Hello fellow BFers. I posted this on another forum full of people like me, who grew up around cellphones and computers in a politically correct world where you don't see the outdoors as much as one should. It was just a little introduction to making a fire. I'm posting it here so if anyone sees some glaring flaws or just has a few suggestions, I can hear you out. Thanks in advanced, I'm still a little new to this.
++Begin Guide++
Before we begin, a few things need to be said...
1. I am not liable for anything you do with these tips. Use common sense when dealing with fire.
2. Please, respect your environment. Do not litter, especially with synthetic materials like plastic that do not easily break down.
3. Practice safe fire-building. Don't attempt to build one near low hanging branches that might catch or near dry growth that will flare up.
Now, in one of my knife threads I mentioned using knives to help prepare a fire. I'm going to show you how, with words and pictures. Enjoy.
First, find a suitable location. Depending on where you live, your own backyard might work. Or, if you know some public parks with grills, you might be able to get away with building the fire in one of those (Just use the excuse you're cooking and it tastes better this way if anyone asks). I picked a patch of woods behind a neighborhood where I live. Google Earth is useful for this. Either route you choose, be discreet and don't cause more trouble than you have to. People are nosy.
For the base of your fire, you want a protected surface. If big stones are around, make a ring of them between 1 and 2 feet wide to keep the flames in. Otherwise, digging up some moist dirt works good too.
http://i1.tinypic.com/20gebh1.jpg
Now, before we get started preparing tinder, I'll write down a rough estimate of the materials you'll want to gather, as well as a general idea of length and thickness.
-One branch about an inch in diameter and a few feet long. Get one that's pretty straight.
-A lot of tiny branches, about the diameter of a matchstick. Break these into pieces about half a foot long. Two handfuls is plenty.
-Two handfuls or so of branches 1/2 inch in diameter broken into 6 inch sections as well.
*Note* When selecting wood for a fire, try to stick to dry, dead, seasoned wood that's fallen and on the ground. Sappy, living wood is messier, harder to work with and burns worse.
Now, set your wood into separate piles and grab the thick, long piece. Take your knife and push it away from you along the branch to remove its bark. Do this to a nice sized section. Once the innards are exposed, you can start making wood shavings. Just push the blade against the bark and slide it down the stripped portion to create long, thin strips of wood. Make a good sized pile of these, a big handful, maybe a little more should suffice. More is always better though, too much is better than not enough. This part may take some practice, but eventually you'll get a feel for it.
*Note* Certain types of blades are better suited towards this work though. The sharper the better, and generally thinner blades excel here over thicker blades. Also, flat ground is preferable to hollow ground. The difference is flat ground forms a straight V, whereas hollow ground is like a V with the sides 'scooped out' so to speak. A Victorinox swiss army knife is a good example of a thin, flat ground blade and I highly recommend using one for this. Target, Wal Mart and Gander Mountain tend to carry them cheaply.
http://i1.tinypic.com/20gebtc.jpg
Now we can start constructing the base. We'll be using the basic teepee method. To begin, find a Y shaped stick, or break it off something, and ram the straight part into the ground with the two feet sticking out 5 inches or so above the ground. This is your support. You want to pile your wood shavings in a lightly compacted pile around the base of the support. Now, take those match-stick sized twigs and begin laying them over the shavings to form a teepee. Leave a little window open, but cover all the other parts with twigs. After the twigs, lay some slightly thicker pieces on top of them in the same fashion. Be careful not to overload the support and make it fall, or make it so the fire will lack the room needed for oxygen flow.
Now, Make a couple more shavings and just spread them all over the teepee. Then, make some extra thin shavings and place them on the window we created. You want to light these thin ones directly. They should catch flame, igniting the base of shavings, which spread flame to the twigs. Eventually the whole teepee should be aflame.
After this, it's cakewalk. Just add bigger and bigger branches, following the same advice stated earlier. Dead, dry wood, don't suffocate the fire, etc. The teepee will have fallen or will fall shortly, so don't worry about keeping it up. Just keep everything condensed into a nice circle and pile it on. If you'd like, you could split open good sized branches 2-4 inches in diameter and make splits, which burn better than tossing logs on directly. It's not needed though, as you can see.
Now we begin the real fun. Take a long, slender branch and whittle the end down to a nice point. Fresher branches that are more resistant to fire actually work good here. Slide a hotdog on, slightly diagonal works better than perpendicular, gives it more support. Hold it over the flame and let it cook until some black spots have started to appear and it smells rather good.
Success. :]
Hopefully you've come to understand the basics of firecraft. The woodshaving step is actually a fair bit cumbersome. Once you know what to look for, there are many more readily available tinders you can find in the wild. An excellent one is dry, dead pine needles. They're my favorite. Certain types of barks will work and some hairier mosses light up well. Experiment. Look for things that'd burn well and test them out.
Also, if interest in this was good, I might do a guide to more primitive fire making methods such as bows and other friction-based methods, as well as flint and steel. Then on to other primative skills like crafting cord and nets, walking sticks or bows and arrows.
Vivi
++End Guide++
++Begin Guide++
Before we begin, a few things need to be said...
1. I am not liable for anything you do with these tips. Use common sense when dealing with fire.
2. Please, respect your environment. Do not litter, especially with synthetic materials like plastic that do not easily break down.
3. Practice safe fire-building. Don't attempt to build one near low hanging branches that might catch or near dry growth that will flare up.
Now, in one of my knife threads I mentioned using knives to help prepare a fire. I'm going to show you how, with words and pictures. Enjoy.
First, find a suitable location. Depending on where you live, your own backyard might work. Or, if you know some public parks with grills, you might be able to get away with building the fire in one of those (Just use the excuse you're cooking and it tastes better this way if anyone asks). I picked a patch of woods behind a neighborhood where I live. Google Earth is useful for this. Either route you choose, be discreet and don't cause more trouble than you have to. People are nosy.
For the base of your fire, you want a protected surface. If big stones are around, make a ring of them between 1 and 2 feet wide to keep the flames in. Otherwise, digging up some moist dirt works good too.
http://i1.tinypic.com/20gebh1.jpg
Now, before we get started preparing tinder, I'll write down a rough estimate of the materials you'll want to gather, as well as a general idea of length and thickness.
-One branch about an inch in diameter and a few feet long. Get one that's pretty straight.
-A lot of tiny branches, about the diameter of a matchstick. Break these into pieces about half a foot long. Two handfuls is plenty.
-Two handfuls or so of branches 1/2 inch in diameter broken into 6 inch sections as well.
*Note* When selecting wood for a fire, try to stick to dry, dead, seasoned wood that's fallen and on the ground. Sappy, living wood is messier, harder to work with and burns worse.
Now, set your wood into separate piles and grab the thick, long piece. Take your knife and push it away from you along the branch to remove its bark. Do this to a nice sized section. Once the innards are exposed, you can start making wood shavings. Just push the blade against the bark and slide it down the stripped portion to create long, thin strips of wood. Make a good sized pile of these, a big handful, maybe a little more should suffice. More is always better though, too much is better than not enough. This part may take some practice, but eventually you'll get a feel for it.
*Note* Certain types of blades are better suited towards this work though. The sharper the better, and generally thinner blades excel here over thicker blades. Also, flat ground is preferable to hollow ground. The difference is flat ground forms a straight V, whereas hollow ground is like a V with the sides 'scooped out' so to speak. A Victorinox swiss army knife is a good example of a thin, flat ground blade and I highly recommend using one for this. Target, Wal Mart and Gander Mountain tend to carry them cheaply.
http://i1.tinypic.com/20gebtc.jpg
Now we can start constructing the base. We'll be using the basic teepee method. To begin, find a Y shaped stick, or break it off something, and ram the straight part into the ground with the two feet sticking out 5 inches or so above the ground. This is your support. You want to pile your wood shavings in a lightly compacted pile around the base of the support. Now, take those match-stick sized twigs and begin laying them over the shavings to form a teepee. Leave a little window open, but cover all the other parts with twigs. After the twigs, lay some slightly thicker pieces on top of them in the same fashion. Be careful not to overload the support and make it fall, or make it so the fire will lack the room needed for oxygen flow.
Now, Make a couple more shavings and just spread them all over the teepee. Then, make some extra thin shavings and place them on the window we created. You want to light these thin ones directly. They should catch flame, igniting the base of shavings, which spread flame to the twigs. Eventually the whole teepee should be aflame.
After this, it's cakewalk. Just add bigger and bigger branches, following the same advice stated earlier. Dead, dry wood, don't suffocate the fire, etc. The teepee will have fallen or will fall shortly, so don't worry about keeping it up. Just keep everything condensed into a nice circle and pile it on. If you'd like, you could split open good sized branches 2-4 inches in diameter and make splits, which burn better than tossing logs on directly. It's not needed though, as you can see.
Now we begin the real fun. Take a long, slender branch and whittle the end down to a nice point. Fresher branches that are more resistant to fire actually work good here. Slide a hotdog on, slightly diagonal works better than perpendicular, gives it more support. Hold it over the flame and let it cook until some black spots have started to appear and it smells rather good.
Success. :]
Hopefully you've come to understand the basics of firecraft. The woodshaving step is actually a fair bit cumbersome. Once you know what to look for, there are many more readily available tinders you can find in the wild. An excellent one is dry, dead pine needles. They're my favorite. Certain types of barks will work and some hairier mosses light up well. Experiment. Look for things that'd burn well and test them out.
Also, if interest in this was good, I might do a guide to more primitive fire making methods such as bows and other friction-based methods, as well as flint and steel. Then on to other primative skills like crafting cord and nets, walking sticks or bows and arrows.
Vivi
++End Guide++