Be honest, what will a spark net you?

mistwalker said:
Here in my woods in the east Appalachian Rain Forest during the late fall rains it can rain every day for two and three weeks straight, rain for several days in a row between breaks. Even during the breaks in the rain the fogs and mists are often so thick moisture is constantly dripping off the tree branches, the forest floor is soaked, and you get soaking wet just walking through them any length of time at all. Here under those particular circumstances to not use the fatwood that is laying all around to start a necessary fire would be for the foolish. Under such conditions I make my one-stick-fires using fatwood and I'll be warm before anyone attempting to make a one-stick-fire out of any hardwood even gets their fire lay set up.
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...And that's when it's not humid as hell.

Primitive fire methods are neat tricks to know, but I'm not going to discount more modern materials. Technology is a good thing.

I probably could have owned Kentucky back in the 1500's if I had a time machine, a box of bic mini's, and a case of Penicillin.
 
bindlestitch said:
I'm sure a lot of guys think I'm hacking on them when I talk about using fatwood and birch bark. But the truth is that I am jealous, I think those two fire aids are some of the coolest things God put on this earth. I wish we had them.
But we have things here that can help. But in wet weather the split wood fire is the only thing I can get to work if I don't use packed in tinder.

Iz
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Just out of curiosity...do you have tinder fungus out your way on maybe Cherry trees since their bark is similar to Birch? I ask this because I have wondered how it might do in a damp environment. I was thinking that if the outside of the fungus sheds water one could maybe use a firesteel and a large hunk of fungus...just like one would make a tinder fungus stove...then expand the coal by blowing on it and then laying small kindling on the coaling fungus and blowing on it more use that heat to dry and ignite smaller material and work into the larger stuff.

I personally think it is unfair than the northerners get both Birch trees and tinder fungus :( ....but then again it is a lot colder up there in the winter...
 
KEmSAT-Survival said:
...And that's when it's not humid as hell.

Primitive fire methods are neat tricks to know, but I'm not going to discount more modern materials. Technology is a good thing.

I probably could have owned Kentucky back in the 1500's if I had a time machine, a box of bic mini's, and a case of Penicillin.
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One of my mentors once told me that "there is no such thing as cheating in survival"
 
Oh...we got summer alright...more than once setting up in the afternoons here the heat indexes were over 110F and the LED screen on my camera got repeatedly bathed in sweat.
 
KEmSAT-Survival said:
They got Birch trees and Tinder Fungus. But, we got Spring and Summer. They can keep their scabby little trees and flammable plant version of athlete's foot. :p:D
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Our spring and summer is that much better than yours after a long cold winter.

Anyway, if it gets too cold up here we just follow the birds and class up the place when we get down there:p
 
I never use the PJB's, not because I class them as pussified or what ever though. The reason I stick to using what I find is that I'm always gonna have at least one ferro-rod on me but I can't always say the same for having easy tinders, better to practice with what nature provides.
 
The relatively weak spark thrown using REAL flint and REAL steel is where charcloth really shines. The ability of charcloth to catch and hold even the tiniest spark is almost a miracle. Unless conditions are near perfect (low humidity, totally dry, fluffy natural tinder) you won't get a fire without it.

The huge gobs of sparks thrown by 'modern' fire steels have given those who have never used 'flint 'n steel' the impression that it's so easy to make fire that way that it's almost like cheating. The truth is that without charcloth it's darn near impossible.

Dang! Now I gotta go stink up the house and make some charcloth! :D
 
VA27 said:
The huge gobs of sparks thrown by 'modern' fire steels have given those who have never used 'flint 'n steel' the impression that it's so easy to make fire that way that it's almost like cheating. The truth is that without charcloth it's darn near impossible.
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Difficult yes, impossible not quite. ;)

(click the pic)




Well those southern boys that don't have True Tinder Fungus might find it almost impossible :p
 
I use firestraws because it's the fastest and most reliable way of turning spark into flame. We have extremely wet weather and looking for fatwood is great but I don't want to be looking around the forest for it when I'm freezing in an emergency. Other than that, I use it when I'm feeling lazy. Honest enough for ya?:D
 
Let's not forget the use of resinous sap for a natural tinder, It's slowly starting to knock fatwood into second place for me !

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By pitdog2010 at 2010-10-04
 
tonym said:
Our spring and summer is that much better than yours after a long cold winter.

Anyway, if it gets too cold up here we just follow the birds and class up the place when we get down there:p
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Writing "For a good time call TonyM" on our rest stop stalls does not equal "classing" the place up, Tony. :D


Well those southern boys that don't have True Tinder Fungus might find it almost impossible
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That's cuz God knew you Eskimos in the Great White Hypothermic North needed all the help you could get. I'm surprised he didn't give you a Gasoline tree. :D
 
My first post!

I've done the mountainman reinactment for 20+ years now and became something of a stickler on firemaking. If it wasnt done with flint and steel, it wasnt burning in my camp! That was fine when it was just the guys and I. I now have a wife and two daughters. We went camping a couple years ago and arrived in a cold down pour. I had to get a fire going to keep the kiddies warm while we setup and realized how much time it took to prepare a fire in the rain with flint and steel. After my initial panic (the girls were getting cold), i remembered I had a BIC rolling around in the glove box. I fished it out and had a cheery fire burning in a few minutes. After that, I make sure to carry a few, stashed in various gear. I may be willing to get cold myself, but found i was unwilling to let the kids get too cold while waiting for me to get the fire going.

Lesson Learned!
 
FCFER said:
My first post!

I've done the mountainman reinactment for 20+ years now and became something of a stickler on firemaking. If it wasnt done with flint and steel, it wasnt burning in my camp! That was fine when it was just the guys and I. I now have a wife and two daughters. We went camping a couple years ago and arrived in a cold down pour. I had to get a fire going to keep the kiddies warm while we setup and realized how much time it took to prepare a fire in the rain with flint and steel. After my initial panic (the girls were getting cold), i remembered I had a BIC rolling around in the glove box. I fished it out and had a cheery fire burning in a few minutes. After that, I make sure to carry a few, stashed in various gear. I may be willing to get cold myself, but found i was unwilling to let the kids get too cold while waiting for me to get the fire going.

Lesson Learned!
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Great advice for ya first post, hope to see many more !;):thumbup:
 
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