Fire Starting.....40 ways

S

southbeachlaw

Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
78
Saw some video for sale on Theepicenter.com that says it can show you forty ways to make a fire. Wanted to see how many different ways folks can offer here. Please list your method or technique. Would be great to have pictures or a detailed explanation. This would be a cool post to see how many ways people can think of starting a fire WITHOUT MATCHES OR A LIGHTER.

As soon as the more common ways are listed try not to repeat them so not to have repetitive entries...this should be interesting. I know there are alot of resourceful smart people on this forum.

Here goes mine:

1. The old standby Ferrocium rod
2. The Fire plunger (anyone ever seen one of these? Works by pressure. Pretty cool it is ancient technology).
 
3. Potassium permanaganate (sp..) and glycerin
4. Bow drill
5. Hand drill
6. true flint and steel

Keep it going..
 
8.Polished soda can reflector
9.Ice lense
10.Magnifying glass, frensel, glasses etc.
11.Fire plow
12.Fire saw
13.Sparklite...............


(Fire plunger=fire piston?)
 
- oily rag twisted up and compressed (internal combustion)

- truck signal light bulb, glass carefully broken, filament placed into tinder or oily/gas rag, turn lights on

- parabolic reflector and the sun (use your KC hilites 6" reflector. Aim at tinder.

- gas dripped onto tinder from the truck fuel filter, light with wires from battery 9spark)

- place a few sticks on TOP of the catalytic convert and let it heat up while idling, sticks will catch in fire, remove quickly and place into premade fire teepee.

- shavings nest placed onto exhasut manifold, will smoke and ignite. remove quickly.

- strike anywhere flares

- 12 gauge shell with shot removed, stuff small cotton wad into shell and fire towards a pile of shavings.

- gas soaked rag on a stick, touch to hot manifold or catalytic converter. Remove QUICKLY
 
It's probably outside the scope of the OP's intent, but how about preserving and carrying an ember from the previous night's fire? That was the preferred method of the natives in this area when moving from camp to camp. The responsibility was generally given to the two oldest men in the camp.

A thought on using optical methods of fire lighting...I've even tried it with a spotting scope and charcloth - it seems so cumbersome, finicky, and weather-dependent that it's not worth packing a magnifier. Not trying to hijack or start an argument, but I would invest that time in a firebow first, personally. It's still well within the range of this thread of course.
 
caps... yes the kind that go in a cap gun. I learned this the hard way when i was about 8. I took a whole box of the paper rolled caps and placed in on a rock. Took another rock and slammed it on top - started a nasty grass fire on my front lawn.... :(
 
9v battery and steel wool
bow and spindle
flint and steel
magnifying glass
zippo
permanent match
 
dont know if it would work but i heard somewhere that to make a fire all you need is some wire and a lightning storm. set up the fire ith tinder in the middle and put one of the ends of wire in it. run the rest of it up a tree and let the lightning do its trick. im not saying I have done this or it will work, most probably not, I just heard it somewhere.
 
billym said:
Do these two make fire when mixed or is there something that needs to be added as well?
Bill
Click to expand...


The magnesium sparks and the trioxane keeps a consistant blue-white flame for ~20 minutes. This worked well for me even on 2 feet of snow.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
:confused: hows that work?
Click to expand...

when an oily rag is compressed it heats up and catches on fire. It can take awhile. If you want to see fast results, use linseed oil on a rag, squeeze out the excess and twist and wad it up tightly. it take a bit of time but when it starts smoking give it more air (blow on it, untwist it a bit etc) and pretty soon you have a fire.

its one of the leading causes of home fires and shop fires , particualrly in wood shops and marine shops. A worker leaves an oily rag bunched up on the bench, goes home and a few hours later the shop is on fire.

One can twist up a linseed oiled rag and make a teepee fire over top of it.
 
3wolves said:
dont know if it would work but i heard somewhere that to make a fire all you need is some wire and a lightning storm. set up the fire ith tinder in the middle and put one of the ends of wire in it. run the rest of it up a tree and let the lightning do its trick. im not saying I have done this or it will work, most probably not, I just heard it somewhere.
Click to expand...

In a dry lighting storm that is known to work. Otherwise it is always unnecesarily dangerous.
 
Bushman5 said:
when an oily rag is compressed it heats up and catches on fire. It can take awhile. If you want to see fast results, use linseed oil on a rag, squeeze out the excess and twist and wad it up tightly. it take a bit of time but when it starts smoking give it more air (blow on it, untwist it a bit etc) and pretty soon you have a fire.

its one of the leading causes of home fires and shop fires , particualrly in wood shops and marine shops. A worker leaves an oily rag bunched up on the bench, goes home and a few hours later the shop is on fire.

One can twist up a linseed oiled rag and make a teepee fire over top of it.
Click to expand...

Very interesting!

I may have to try that some time!
 
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