im getting frustrated firestarting help

K

kevshin21

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
108
hey guys I bought a Swedish fire steel and I have no luck so far setting fire to anything else besides tissue wrapped around the firesteel. I am now trying to set fire to a bundle of dry grass with some crushed leaves and crushed dried flowers AND old branch peelings but i am having no luck at all, what should I do? I want to do it the "natural" way but what am i doing wrong? i stick my fire steel into the grass bundle so the sparks would catch it, I am using a heavy stroke so there would be more sparks and I can only get some smouldering ashes that quickly die out after i let it burn or lightly blow at it. What should i do? (and yes I looked around the forums but only found things like cotton balls and more man made stuff) I've been going at it for 2 hours non stop and my right hand ring finger skin is starting to scrape off because i keep hitting the concrete
 
Try some different tender, like cattail down, shedded cedar or birch bark, any weed head that is fluffy, like cotton, will usually catch a spark real well. Be sure to fluff and rough up your tender it will help it to catch a spark. Experiment with different things until you find something that works for you.:thumbup:
 
is fluffing and roughing up tender basically making it to a ball and bounce it a bit? and there are no cattail down or anything like that.
 
i use a magnesium fire starter, its basically a block of magnesium with a strip of flint on the end. You just have to use a knife to shave the magnesium onto your tinder bundle then use the flint to spark it. it's worked really well for me even in snowy/ icy conditions. I guess it's not as natural as the flint and steel but it should suit your needs without using (man made) items from home.
 
runningboar said:
Try some different tender, like cattail down, shedded cedar or birch bark, any weed head that is fluffy, like cotton, will usually catch a spark real well. Be sure to fluff and rough up your tender it will help it to catch a spark. Experiment with different things until you find something that works for you.:thumbup:
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I will echo the cedar and birch bark.. Those work like a champ. Certain mosses, when dried, like Old Man's Beard.. Also Pitchwood (aka Fatwood) is a REALLY good tinder!

Good luck! Don't get discouraged. We have all been in your shoes once.. The EXPERIENCE you are gaining right now will serve you well later on.
 
kevshin21 said:
is fluffing and roughing up tender basically making it to a ball and bounce it a bit? and there are no cattail down or anything like that.
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Twist it, scrub it between your hands, wring it, pound it, when it is fine and fluffy it will light a lot better, imagine the consistency of drier lint, and any dust that you make is very good for catching a spark. Where do you live, cattails are very prolific here and grow on the side of the road. Look in abandoned fields for any weeds with a light fluffy seed head, I haven't seen one of these yet that didn't catch almost immediatly. Chris
 
Cattails grow in AZ if you can find enough water which is rare, so it is not very viable tender for you. In AZ their were cottonwood trees in a lot of the dry washs that made fluffy seed heads, sometimes when the wind was blowing it looked like it was snowing, the fluff gathered in low places and would almost explode when a spark hit it. Keep going,I am sure you will find suitable tender, any californians want to chime in? Chris
 
Kevshin,

What Runningboar said. You want "wispy" light tinder, think of a cotton ball thats been pulled apart. The tops of dried grasses, that kind of stuff.

Also, you can take the tinder you have and try to rough it up a bit.
No, don't punch it. :eek:

Take two small handfuls of what you have, find a nice cleared spot, turn a good sized piece of bark up like a canoe. Then rub your tinder together, like you were trying to spin a hand drill. Oh, like you are rubbing your hands together to get them warm. Grind the tinder together.
Rub the tinder together, and let it spill out on the piece of bark.
pick it up, do it again, and again. Make sure you wipe your hand on your pants and get an skin oils off of them first.

Also, if you have dry bark handy, in the inside, hold your knife at a 90° angle, and scrape the inside of the bark. Not real hard, you are trying to make real fine strands.
You can even take two pieces of dry bark, face the insides together, and rub them together. Make sure you do this over top of a place where you can easily pick up your tinder, not wet soggy ground.

The finer, wispier, more hairlike you can make it, the better it will catch spark. Human hair burns! I don't know how well it catches spark, but, that would be great if it did.
 
How about the dried stalks of a Yucca plant?
Don't they have fine fibers inside?? Try dried plants , with hollow stalks. Slice open the "tubes" and look inside. A lot of times there are hairlike fiibers running up thier lengths.
 
I find grass to be one of the worse tinders, and never try it unless that's the only thing I have. Look around and see if you can find any punky wood, it works well when dry and fluffed up.

You can also use pocket lint or frays from clothing, it lights pretty good with a fire steel.
 
Another thought...Kevshin,

You might need a morale boost right about now.

Sometimes we gotta walk before we run. It's noble to try all natural tinder, and you will get it soon.

But, for now, grab a cotton ball, or some dryer lint, and hit it with your sparker. Seeing that ember catch will give you some encouragement.

:thumbup: :thumbup:
 
loki67 said:
I find grass to be one of the worse tinders, and never try it unless that's the only thing I have. Look around and see if you can find any punky wood, it works well when dry and fluffed up.

You can also use pocket lint or frays from clothing, it lights pretty good with a fire steel.
Click to expand...

Hey loki,

Grass can be one of the best tinders, it just depends what kind of grass it is. If it is old, dry and fine (as compared to coarse) it can make great tinder. Some works great, some sucks. It's just a matter of experimentation.

Doc
 
I'm still working on natural materials as well. When I first started I didn't do so well, so I used dryer lint and the cotton balls/vaseline combo to revive my ego. For my kit, I bought a tube of fire starter paste. A little dab will start up pretty easily from sparks and burns plenty long enough to get a fire started. Now that I know I'll be able to get a fire going, I'm ready to work on the natural tinders again.
 
Hey Kevshin21

I also live in SoCal outside of LA.

Here's the thing: I've lived with "native" Americans, and I've gotta tell you, it ain't like the movies. Humans make it in the wild because they recognise potential dangers and plan for them. . . kinda like you're doing now.

Start with the cotton balls soaked in vaseline (a great firestarter). Then work up to charcloth. Keep working at it and after awhile you'll have an excellent experiential knowledge of how to start a fire with a spark.

Cheers!
Steve
 
heh you know whats funny? i only lit around 2 fires (that had tissue mixed along with the tinder) and thats all I got out of the fire steel, I exhausted the fire steel scout of all its sparks...man i suck

edit:when you guys try to start a fire do you put the fire steel tip in the tinder or keep it away so you can produce more sparks?
 
I actually put the striker near the tinder and pull the rod, this works better if the bundle is larger. If it is really a small piece of tinder I will hold it down with the tip of the rod.

You are limited to the number of natural tinders that will take a spark. To overcome this, I carry a ferro rod/magnesium combo. Shave about a dime size worth of magnesium shavings on a piece of bark or leaf then pour it into your tinder bundle leaving it as concentrated as possible. Ignite the magnesium and hopefully you will get an ember in your bundle that you can blow into flame. I have done this in the southwest with juniper bark, you should be able to find some easily in southern CA.
 
Once i went for a camp and I tried using leaves which have been step on till its "skeleton" is showing those also work like a charm but you need a handful of them and other materials near-by because it only light for around a min or less only
 
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