First fire . . . .

T

Trenton55

Joined
Dec 14, 2009
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110
So I went out into the woods earlier this afternoon to try and get a little fire going. I was using a magnesium fire starter and I could not get the frickin thing to light. I had more than enough tinder/loose-semi dry stuff to keep a flame going. I tried for about 1.5 hours to no avail. The magnesium shavings lit no problem. I just couldn't get the flame to keep going. Needless to say I will try again tomorrow if I get off of work before dark. ANY TIPS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
 
It takes a good amount of magnesium to get those to work well in my opinion. A lot of people make the mistake of just using a few shavings. Ron Hood said in one of his videos one time that you should have a pile the size of a quarter. I’d say that’s about right. Get it lit the first time, get warm/dry and eat faster.

If you want a good fire, a nice rule of thumb is to have a hat full of kindling. Dry grass like an old bird’s next, etc. Fine twigs, then work up to sticks the size of a pencil. Let the smaller stuff start burning well before you add the next. One thing I’ve seen a lot (and used to do myself) was as soon as say the grass lit, I would lay the new sticks on and so on. You have time to let them get burning well. Take your time, preparation beforehand is key.
 
Try using a tried and proven tinder first. I suggest getting some cotton balls and smearing them in a bit of vaseline. When you go to ignite, fluff out a few strands of the cotton at the edge and aim the sparks from the ferro rod at them. Don't bother with the magnesium shavings yet. Alternatively, crush up some dried grass or inner bark and shake out a couple of drops of hand santizer, or 50% DEET. Then ignite that. It should catch nicely.
 
Stacking a few thin branches like a platform and lighting your tinder on top of that may help. It would give the tiny flame better oxygen flow as opposed to lighting it directly in the dirt.
 
I have had the same problem myself when I first tried, bummer.

You might also want to get tinder that is not on the ground.
Look for kindling still up in the trees (small dead branches).
After so much rain and dew, stuff off the ground is still wet at times.
 
Cotton balls with a glob of petroleum jelly. let sparks hit the dry part of the cotton ball it will ignite. The PJ will give it some burn time. Have some good tinder- small pieces (slivers) of fatwood, better if your make a fuzz sticks out of the fatwood. Add bigger pieces of fatwood, then add whatever wood you want. I went through the same pains as you and learned on these forums. I just use a Rat kit or LMF. The mag bar does'nt do it for me.
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You can store the cotton balls in the kit!!
 
The absolute fastest tinder I have used (under dry conditions) has been the "fluff" I made by scraping a strip of burlap (furniture grade, not lawn & garden) until I get a big pile of fuzz. No magnesium required. The second a spark gets near it it nearly explodes into flame.
I kkep plenty of strips rolled up in a condom + film canister sealed with RTV gasket material in my supplies.
 
Thanks for the help! I think the problem was my tinder (some type of sparsely grown tall grass in my woods). It was dry but it wasn't bone dry. I also pulled some strips of cedar bark. The bark was a little damp as well.
 
It is always important to take your time when making a fire. sometimes rushing to get a fire started you make many mistakes.
 
You dont need to buy shit, just keep practicing with what you have and you will get it.
There are good vids out there to show you some more effective tender sorces, and systems to get that fire going quick.
Think small when building a fire... small tender fluff or char cloth (stick a peice of cotton, scrap of shirt inside of your mess tin put it on the fire and dry it until it smokes)- bird nest -small peices of timber (fatwood works great, its the resin sap filled center wood of fallin pine trees) " shout out to snakedoc, he turned me on to that stuff ; i have it all over in my neck of the woods and it works great. thanks bro"
Keep at it!
 
I'm with crowdog there, don't buy anything just yet. Look at some of the firemaking vids, collect some different tinders (and experiment with the amount of magnesium shavings) and experiment with them. Find out what works for you. Mix tinders and just have fun while you're learning a lot about making fire.
And then, if you find you like some tinder entirely without magnesium, you can either pry the rod from the bar, or get another rod without a magnesium bar.
 
Try pulling the fire stick away from your knife or what ever you are using to strike with. I've found this directs the sparks better than striking the flint with the striker hoping it goes toward the tinder pile.
 
Here is a helpful link to fire craft.

http://www.riverside-graphics.net/Skills/Fire.html

I have been lucky enough to hang out with some SAR types and learn my fire skills from them. The above link is taken from River-8's page, he is a member here and a long time search and rescue volunteer and instructor.

Keep practicing, it helps that making fire is just so much fun!!
 
Get a piece of duct tape, shave a quarter size of shavings onto it, the tape will act as a wic and keep it going. This will help with the mag block, most people dont shave off enough. I would advise the PJCB as well, much easier/faster.
 
crowdog said:
You dont need to buy shit, just keep practicing with what you have and you will get it.
There are good vids out there to show you some more effective tender sorces, and systems to get that fire going quick.
Think small when building a fire... small tender fluff or char cloth (stick a peice of cotton, scrap of shirt inside of your mess tin put it on the fire and dry it until it smokes)- bird nest -small peices of timber (fatwood works great, its the resin sap filled center wood of fallin pine trees) " shout out to snakedoc, he turned me on to that stuff ; i have it all over in my neck of the woods and it works great. thanks bro"
Keep at it!
Click to expand...

luckykitty said:
I'm with crowdog there, don't buy anything just yet. Look at some of the firemaking vids, collect some different tinders (and experiment with the amount of magnesium shavings) and experiment with them. Find out what works for you. Mix tinders and just have fun while you're learning a lot about making fire.
And then, if you find you like some tinder entirely without magnesium, you can either pry the rod from the bar, or get another rod without a magnesium bar.
Click to expand...

Well its not so much buying stuff, but I am a firm believer in learning incrementally. Start easy using the best of materials and then go to more challenging materials. Problem with just finding natural tinders first is that you don't know if its your sparking technique or the tinder that is a problem. Go with something like petroleum jelly cotton balls, or just plain cotton balls first. Spark it and get a flame. When you can do that routinely, you know your sparking method is good.

Now go to different natural tinders and experiment. Do it in a sheltered area first, like in your garage. Get a feeling for what works easily and what requires more effort and what simply won't work.

Now when you have all that down, start trying to start fires under real conditions. The kind of conditions where the wind is blowing, or you are all hunkered down awkwardly over a fire ring into a pit. Or its wet and misty or maybe down right pouring.

You get the picture....Just keep stepping up things a notch. You will very likely find it fun and you will start to all of a sudden notice things, like the types of plants you are walking buy, even when you are strolling around a your dads garden or walking down a street. That is part of the fun of fire. In the end, I think it is much more than scraping a little piece of special steel with another piece of steel. Its a hobby and its far more rewarding than building minature train sets, hitting balls into a cup, or flipping TV channels.
 
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