Cheap, effective Fire Starter !!

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
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Just thought I'd share this, as its gonna start getting cold in most parts of the country..

I've been using these for years to get even the hardest to start wood to catch.. If you have wet wood this will help your kindling catch..

some of you may know about this but I'm sure many don't... Sure you can buy fire-starter's but why spend cash if you have the materials on hand?

First get a cardboard egg crate, fill it about half way with saw dust:

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then get some candle wax (I use my wife's old fragrance candles) and fill to the top:

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then cut 'em out.

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try them they burn as well if not better then any fire starter I've used in the past, I've done many controlled burns with them as well.
 
Good idea! I'd imagne you just light the very center of the sawdust end right?
 
Great post. Thanks for sharing the idea.
 
an old, old trick, but still effective. We made fire starters like that back when I was in the Scouts. That would be around 1955 or so. ;)
 
Mannlicher said:
an old, old trick, but still effective. We made fire starters like that back when I was in the Scouts. That would be around 1955 or so. ;)
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ditto(scouts in the 60's)-but we used charcoal briquettes in each spot. filled with paraffin, tied up with string. we were car camping, so took the entire thing and tore or cut off what we needed.
 
Nice trick. Do you stir it up before it hardens, or just fill and leave sit?
 
Looks like a great idea.

I was thinking of doing that, but using fatwood shavings with a pencil sharpener. I also thought of using a jute twine fuse so it can be lit with a firesteel.
 
I've been making those for years...
Stick a cotton ball on top just before they're dry and they light with a spark.
 
myright said:
Good idea! I'd imagne you just light the very center of the sawdust end right?
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you can really light it anywhere, these have a tremendous burn time. I've stuck one in the center of a bunch of downed trees that were hard to get started even with diesel.. After a couple minutes you can no longer see where the source of fire is coming from..

sodak said:
Nice trick. Do you stir it up before it hardens, or just fill and leave sit?
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Nope just pour in a let sit.. after it hardens cut them out..
I'll go out and burn one now by itself and see how long its burn time is and report back.
 
This is after 1 minute burn time, slight wind..

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and again at 5 minutes burning. You'll notice much more intense flames/heat.

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The fuel burned for a total of 11 minutes, then I picked it up and it still had a very intense coal left.
 
Great idea, been usin' it for years, only thing I do different is use a oderless candle, the scented candles will keep small game away, which in a SHTF type of situation ya don't wanna chase away your only food source.
 
scented candles will keep small game away
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It's more likely to cover your human scent and keep the game from being driven away. Whatever herbal scent it might be is unlikely to scare animals -- even if it's an herb that doesn't grow in the area and they've never smelled it before, animals are not afraid of strange herbal smells. They might come closer to see if that strange smell is something good to eat.
 
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