Flint and steel.

[ryts100]

So I ordered a striker, charcloth, chaga, jute, and english flint. Any tips on how to start a fire? From what I've read so far, I fluff up the jute twine in to a birds nest, place a small piece of folded charcloth on top of the flint, angle a sharp edge upwards, and strike downwards with the striker. Place the glowing ember in the birds nest, fold, blow, and fire. Comments and/or tips?

 

[Tuxdad]

That's about it Bud... You've got it ... Have fun ... Just a little note be careful with jute.. It'll flare or you quick, so if you have facial hair don't pucker up too close to it.. Seen it happen once...

 

[ryts100]

That's about it Bud... You've got it ... Have fun ... Just a little note be careful with jute.. It'll flare or you quick, so if you have facial hair don't pucker up too close to it.. Seen it happen once...

Alright thanks. One more thing; how do I use the chaga?

 

[Loosearrow]

When you put the lit charcloth in the tinder bundle, do not blow down into it. Hold ithe bundle above you so the smoke doesn't get in your eyes and have the wind to your back to blow the smoke away from you. You can also swing your arm around in a circular motion to fan the coal or fan it with your hat. If you want to impress someone at camp, use a dried turkey wing to fan the flame, keep you cooler, or move the mosquitos around.

 

[absolutindian]

Yep, thats it... I think you'll find it may be much easier than you expect... it was for me.

 

[Tuxdad]

I've never used chaga, but I think you use it the same as charcloth.. I'd probably grind some up into a podwer and go about putting a spark to it..

 

[Thomas Linton]

Does grinding it up work better? Never saw or heard of that.

From "Ragweed Forge:

When you strike a spark, you are shaving tiny pieces off the steel with the sharp edge of the flint. The pieces become incandescent from the friction. The sparks come from the steel, not the flint. The harder the steel, the smaller, and hotter, the pieces will be. The sharper the flint, the more sparks you will get. Strike down the steel with the flint at a shallow angle. Point the steel into your tinderbox to direct the sparks into your tinder. Learn to use short, choppy strokes so you can hold the steel close to the tinder without hitting the tinder with the flint. Keep your fingers back from the edge of the steel so you don't cut yourself with the sharp flint. When your flint becomes dull, chip it back to a new, sharp edge. Keeping the edge of the flint at a very shallow angle to the steel will increase the useful life of the edge.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/striking.html

http://www.survivalschool.com/articles/Fire_Making/Fire_Making_with_Flint_and_Steel.htm

http://members.aye.net/~bspen/fire.html

http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/hist_text-arch4/msg01088.html

 

[kgd]

I never had much luck 'aiming' the sparks. I find it easier to hold the char cloth on the flint.

 

[ryts100]

I never had much luck 'aiming' the sparks. I find it easier to hold the char cloth on the flint.

Yeah, that's what I meant to say. Sorry

 

[Tuxdad]

So would you shave off a piece of chaga and do it the same way as charcloth ??

 

[kgd]

True tinder works the same as char cloth - albeit, less good than charcloth. Slice a piece off and hold it on the flint and strike. It helps to rough up the surface just with the edge your blade. The more surface area you can produce the better.

Char cloth works better at catching the spark. Try it out first, when you are confident in that, then go with the Chaga - true tinder fungus. Best o luck!