulb then gently break the glass on the bulb without damaging filament(its difficult but it works) now take a piece of foil or paper and pour powder into it and rool it up like a smoke close off one end and lay it in your dry timber and kindling
now hold flash light really close to your "wick" and turn on
you can also drop a table spoon of potassium sulphate into a small pile and add 1 drop of H2O and that will get it going too
take one round of ammo remove bullet use pliers vise grip or whatever set aside round minus bullet take your flash light out and remove bulb then gently break the glass on the bulb without damaging filament(its difficult but it works) now take a piece of foil or paper and pour powder into it and rool it up like a smoke close off one end and lay it in your dry timber and kindling
now hold flash light really close to your "wick" and turn on
you can also drop a table spoon of potassium sulphate into a small pile and add 1 drop of H2O and that will get it going too
- Location
- Ontario defense force (ODF HQ)
BIGREDD said:The air moving ahead of the primer flash will blow your powder and kindling about six feet away... you obviously have not tried this.
Yeah this one was just on myth buster recently too........busted!
Hey Guys..
Great subject...
This is something that everyone in the woods should carry, and know how to use. If for sure can save your life,, or at least make you comfortable if waiting for someone or what not...
Personally and through my business I use the Magfire brand ferrocerium rod.
www.magfireusa.com
I find these to be very good quality..
A good firestarting kit, can be as simple as a lighter or matches and some tinder..The problem with this is,, if it fails and that is all you have,, there is no Plan B.
You should always have at least two ways of starting fire, and at least 2 different forms of tinder..
Some of my favorite tinder include 000 steelwool, dryerlint, charcloth and jute rope,cotton balls(real cotton balls,,not synthetic, and yes they make synthetic cotton balls) soaked in vasiline.Trioxane fuel bars, and fat wood. All of these make Excellent tinder, and light Very easily with only a Ferro Rod.
Magnesium bars and flint also known as Doan tools work very well,, however the problem with them is if it's windy forget about using the magnesium. Even under the best circumstances they are tedious at best to get a good ignition from.
In an emergency, when it's cold or raining,, you are going to want something that is foolproof, quick and something you can use when your hands are cold and cramped up..
Try lighting a bic or mini bic when your hands are frozen..Not the easiest thing to do...
So I'm challenging Everyone here to go out,, make a firekit with at least 2-3 different types of tinder, as well as ignition source, and pack it into the small, easy to carry container. Make serveral of them, and keep it in your hunting gear.
All of you moose hunters that spend alot of time away from camp should also be carrying a backpack with a survival kit , with food, water, fire and shelter tools, and first aid kit,(including large field dressings, for gun shots and punctures). Shelter can be as simple as extra large,contractors grade garbage bags.
My brother in law and his group use to get dropped off by boat at specific points, the last guy would keep the boat. If something happened to the last guy,, or the boat,, several people would be stranded,,Several miles from camp... If that last guy doesn't come back.. Guess what,, your spending the night in the bush...
I wonder how many people think about these things when they wonder off into the Northern bush..I don't think many realize they could be potentially headed into disaster without a properly made and thought out survival kit..
Now is a good time to practice firemaking skills and basic survival skills when the weather is still cool/cold ..
Practice these things people..Your Ass or someone elses could be on the line sometime.
I'll try and post some pictures of my fire kits when I dig them out
ttyle
Eric...
Great subject...
This is something that everyone in the woods should carry, and know how to use. If for sure can save your life,, or at least make you comfortable if waiting for someone or what not...
Personally and through my business I use the Magfire brand ferrocerium rod.
www.magfireusa.com
I find these to be very good quality..
A good firestarting kit, can be as simple as a lighter or matches and some tinder..The problem with this is,, if it fails and that is all you have,, there is no Plan B.
You should always have at least two ways of starting fire, and at least 2 different forms of tinder..
Some of my favorite tinder include 000 steelwool, dryerlint, charcloth and jute rope,cotton balls(real cotton balls,,not synthetic, and yes they make synthetic cotton balls) soaked in vasiline.Trioxane fuel bars, and fat wood. All of these make Excellent tinder, and light Very easily with only a Ferro Rod.
Magnesium bars and flint also known as Doan tools work very well,, however the problem with them is if it's windy forget about using the magnesium. Even under the best circumstances they are tedious at best to get a good ignition from.
In an emergency, when it's cold or raining,, you are going to want something that is foolproof, quick and something you can use when your hands are cold and cramped up..
Try lighting a bic or mini bic when your hands are frozen..Not the easiest thing to do...
So I'm challenging Everyone here to go out,, make a firekit with at least 2-3 different types of tinder, as well as ignition source, and pack it into the small, easy to carry container. Make serveral of them, and keep it in your hunting gear.
All of you moose hunters that spend alot of time away from camp should also be carrying a backpack with a survival kit , with food, water, fire and shelter tools, and first aid kit,(including large field dressings, for gun shots and punctures). Shelter can be as simple as extra large,contractors grade garbage bags.
My brother in law and his group use to get dropped off by boat at specific points, the last guy would keep the boat. If something happened to the last guy,, or the boat,, several people would be stranded,,Several miles from camp... If that last guy doesn't come back.. Guess what,, your spending the night in the bush...
I wonder how many people think about these things when they wonder off into the Northern bush..I don't think many realize they could be potentially headed into disaster without a properly made and thought out survival kit..
Now is a good time to practice firemaking skills and basic survival skills when the weather is still cool/cold ..
Practice these things people..Your Ass or someone elses could be on the line sometime.
I'll try and post some pictures of my fire kits when I dig them out
ttyle
Eric...
Char cloth is a cloth equivalent to charcoal, that is incompletely burned organic matter. And it is made in a similar manner.
Char cloth can only be made from 100% cotton cloth (rope works as well). Any amount of modern fibre and the cloth will not work.
The easiest way to make char cloth is to get a small metal tin. A lozenges tin or the small tins percussion caps come in are probably the best. Punch a couple of small holes in the top of the tin. Fill it up with the cloth and then put it in the edge of a fire. Soon you will see a smoke coming out of the holes. If the "smoke" catches fire and burns, don't worry, thats normal. When the smoke stops, the cloth is fully charred.
At this point you can remove the tin from the fire but don't open it. If it is opened while hot, the cloth can catch fire and burn up. When it is cold, the tin can be safely opened.
Char cloth is best stored in the tin used to make it because it is quite delicate.
Char cloth is instrumental to starting a fire with flint & steel because it catches and holds the spark very easily. Once a spark lands on the char cloth, all you have to do is blow and the spark will glow brightly as the cloth begins to burn. Obviously at this point you need to add tinder to end up with a fire.
Hi..
Char Cloth is a very old method of catching a spark from flint and steel..
A small stone,flint or chert with a piece of char cloth underneath is held in one hand. A carbon steel striker fordged and bent into a "D" shape is then struck against the rock, hopefully throwing a spark onto the char cloth.
Char cloth and I'll explain how it's made in a minute, is very combustable, as it is nearly pure carbon. The spark will ignite the char cloth,, not into as flame, but into a extremely hot burning ember.
This char cloth is then taken and carefully put into a tinder bundle,, much like a bird's nest of sorts.
The tinder bundle can be many things..
Jute rope that has been opened up and made into a ball, wood shavings, grasses, cat tail fluff, milk weed fluff, different barks ie. birch bark, grape vine bark, cedar bark, died mosses.. Anything that is light, dry and combustable, there is plenty out there,some work better than others...
This ember is then carefully blown into a smoking ball of tinder, which hopefully will burst into flames. The fire is built around this now burning ball of tinder..
It can work very quickly and effectively if you have the proper materials at hand.. I usually never have a problem either making or finding the proper material in the bush.
One of my favorite ways to teach fire,,and gets a good reaction from the students, as it can be very dramatic.
Making Char cloth...
Extremely easy to make,, although you need fire before hand to make it..
Find a small tin, preferable with a screw on lid..If a screw on lid can't be found, piece of wire can be used to tie the lid in place..
it is Absolutely important that the lid not come off or open during this process..
Puncture a few small holes in the top of the lid with a knife or what have you..
Take an old pair of jeans or 100% cotton material(Has to be 100% cotton) You have to try different thicknesses of cotton material.Generally the thicker the material the longer the burn time,, however the harder it is to get a spark to stick to it.
On the other hand the lighter the material, the more delicate your char cloth will be...
Cut material into squares. 1X1" or 2X2" work well..Pack the cotton material into your tin.However,, not overly pack and place the lid tightly onto the container...
Put the container into the fire,, or other heat source..I've made this on a coleman stove while camping, or when making large quantity.
The container will smoke like crazy..This is good...
What is happening is the the heat is actually burning the cotton in the absence of oxygen, what will be left is charcoal or almost pure carbon.
What you end up with are small sqaures of sometimes very delicate black carbon that is Wickdly combustable..
Remember to let the container cool completely before opening the lid.
I've opened them before while they are still hot,,and the entire container burst into flames, and all that was left was ash..
This Char Cloth can be used to catch sparks from many different methods..
I've used ferrocerium (Magfire rod or synthetic flint if you will), rock and file, ciggy lighter, and even a magnifying glass,,which also works Very well in Daylight...
This material burns at somewhere between 800 and 1000 degrees F. so it has the potential to ignite a wide variety of substances.It doesn't burn long,, but because of it's incredible temp works well..
Hope that helps,, and questions,, please ask...
ttyle
Eric...
Char Cloth is a very old method of catching a spark from flint and steel..
A small stone,flint or chert with a piece of char cloth underneath is held in one hand. A carbon steel striker fordged and bent into a "D" shape is then struck against the rock, hopefully throwing a spark onto the char cloth.
Char cloth and I'll explain how it's made in a minute, is very combustable, as it is nearly pure carbon. The spark will ignite the char cloth,, not into as flame, but into a extremely hot burning ember.
This char cloth is then taken and carefully put into a tinder bundle,, much like a bird's nest of sorts.
The tinder bundle can be many things..
Jute rope that has been opened up and made into a ball, wood shavings, grasses, cat tail fluff, milk weed fluff, different barks ie. birch bark, grape vine bark, cedar bark, died mosses.. Anything that is light, dry and combustable, there is plenty out there,some work better than others...
This ember is then carefully blown into a smoking ball of tinder, which hopefully will burst into flames. The fire is built around this now burning ball of tinder..
It can work very quickly and effectively if you have the proper materials at hand.. I usually never have a problem either making or finding the proper material in the bush.
One of my favorite ways to teach fire,,and gets a good reaction from the students, as it can be very dramatic.
Making Char cloth...
Extremely easy to make,, although you need fire before hand to make it..
Find a small tin, preferable with a screw on lid..If a screw on lid can't be found, piece of wire can be used to tie the lid in place..
it is Absolutely important that the lid not come off or open during this process..
Puncture a few small holes in the top of the lid with a knife or what have you..
Take an old pair of jeans or 100% cotton material(Has to be 100% cotton) You have to try different thicknesses of cotton material.Generally the thicker the material the longer the burn time,, however the harder it is to get a spark to stick to it.
On the other hand the lighter the material, the more delicate your char cloth will be...
Cut material into squares. 1X1" or 2X2" work well..Pack the cotton material into your tin.However,, not overly pack and place the lid tightly onto the container...
Put the container into the fire,, or other heat source..I've made this on a coleman stove while camping, or when making large quantity.
The container will smoke like crazy..This is good...
What is happening is the the heat is actually burning the cotton in the absence of oxygen, what will be left is charcoal or almost pure carbon.
What you end up with are small sqaures of sometimes very delicate black carbon that is Wickdly combustable..
Remember to let the container cool completely before opening the lid.
I've opened them before while they are still hot,,and the entire container burst into flames, and all that was left was ash..
This Char Cloth can be used to catch sparks from many different methods..
I've used ferrocerium (Magfire rod or synthetic flint if you will), rock and file, ciggy lighter, and even a magnifying glass,,which also works Very well in Daylight...
This material burns at somewhere between 800 and 1000 degrees F. so it has the potential to ignite a wide variety of substances.It doesn't burn long,, but because of it's incredible temp works well..
Hope that helps,, and questions,, please ask...
ttyle
Eric...
Hey Guys..
There is no doubt in my mind that Suputin knows Exactly what he is talking about..
We wrote this both at the same time and touched on some of same KEY points on charcloth...
Very good...
It's a Great, fun way to make and teach firemaking...
ttyle
Eric....
There is no doubt in my mind that Suputin knows Exactly what he is talking about..
We wrote this both at the same time and touched on some of same KEY points on charcloth...
Very good...
It's a Great, fun way to make and teach firemaking...
ttyle
Eric....
BIGREDD said:The air moving ahead of the primer flash will blow your powder and kindling about six feet away... you obviously have not tried this.
Survivor man did this with about 3 or 4 shots, helluva waste of ammo when you're miles from nowhere.
I use a gerber strike force, But also have a hand forged striker with flint and charcloth, Also a swedish fire steel. Made my own fire bow. and waiting for my Brother inlaw to send me a fire piston made by IBANs in Borneo:
http://www.firepiston.com/
Check out the demo, its amazing how they work
http://www.firepiston.com/
Check out the demo, its amazing how they work
Hey Guys...
Dryer lint works Very well..
Take the lint form a load of towels or cotton socks,, this works best...
Norseman...
A friend of mine here:
kanew@hotmail.com
Sells Canadian made Firepistons that work Very well,, and are reasonably priced...
Although,, firebows,drills, and fireplows, and firepistons are Excellent to practice with and learn how to use, in an emergency situation,when fire needs to be made "Now", Sparked based fire starting is the most reliable and quickest way to make fire..
For someone that is already stranded and in a position where he needs fire right away,, even a very skilled firebow user will have a Very hard time getting a fire,,let alone collecting and preparing a usable firebow..
I have made several of them,under ideal conditions, and have only gotten them to smoke..Building up a coal in a fireboard is very tiresome work..
I would love to have a firebow that actually works...
ttyle
Eric...
Dryer lint works Very well..
Take the lint form a load of towels or cotton socks,, this works best...
Norseman...
A friend of mine here:
kanew@hotmail.com
Sells Canadian made Firepistons that work Very well,, and are reasonably priced...
Although,, firebows,drills, and fireplows, and firepistons are Excellent to practice with and learn how to use, in an emergency situation,when fire needs to be made "Now", Sparked based fire starting is the most reliable and quickest way to make fire..
For someone that is already stranded and in a position where he needs fire right away,, even a very skilled firebow user will have a Very hard time getting a fire,,let alone collecting and preparing a usable firebow..
I have made several of them,under ideal conditions, and have only gotten them to smoke..Building up a coal in a fireboard is very tiresome work..
I would love to have a firebow that actually works...
ttyle
Eric...
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Another firestarter you can make is from pine pitch melted with either sawdust, wood shavings or inner cedar bark chopped up and mixed with the pitch. plop onto waxed paper when cool or warm you can roll into balls. It ignites fast and burns hot, even when its wet. And another thing is you can patch a canoe with it.
Hey Norseman..
Not a problem at all..Try one,, they work really well..
I can achieve ignition most nearly every time using char cloth..
You just have to play around with the amount of char and the right hight sticking out of the firehole in the plunger..
As for scraping your jeans for firemaking..
Yes this will also work very well....
Keep in mind that in the outdoors, either hunting or survival, a major rule to remember is that Cotton Kills!
Cotton is probably one of the worst things to wear in cold/wet weather..I know alot of people still wear jeans while hunting,,however if you get stuck in the woods overnight in jeans,,you'll freeze...
A better outerwear is something synthetic or with a good amount of synthetic fibers in it,, even polypro underwear,,something like Under Armour, Fleece,Gortex,nylon or even wool,are 100 X better than cotton outerwear..
ttyle
Eric....
Not a problem at all..Try one,, they work really well..
I can achieve ignition most nearly every time using char cloth..
You just have to play around with the amount of char and the right hight sticking out of the firehole in the plunger..
As for scraping your jeans for firemaking..
Yes this will also work very well....
Keep in mind that in the outdoors, either hunting or survival, a major rule to remember is that Cotton Kills!
Cotton is probably one of the worst things to wear in cold/wet weather..I know alot of people still wear jeans while hunting,,however if you get stuck in the woods overnight in jeans,,you'll freeze...
A better outerwear is something synthetic or with a good amount of synthetic fibers in it,, even polypro underwear,,something like Under Armour, Fleece,Gortex,nylon or even wool,are 100 X better than cotton outerwear..
ttyle
Eric....
