Firepistons
- Thread starter Raden
- Start date
From a quick google image search.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=fire+piston
The latrest issue of Backwoodsman has an article on fire pistons too.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=fire+piston
The latrest issue of Backwoodsman has an article on fire pistons too.
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I'll see if any of the local bookstores carry that one...
I was really just looking for first hand experience from ppl here on the forums. I've read about every article I could find through google and ordered a complete setup from the ebprimitives as well as a acrylic version "just to get a look at what's going on inside.
I am thinking of getting some of the unfinished ones for the Scout Troop, after I get one and see what some others think about it for the Scouts.
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Why not just put a Bic in your pack?
I agree that firepistons are way cool and amazing primitive technology but it is not a technique you can use if you are stranded without it or if it breaks. A bow drill can be fashioned with materials that you can scrounge almost anywhere, and once you are proficient you will virtually never be without fire. Chris
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why not all three methods?
I try to carry matches, flint and steel, and a small bic with me.
Matches can get wet, bics can run out, and flints can break/get lost,
so I am practicing the bow drill method, but I dont think its ever a good idea to rely on 1 method. even with a bow drill you have to find the right types of wood.
I try to carry matches, flint and steel, and a small bic with me.
Matches can get wet, bics can run out, and flints can break/get lost,
so I am practicing the bow drill method, but I dont think its ever a good idea to rely on 1 method. even with a bow drill you have to find the right types of wood.
I like the fire pistons I've made alot, with the proper tinder you have an unlimited source of fire. Now bear in mind I made mine so the cost was nil and I already use Tinder Fungus in alot of my fire kits so I had it too.
Would I say you have to have one to survive? Nope you could buy a lot of ferro-rods, and bics with the money you would spend on a piston.
Should you get one or make one? I'd say yes, as learning to make fire with a tiny coal is probably the most important fire starting skill you can have and the piston makes these coals with ease. This allows you to focus on tinder selection and preparation.
I guess I'm a little old school and while I carry bics and ferro-rods I prefer to light my fires with flint and steel or the piston. It's good practice and keeps the tinder prep skills honed.
Would I say you have to have one to survive? Nope you could buy a lot of ferro-rods, and bics with the money you would spend on a piston.
Should you get one or make one? I'd say yes, as learning to make fire with a tiny coal is probably the most important fire starting skill you can have and the piston makes these coals with ease. This allows you to focus on tinder selection and preparation.
I guess I'm a little old school and while I carry bics and ferro-rods I prefer to light my fires with flint and steel or the piston. It's good practice and keeps the tinder prep skills honed.
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I don't use a fire piston as a sole source of ignition, but I think it is a lot better than building a bow rig or a fire plow or trying to use a magnifying glass in the dark.
I carry a mini-bic because it is miniature. I carry a ferro rod because it is of negligible weight and size, I have a mag block somewhere because it is small, cotton balls and PJ, etcetera. You get the point--many ways are better than having only one.
That's where my firepiston comes in. Mine was $10.00 more than a blastmatch, but it doesn't get any style points. Any impact that would serve to break it in its stored state is going to break something in me way worse. If I somehow broke it during using it, I'd be questioning my intelligence, give up, and die because with exactly one moving part I would be such a moron to have somehow done it.
The thing works. Mine has never taken more than twice. It produces the same size and type of coal, in seconds with minimal effort with the right tinder, that takes anywhere between 10 minutes to a grueling hour making and using a bow. It works at night. It works in the rain. It works in the wind. It works above the tree line if necessary. It's a high tech/high concept firemaking tool compared to every other primitive firemaking method I have ever used or read about.
Fire piston=Bic lighter of antiquity.
I carry a mini-bic because it is miniature. I carry a ferro rod because it is of negligible weight and size, I have a mag block somewhere because it is small, cotton balls and PJ, etcetera. You get the point--many ways are better than having only one.
That's where my firepiston comes in. Mine was $10.00 more than a blastmatch, but it doesn't get any style points. Any impact that would serve to break it in its stored state is going to break something in me way worse. If I somehow broke it during using it, I'd be questioning my intelligence, give up, and die because with exactly one moving part I would be such a moron to have somehow done it.
The thing works. Mine has never taken more than twice. It produces the same size and type of coal, in seconds with minimal effort with the right tinder, that takes anywhere between 10 minutes to a grueling hour making and using a bow. It works at night. It works in the rain. It works in the wind. It works above the tree line if necessary. It's a high tech/high concept firemaking tool compared to every other primitive firemaking method I have ever used or read about.
Fire piston=Bic lighter of antiquity.
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I got my kit from EBPrimitives yesterday. I'm verry pleased and after a few try's I figured out how to get it working every time. It came with enough char cloth, lube and gaskets to keep me going for years. I'm pretty good with a bow drill, it just takes to long. I carry either a lighter or matches, but when I go out I don't like using them unless I don't have a choice. Most everything I know came from the Eagle Scouts and I really miss those days... I think after using this one on a couple of trips I may have to buy some of the unfinished kits for the local troop.
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I am coming to the view that I should not judge other peoples fire starting choices. I find it very interesting to learn about such things as fire pistons, which I have no prior experience with. And I also have no experience with fire bows, or drills, or whatever you call them. However, I do see the obvious benefits to having this knowledge and skill. I will pack what I am comfortable with and probably pick a couple of methods, in case the ultra quick bic, does not cut it. I like the multiple method concept put forth by Liam. I can still keep my kit small and simple this way. So.....I have been cocky about lighters before but now wish to be inclusive to others, as opposed to exclusive. I do not know it all and others can teach me.:thumbup:
Yup that's skill.
Are you talking about a firebow, or using just the cordage to create the coal?