Fuzz Sticks use

[luckykitty]

if using a folding saw, COLLECT THE SAWDUST. Run a piece of bark under the wood you are cutting and then strike it right in that. That stuff is almost explosive in the way it lights.

Ah, you made me think ... so many bugs in older trees, that leave sawdust-like traces ... I could collect that.

 

[beatle bailey]

luckykitty
If you scrape the blade at a 90 to stick it will make super fine shavings. Have you tried that?

 

[Hornady]

Hi,

If you don't succeed in using fuzz sticks, try birch bark!
Always does the trick for me!

You need to be lucky though to have birch trees in your surroundings!
But, I guess you are just one lucky kitty

 

[luckykitty]

luckykitty
If you scrape the blade at a 90 to stick it will make super fine shavings. Have you tried that?

yup, still couldn't get those shavings to light on their own ...

You need to be lucky though to have birch trees in your surroundings!
But, I guess you are just one lucky kitty

true, birches, beeches, chestnuts, natural aspirine (willows), hazels - nature is abundant round here

 

[rodloos]

Starting a fire with just natural materials and sparks is a skill I would like to learn also.

Growing up near the jungle we went camping often, and I prided myself on being able to start a fire with just one match, but I never could start a fire without a match (we had no flints or spark-creating devices such as are common now). I did succeed in starting fires with just a magnifying-lens but that really only worked around noon on sunny days, and probably only worked because I lived near the equator.

With all the rain we have been having lately, I thought it would be fun to try my skills gathering twigs/branches that had blown down from my pecan tree, shaving off the wet bark, and making tinder, and starting a fire with just a firesteel. But I never could get the shavings to burn until I added dryer lint or cotton to catch the sparks.

 

[dull yet deadly]

I found some cosmetic cleaning pads in my wifes stuff. Circular, flat, maybe two inches across. 8 or 10 of them will be about an inch tall. Soaked in petroleum jelly works great as starter. Similar to cotton balls as far as lighting, but unlike cotton balls, they dont get all smashed and matted. and easy to store. You can take one and kind of pull it apart, fluff it a little, catches spark excellent. And if you want to store them dry, a little hand sanitizer makes a great excellerant. Very convenient.