Firemaking in the Wet-WARNING: FERRO RODS INVOLVED!

Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
3,066
So I just got a new outdoors knife from MLL Knives, that I plan to use heavily, like my other outdoor knives. I posted this video and description over in the custom knife sub-forum to do my part to let other people know what a good maker and how service-oriented Mario is. But now I want to put the video up here and have a little discussion about fire-making with completely wet materials. I know ferro rods have been discussed pretty heavily here recently, but I enjoy using them primarily as a training tool so that I will hopefully be proficient with one should I ever HAVE to use it. Do I think they are the absolute best firemaking tool? Nope. Are they the easiest, or even most efficient? Not a chance. What's easier than flicking a Bic? They certainly require much better tinder prep than most other methods commonly used. But, to me, where ferro rods really shine is reliability, and the ability to ignite literally thousands of fires. You never know if/when that Bic is going to break, run out of fuel, get water-logged, or whatever. Probably never, but possible. Same basic deal with matches, plus you can't practically carry enough to equal the basically unlimited shortterm firestarting ability of a lighter or ferro rod. But with the ferro rod, as long as you have it, you know you have the means to a fire. As you'll see in the video, it can take a little time to get truly wet wood to ignite. This video also shows a one-stick fire, something I obviously didn't come up with, but I think is a very neat idea. One forearm sized piece of wood can give you everything you need to get a full fire. So let me know what you think, and please be nice, it's my first vid.


[video=youtube_share;do1TEPd2zvM]http://youtu.be/do1TEPd2zvM[/video]
 
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Even in the best conditions a ferro rod is hard to get a fire with shavings, in my experience a lot of it is luck getting the right spark to land in the right area.

My favorite method is a strike anywhere kitchen match, burns hot can get into tight spots etc. the only downside is the fact that you cannot carry thousands. I can carry a few hundred in a small plastic dry box, I only ever need one match, if a ferro rod only gives you 300 or so fires since it takes several strikes. A ferro is a good backup and its a great first method when using a man made tinder.
 
If that's your first vid I can't wait to see what they are like once you get on a roll, really enjoyed that one buddy !

Regarding the wet materials I've never had much of an issue getting fire with wet tinder, my problem has been getting fire in torrential rain/sleet and wind, that's when top skills and a little lady luck need to be on your side, LOL.

Do you have no pine resin or fatwood in your area ? I've had people on forums accuse me of cheating by using resin and fatwood in wet weather but it's a resource that's always available where I am. If ever there was a time when I couldn't find resin or fatwood then I seriously doubt I'd still be in BC.

Anyways great vid, good skills and I love the design of that knife !:thumbup:
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Usually, when I'm in a hardwood environment, it only takes 1-3 strikes to get a fire going, as even after a rain interior wood is very dry. I'm in the Pacific Northwest, though, and to be honest, even that split wood was pretty damp. Pitdog, there is definitely naturally occurring fatwood here, and I don't consider that cheating at all. If you got a fire with what's out there, you got a fire. For this vid, I just wanted to do it the hard way, and see how it went.
 
Thanks. They may not be perfect, but even big knives can do fine work.
 
Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that if you are having problems starting shavings on fire DO NOT just strike or firesteel once and then again trying to get the sparks to land on the shavings in the right place. Be prepared to to strike your fires steel Real fast and make many many many sparks you are just about garenteed to get the shavings started. You can all so do that with other tinders that are kind of hard to get started with just one strike and hoping your sparks land on the right place. Just scrape your firesteel as fast as you can on your tinder. The second poster mentioned how hard it is to get shavings to light up.
Last week there was a fellow that came to my knife making shop and I showed him how to get a fuzzstick to light on fire. He was doing that one strike at a time thing. Then I showed him what I do and scraped my firesteel real fast and many times 8 to 12 times real fast and then sycamore fuzz stick lit right up. He said he had never thought about scraping real fast and for 6 to 12 times in a rapid succession.

Try it and see. Hope this helps anybody that has not tried to scrape there firesteel real fast to get many sparks on there tinder.

Bryan
 
sicily02 said:
Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that if you are having problems starting shavings on fire DO NOT just strike or firesteel once and then again trying to get the sparks to land on the shavings in the right place. Be prepared to to strike your fires steel Real fast and make many many many sparks you are just about garenteed to get the shavings started. You can all so do that with other tinders that are kind of hard to get started with just one strike and hoping your sparks land on the right place. Just scrape your firesteel as fast as you can on your tinder. The second poster mentioned how hard it is to get shavings to light up.
Last week there was a fellow that came to my knife making shop and I showed him how to get a fuzzstick to light on fire. He was doing that one strike at a time thing. Then I showed him what I do and scraped my firesteel real fast and many times 8 to 12 times real fast and then sycamore fuzz stick lit right up. He said he had never thought about scraping real fast and for 6 to 12 times in a rapid succession.

Try it and see. Hope this helps anybody that has not tried to scrape there firesteel real fast to get many sparks on there tinder.

Bryan
Click to expand...

As my friend calls it, "crazy style!" Good tip.
 
SubaruSTi said:
Even in the best conditions a ferro rod is hard to get a fire with shavings, in my experience a lot of it is luck getting the right spark to land in the right area.

My favorite method is a strike anywhere kitchen match, burns hot can get into tight spots etc. the only downside is the fact that you cannot carry thousands. I can carry a few hundred in a small plastic dry box, I only ever need one match, if a ferro rod only gives you 300 or so fires since it takes several strikes. A ferro is a good backup and its a great first method when using a man made tinder.
Click to expand...

Glad that I'm not the only one that has had rod issues now and then. Trying many tinders, preping\saving some for back packs, day trips. Cotton balls had vas. poured into them.

IMG_5606_1.jpg
 
sicily02 said:
Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that if you are having problems starting shavings on fire DO NOT just strike or firesteel once and then again trying to get the sparks to land on the shavings in the right place. Be prepared to to strike your fires steel Real fast and make many many many sparks you are just about garenteed to get the shavings started. You can all so do that with other tinders that are kind of hard to get started with just one strike and hoping your sparks land on the right place. Just scrape your firesteel as fast as you can on your tinder. The second poster mentioned how hard it is to get shavings to light up.
Last week there was a fellow that came to my knife making shop and I showed him how to get a fuzzstick to light on fire. He was doing that one strike at a time thing. Then I showed him what I do and scraped my firesteel real fast and many times 8 to 12 times real fast and then sycamore fuzz stick lit right up. He said he had never thought about scraping real fast and for 6 to 12 times in a rapid succession.

Try it and see. Hope this helps anybody that has not tried to scrape there firesteel real fast to get many sparks on there tinder.

Bryan
Click to expand...

Good call. I learned this by accident last year, or the year before when trying to make fire with natural materials after a two day rain. I had a big mound of field grass and half of a wasp nest under it. I finally got frustrated and raked the living hell out of the rod for a while. Then I started to notice that I was also creating heat inside the pile, which in turn started to dry my materials, eventually giving me ignition after a dozen almost\quick flame outs.
 
Thanks for the tip, Bryan. I will give that a go next time I'm out there.
 
upnorth said:
Good call. I learned this by accident last year, or the year before when trying to make fire with natural materials after a two day rain. I had a big mound of field grass and half of a wasp nest under it. I finally got frustrated and raked the living hell out of the rod for a while. Then I started to notice that I was also creating heat inside the pile, which in turn started to dry my materials, eventually giving me ignition after a dozen almost\quick flame outs.
Click to expand...

Same here only with old man's beard in the middle of summer with 90 degree temps. It was a stubborn SOB. Good to know that frustration can teach you something now and again. :D
 
Shotgun said:
Same here only with old man's beard in the middle of summer with 90 degree temps. It was a stubborn SOB. Good to know that frustration can teach you something now and again. :D
Click to expand...

Ya, surprised the heck out of me ! :D
 
Hey guys, I was looking through my memory card and realized I had some stills of the fire from the video after it got going. The tape cut out right as I got it lit from the ferro rod, so you can see that part, but just in case there are any doubters out there...
And I thought I would post a pic of the Wildland next to a Sebenza for size comparison. Something I didn't anticipate is how much I like the squared profile of the tip. It works great as a chisel for wood-carving. It's still a big knife, but it does it better than some others I have had.

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Great video and perseverance in the crud conditions.

That looks a mean chopper indeed!
 
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