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Jute/wax/leather/ferro/fatwood & a blade!

I've bought those firesticks too. They are pretty amazing, but like you said, this seems like fun.
 
Awesome idea Bushman !!!:thumbup::thumbup:

Will have to make a bunch of those for myself...
 
When I melt wax, I just put the container itself on the hot pad of my coffee maker. I have a Bunn coffee maker with a top burner, so it is easy to set something on it and watch it. The hot pad that keeps the coffee pot hot is never hot enough to be a serious threat to start a fire in the wax. This doesn't mean you leave it there like a pot of coffee, and go watch TV, but it is a much safer way to melt wax without an open flame or a red hot electric burner.


Another thing you may want to try when you make these, is magnesium shavings. I take a file and make a pile of dust like shavings. Then with a still hot, wax soaked wick or whatever, I kind of roll the wick in the shavings so they stick into the semi hard wax. I then dip the wick in hot wax again and seal the magnesium with another coat or two of wax.

This makes the wicks act like one of those trick birthday candles that you can't blow out. I have found that these will stay burning even in high winds. You really can't put them out unless you dunk them in water. That is the down side to these, they are almost a fire and forget type of fire starter, unlike just plain wax fire starters which can be blown out and used again and again.

I usually just make very small starters and let them burn up, rather than taking a chance on a larger one starting up again in my ruck.

Also, only shave off what you will use from your mag block. I found out the hard way that those small filings will not store at all. They must start oxidizing over time and then they are pretty much worthless. So don't make a huge pile and put it in a jar, and say I will have this for the rest of my life, you won't, unless you only plan on living another month or so.
 
i did it....but i wasnt the first....mine is similar but i use strands instead of bundles.... i have had good luck with 4 inch strands loosely balled up
 
Brilliant idea(s)!

I look forward to giving this a try. PJCBs work well, but don't burn for very long. This method seems ideal for reliable fire starting.

Nice pics, too!

All the best,

- Mike
 
stay tuned for a pic of a whole one burning!

gimmie about 10 minutes to fuss with the camera....
 
The jute also works great as a wick in the tobasco sauce bottles, from an earlier thread... :D
 
Great kit and ideas. It's nice to know there are other folks like me out there who spend their time experimenting with new and better survival techniques.
 
^ i would'nt call it survival....i'd call it Survival Prep.....

goodness gracious great balls of flaming Jute:

started by fluffing it up:
00001.jpg


first 5 seconds:
00002.jpg


30 seconds in:
00003.jpg


and so on:

00005.jpg


00008.jpg


couple more:
00051.jpg


the rest are here, guest password is bushcraft
http://s491.photobucket.com/albums/rr274/Bushman5BFalbum/night drive/jutewaxfirestarters/
 
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I'm going to have to try this too. Bushman, I was getting ready to ask you: Why did you use fatwood in addition to the jute stick, will the jute stick not take a spark on its own?

Then - it looked like Brian answered it. IF I'm not mistaken, Brian sparks his jutestick without any additional tinder. Is that right?
 
maybe it was the cheapo wax i used, but i found it did'nt take spark very well.......howver a little bit of fatwood and one firesteel s trike and , well you see burn in the above photos.

EDIT: are the pics still there for everybody? my photobucket album has vanished.....???
 
I made some of these today! Man are they awesome. I twisted one strand in the bundle till it was fuzzy and just separated the rest. It lit easily with a ferro rod and burned like a blow torch! This is with a stiff 25 + mph wind. It roared while it burned. I also soaked some cotton balls in the wax. It didn't work well. It solidified the cotton to where it was hard to get it to fuzz up. Anyway, PJCBs and JBTs "jute blow torches" will be my mainstay for fire kits from now on.
 
Dang you Bushman5, as if I weren't busy enough. First I had to go and buy a bunch of tabasco bottles thanks to another forumite, now this. Fortunately, I already have both jute and parafin wax... :D

I also took my kids for a hike today and got a bunch of cattails to play with. They are going to seed, but scored a few before they got too far.
 
1_BIG_BUNKER said:
....[SNIP]

Also, only shave off what you will use from your mag block. I found out the hard way that those small filings will not store at all. They must start oxidizing over time and then they are pretty much worthless. So don't make a huge pile and put it in a jar, and say I will have this for the rest of my life, you won't, unless you only plan on living another month or so.
Click to expand...

Ooopps.... :o :o :o

I never thought about this at all! Anybody want to buy about a half dozen soda straws filled with what were mag shavings before they went sour? I just tried some that I shaved up a couple of years ago... :thumbdn:

Who'd a'thunk it?

Stitchawl
 
sodak said:
Dang you Bushman5, as if I weren't busy enough. First I had to go and buy a bunch of tabasco bottles thanks to another forumite, now this. Fortunately, I already have both jute and parafin wax... :D

I also took my kids for a hike today and got a bunch of cattails to play with. They are going to seed, but scored a few before they got too far.
Click to expand...

If you want to save them, intact, wrap securely with aluminum foil. The one I posted to show it as a slow match has probably been in the back room for 4 years.

If your wife liberates :rolleyes: them for decorative purposes, tell her to spray them with hair spray to prevent a 'fuzz storm'.

Doc
 
Bushman5 said:
maybe it was the cheapo wax i used, but i found it did'nt take spark very well.......howver a little bit of fatwood and one firesteel s trike and , well you see burn in the above photos.
Click to expand...

B5, try pounding on one end with a small rock. That REALLY fluffs them up! You might not need the fatwood after that.

I tried soaking some cotton balls in bee's wax and let them harden. Couldn't use them at all until I crushed them a lot! A couple of smart hits with a stone, turning them as I hit, and I had a very furry, waxy, fire bomb. Took a spark from a flint & steel kit without using char cloth.

Stitchawl
 
I haven't tried jute. Where does one find jute? String? twine? Does it matter?

Thanks in advance.
 
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