Fire starters super duper test - suggestions?

storl

storl

Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
1,607
So I am headed up to the Smokies this Monday for a week. I like to play with fire, so I am planning to do a test on all the methods of cheap and easy fire starters that I know. The idea of these is to get a fire started quickly without having to scrounge around for dry tinder when you need a fire ASAP. I plan on doing several different types of tests:

-burn time
-ability to light a small twig that is soaked in water
-ability to light after being soaked in water
-ability to light a small dry twig
-ability to light with a ferro rod, lighter, and fire piston (just for kicks)
-burn temperature, if I can figure out a way to measure that with what I have or can easily purchase

My campsite I have for the few days of car camping is on a river, so the tests should be pretty easy to do.

I plan to have all of the starters I test as close to the same size as possible. I want to determine the best ones for myself on backpacking trips, and for survival kits. Here are the starters I will be testing:

-tightly rolled newspaper coated in wax
-tightly rolled newspaper uncoated
-candles
-fatwood
-PJ soaked cotton balls
-homemade tinder quicks.
-cardboard tubes with sawdust and dryer lint (my current favorite)
-straws stuffed with PJ and cotton
-dryer lint and cotton balls uncoated

I will probably sprinkle each with a liberal coating of magnesium shavings while making the ones I don't already have ready. I will try to take as many pictures as possible. I suck with the ferro rod and fire piston, so those might have universally poor results. I can handle lighting a Bic though, so that will be used for most of the tests. :)

So, the whole point of this....are there any other easy tests or easily made fire starters that you guys want to see compared? I am trying to include all of the common ones and the ones I know how to make, but am willing to add as many as you guys want if I can get ahold of the materials before I leave. Try to get your suggestions in before Sunday at 8 PM EST so I have time to make what I need.
 
I did an almost identical test for tender but also used different methods to start the fire to test the tender, so pretty close to what you did. I have about 5 pages of notes and 100 + pictures, I just haven't gotten around to publishing my findings.

Some advice is to make sure the environment is controlled.... setup a wind screen, and have the same person do the striking on the rod, magnesium, etc. I had my brother do it who at the time had never used the stuff... this made for a more 'real life' scenario of someone actually using the stuff who came upon it.
 
storl said:
-burn temperature, if I can figure out a way to measure that with what I have or can easily purchase
Click to expand...

You could do a bit of simple thermodynamics calculation using a known mass of some known metal, a known volume of water, and an accurate thermometer.
I had the whole process worked out and then deleted it because of how complicated it sounded. If you have the supplies to do this, then I would be happy to type out a detailed description.
 
spyder10 said:
You could do a bit of simple thermodynamics calculation using a known mass of some known metal, a known volume of water, and an accurate thermometer.
I had the whole process worked out and then deleted it because of how complicated it sounded. If you have the supplies to do this, then I would be happy to type out a detailed description.
Click to expand...

I have an accurate scale and some decent measuring equipment, but no thermometer that would get into the hundreds of degrees. I guess I'll save that test for round 2.

ToddW, any reason why you haven't published the results? I would be very interested to see them.
 
A tinder I'd like to see is sawdust+wax, though I don't know if by "this Monday" you meant the 22nd or a week after that.
 
How about trying cotton fabric dipped in parrifin? I like to use towel fabric for mine. They work great and burn for a long time. For longer burn times i give them a few coats of parrifin.

Cheers
 
Try some candle stubs or a hunk of parrifin and globs on petrouliem(sp?) jelly. Melt them in a tin can such as a soup or coffee can. When it's all melted together take it off the stove or fire and stuff the mixture with cotton balls. Give it a few mins to cool and pop out the bottom of the can with a hammer or something.
 
I've done such tests, with wetfire, fatwood, tinder quik, trioxane, hexamine, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, methanol, and many others. You can read about some of this, here:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000069

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000287#000000

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001649#000004

You can find the best summary of my results in the section titled "Tinders", about 2/3 down this (incomplete) page:

http://www.mikespinak.com/articles/Essays/e996thepsk.html

Quick summary: fatwood and tinder quik come out on top for emergency wilderness survival use, in my opinion.
 
As you guys are on the subject of firestarters maybe you can help. I currently carry a doan magnesium fire starter as my every day carry firestarter. I recently saw one of those swedish firesteels and it looked pretty cool. Does anyone have any experience with the swedish firesteel and do you think it is better than a magnesium fire starter?
 
If you have a good scraper for the magnesium, that will get shavings easy and fast (small piece of hacksaw), then the Doan is better I think. The Firesteel only produces sparks, the Doan will get you sparks AND very hot flames.

Both are great, the Doan adds a little more to the package, that's really usefull!

CZ
 
Evolute said:
I've done such tests, with wetfire, fatwood, tinder quik, trioxane, hexamine, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, methanol, and many others. You can read about some of this, here:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000069

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000287#000000

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001649#000004

You can find the best summary of my results in the section titled "Tinders", about 2/3 down this (incomplete) page:

http://www.mikespinak.com/articles/Essays/e996thepsk.html

Quick summary: fatwood and tinder quik come out on top for emergency wilderness survival use, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

That is some great information, so thanks for that. I learned a lot reading through your results.

I ended up not doing the tests on the trip. It was raining literally every day, which would have been ideal conditions for a test, but I was tired of being wet. I will do the tests sometime this week and incorporate all of your suggestions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top