Magnifier Fires

lagarto

lagarto

Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
1,438
Hello all,
Has anyone out there tried starting fires using magnifiers/glasses. I know I've seen other threads about what to use, but I was wondering exactly how its done. Also, I just got a swiss champ which has the magnifier and was wondering if that would be an effective survival fire starting, if all else failed. Any thoughts?
Lagarto
 
Yes, if you've got sunlight. Look for punkwood, which is rotted wood which had dried. You should be able to get a coal from that, then transfer the coal to a tinder bundle and blow it into a flame.

Mike
 
Hold the lens so that it catches the light, with the focus point on the tinder. You determine where this is by just putting your hand under the lens and moving it towards and away from the lens under you see the light focus into a dot. At this point, depending on the intensity of the light, your skin will get hot very fast (less than a second). You can also do the same thing using the tinder directly, but it is more difficult to see when you have it at the focus.

Once you find the right distance and orientation, place the tinder at that spot. It doesn't get that sunny around here, however even with a small lens (1") you can ignite grass in seconds. The larger the lens, the clearer the sky and the hotter it is, the quicker you will start your fire. As with everything, experiment with tinder. The small magnifier on the SAK's is possible, but much harder than a large lens so I would try a bigger one first to get the hang of it.

-Cliff
 
i have experimented with different lenses, the largest is the best. i have use one of those neck magnifiers that cross stitchers use, it workes excedingly well on a cloudless day, i have tried smaller lenses, even the fresnel pocket magnifiers, the all work, but some need much more time than others. i thought about a large freznel lense, the page sized variety, very slim and flexible, i havent had time to try one this size.

as far as reading glasses, the higher the power of magnification the better, the 1.50 did not work at all for me, the 1.75 and the 2.00 worked well, small magnifiers i bought a set in walmart for a couple of bucks, the larger of the two worked very well, the smaller took much more time.

hope this helps,
alex
 
I have one of the page size fresnel lens. It works great! I think you could solder with it.
 
Thanks for the information so far everyone, now where can I get one of those Fresnel lenses (preferably B&M), would someplace like target have them?
Lagarto
 
Bought mine at a "Barnes and Noble" bookstore, but I'm told Walmart has them for half the price. $1.95 for the credit card size at B&N.
 
Take a 4"x6" fresnel lens and focus a dime sized spot on your target. You will get fire. Don't put your hand under it though. You will get burned. :eek:

Practice a little and it will become almost too easy. Like some of the others said, the bigger the lens the more intense the focus spot.
 
A couple of online sources for fresnel lenses:

http://www.scientificsonline.com/

http://www.sciplus.com/

Type in fresnel in the search window at both sites.

I strongly suggest carrying a credit card sized fresnel lens or two in your billfold or wallet as they weigh nothing and take up virtually no room.

I carry two of the page sized magnifiers in my backpack kit as two take up no more room than one. They start a fire in a hurry.

Making fire with a magnifier is very easy if you do it right. The trick is confining or concentrating the heat. You'll never get a single piece of dried grass, etc. to burst into flames- it will just smoulder.

This is what works for me: Get a handful of dried grass or whatever and twist and rip it to break down the structure, that is, to create surface area. Make a ball like a bird's nest out of it and then make a dimple or indentation in it with your finger and focus the sunlight there. The depression helps trap the heat. At least that's my theory. With strong sunlight (and dry tinder, of course) you will get smoke in a few seconds. This is the smouldering hot spot. You must coax this into flame. Blow gently and the hot spot should burst into flames.

I think it was Ron Hood who suggested practicing with the burning tip from a lit cigarette. If you can get that to burst into flames, you should have no problem with a magnifier.

Lagarto, I suggest you experiment with the small magnifier in your SAK and let us know the results. I've never tried to make fire with a magnifier that small. I don't see why it wouldn't work in strong sunlight.

The way I look at it, the magnifier is used when the sun is shining and the weather is pleasant, in order to save your matches, etc. When conditions are less ideal, you go to another option.

Good luck!
 
That was a common method in the 1800's. I think it's so simple alot of people have forgotten about it today.
 
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