Fire Starters: What's the Deal

Lenny

Lenny

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 15, 1998
Messages
2,487
Someone please educate me.
When I go out into the woods, I take one of those waterproof aluminum match cases with the compass in the lid. It's a high quality one with 2 O-ring gaskets. Inside, are perfectly dry, strike anywhere matches.
Frankly, I never saw the need for one of those high tech fire starters. At most, maybe some kindling balls or whatever they're called.
Thanks,
Lenny
 
Matches run out, get blown out quickly, and get wet (even by extreme humidity)at the worst possible moment. Additionally, they are rather bulky to carry in sufficient quantity. A quality metal match or spark-lite will last almost indefinitely and will light a fire under the most severe conditions, as long as you prepare the tinder properly. A little practice with a metal match goes a long way to ensuring a fire in extreme conditions.

BTW, the Boy Scout model metal match comes complete with striker and can be had for $2.00. Isn't $2.00 a rather cheap price to pay for an indefinite insurance policy?

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Lenny, I think sgtmike88 pretty well covered it. Personally, I think you are better off with a bic lighter than a matchsafe. Even if you run out of fluid, you can still create a spark and start a fire. Also, I think the fire starters you are referring to aren't all that high tech. It's just a piece of ferrocium rod that you can create a spark with by striking with a piece of steel such as a broken chunk of hacksaw blade. I believe you can even get a spark with a glass shard although I haven't tried it myself.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
I read in another post just the other day where you could use a 9v battery and steel wool. I have not tried this yet but it does sound like a sure way to get a really hot fire started quick and easy, wet or dry. In fact wetter may be better for couductivity.

Has anyone tried this? Do you remove the battery once the steel wool melts and burns?

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Later, Jim

[This message has been edited by KNIFE THROWER (edited 03-28-2001).]
 
HooDoo, yes glass will work on a ferro rod. I tried it at Ron's suggestion a few days ago.

Thrower, Although I haven't tried a 9V, I have used 2 D cells end to end with 0000 steel wool. It burns hot and quick, and yes, take the battery(s) away as soon as you get flame. The battery(s) can explode.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Yep Sarge,

Actually in our firestarting video we show how to do it with a minimag. Two aa batteries will easily set off the 0000 (four aught) steel wool.

The technique is to pull at the wool to tease it out so you only have a few filaments to touch your low voltage power supply. once one filament lights, the rest will blow.

I caution folks to be prepared to let go in a hurry or wear gloves as the stuff can really detonate with larger power supplies. sometimes the steel wool will cling to the fingers. Ouch!

I too prefer a Bic lighter
smile.gif
the other is more fun and more skill based.

Ron
 
The only problem with Bic lighters is when they get doused or soaking wet you have to dry them out before they will light - ferrocium rods will spark under any condition after a few strokes. Extreme cold has an affect on lighters also. Ferrocium sparks are so damn hot that they will light any good prepared tinder. Notice I said "prepared." If I were going into the wilds with only one firestarting choice it would be the rod over the Bic.

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Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com
 
I got fixed up the other day with magnesium and a ferrocium (sp?) rod by Muzzleup -- thanks again, Ron!

I have a broken little pocketknife, with carbon blades, to use as one striker. I also have a couple hacksaw blades thrown in with a hacksaw I bought at a garage sale -- different sizes tho.

Anyhoo, I think I can make a makeshift handle for a piece of hacksaw blade. What I don't know is the best method to turn my whole blades into pieces. Will it break if I fold it over and squeeze with large pliers, or are they too limber? Or, will one hacksaw blade cut another?

One other question re the cotton balls and vaseline/beexwax, I think there are a couple sizes of cotton balls? Which size if so? And, maybe out of sequence, what size do the soaked cotton balls become? Do they shrink up to a BB size, or do they remain pretty much the same size as dry?

How are pill bottles as carriers for cotton balls? I take lots of meds, have many bottles.



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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
We used to use the 0000 steel wool and flashlight batteries back in the 60's in scouts. Kinda cool when you are 9 or 10.

We would carry the steel wool in pill bottles. the flashlight was normal accessory for camping. Worked great.

Make a fuzz stick, some extra shavings, and whoof, fire.

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The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
Take the Test...
 
Hey Bugs!

just a quick warning. Some of the students learned it the hard way. Some stores sell synthetic cotton balls and these don't catch a spark. Some don't even burn!

Be sure to check the cotton balls before you go out just to make sure they will burn. Another alternative is dryer lint. Clean the lint trap and dry a load of T shirts or jeans and take that stuff out with you. If you toss in a Downey clothing softener with the load it adds a special mystery blast to the spark.... Watch your eyebrows
smile.gif


Ron
 
OK, you guys convinced me.
I need a back up.
Now what the heck is "ferocium" and where can I get it?
Also, who makes the most compact little chunk of magnesium/flint combo?
I also didn't know that vaseline or 0000 steel wool burned. I assume the vaseline slows down the combustion of cotton balls to give the fire a chance to catch onto larger pieces of kindling. Correct?
Lastly, has someone put together a concise "fire starting" site with all the different methods?
Sorry if all these questions have been asked before. If so, just tell me and I'll do a search.
Thanks,
Lenny
 
Ron Hood sells the ferrocium rods from his site at http://www.survival.com. You can also do a search for blastmatch or strike force on the net and find similar products. WalMart also sells the small ferrocium rods embedded in a block of magnesium, but I would rather have just the rod like Ron sells. If you will do a search on this forum for firestarting you will find a ton of threads dealing with the subject....everything from true flint and steel to making a fire with gasoline and det cord
smile.gif


To answer your question, the Vaseline acts just like lamp oil in a kerosene lamp. It makes the wick, or cotton in this matter, burn longer.

Firemaking is my favorite survival subject. I'm somewhat of a pyromaniac so questions on the subject are welcomed in my opinion.

Jeff

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Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com
 
Lenny,

First and foremost, feel free to ask. The only stupid question is the one not asked. I can't guarantee the same for responses, however.

Secondly, If you have a Boy Scout supplier nearby, go there and ask for the Hot Spark firestarter. It's a 3/16" ferro rod with a neat handle and a striker. It works great and is the cheapest way to go here. Ron and Greg both have neat little 1/8" rods, but they're a tad too small for my tastes (no offense, guys.) The Hot Spark, or any other ferro rod for that matter, seems to work best for me with a piece of broken 36tpi hacksaw blade. The hacksaw blade chews up the rod a little quicker than a normal striker or knife blade, but it always works when my hands are cold and I'm tired. Accompany that device with some vaseline soaked pure cotton balls or dryer lint, and you have a great primary or backup firestarting system.

Ron offers some great videos on survival (including firemaking) from his site, and Greg has a good book to back those videos up. (I never have been able to hook up a vcr in the northwoods.)

Again, a word of caution - PRACTICE!

Good Luck,
Mike

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
One of the advantages of a plain-jane 1/8" rod (no handle) is ease of carry. It fits into the small pocket of my billfold, along with a small piece of hacksaw blade. Thus as long as I have my billfold, I can start a fire. It's so compact you don't even know you have it.



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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Ok, I gotta ask this question. When I strike my rod (no snickers), I make a lot of sparks, but they don't fly into my (cotton) balls. They just spark right where I hit the rod. What technique do you use to get the sparks to land on your tinder?
 
You guys, always striking your rods.

Seriously, what do you mean by "strike"? The way I generate sparks on those ferro rods is by scraping the striker (hacksaw blade, back of my knife blade, etc.) down the rod. There's no actual "strike" involved.

The other important trick, which I think I learned here, is to get the striker and rod close to the tinder. Then, instead of scraping the striker down the rod, where air currents will hit the tinder and blow it away, pull the rod up the striker. Like anything else, this should be done in a smooth and controlled manner, not a wild burst of scraping. Smooth and controlled is the best way to generate a lot of sparks and have them land where you want.

Joe
 
That's correct Joe. We show that technique in the firestarting video. It's easy to brace the scraper hand on the earth above the tinder and then draw the sparker away. The sparks fall directly on the material.

Ron
 
Thanks guys, I was using the file on my Leatherman Supertool, and knocking the cotton balls away. You're right, I wasn't hitting, but filing vigorously. Needless to say, it wasn't working too good for this monkey. Anything more than a 1 banana job... I looked like Oliver Hardy trying to pick up his hat!

I get a lot of sparks, but they seem to go out before they get a chance to fall into the tinder. My rod is a Walmart cheapie, so that might be the problem.
 
Gee, thanks, Ron. Appreciate the notion of dryer lint. Have a large supply of that at present. I know it isn't as good as belly button lint, but we always use a fabric softener sheet when we dry, so maybe I have some real volatile lint.

Sorry to be boring, but could someone please answer my question as to how to most safely turn my hacksaw blade into pieces of hacksaw blade? I have this incredible ability to hurt myself, or accidently destroy things. Don't have any wire cutters or snips available with which to simply cut it.

Thanks. I'll guard my eyebrows to the max!


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
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