Making and burning firestraws. (lots of pictures)

Thanks for the tip cucharadedragon! I sometimes use gloves, but they get in the way mostly.

I usually tear up a bunch of cotton balls all at once and the lube them down all at once, using a plastic bag would make mass production much more pleasant.
 
When you light the straw on fire, do you cut a slit the length of the straw to expose the cotton (I'm thinking this would expose the cotton to more air and have it burn better), or do you just make a cut at the end, pull out some cotton and light that?
 
I've done it both ways, depending on the weather conditions. For it to burn the best, I remove it from the straw and fluff if well. This makes is less susceptible to wind/water.

But, you can use it like a big match if you need to, and it works well that way too. Just be careful.
 
I have just been keeping cotton balls and PJ in 35mm film cannister. I like this. Great tutorial. I'm going to try making some of these.

KR
 
I belive it was Don Rearic that said that he warms up the petrolium jelly, either in the microwave or in a pan, then puts in into the original container and crams as many cotton balls as will fit to "pj" his cotton.
 
naked said:
I was experimenting today with magnesium shavings added to the PJ cotton. It didn't help it start better, it may have made it actually burn a little bit faster. BUT, I did notice what seemed to be a lot better wind resistance. When I blew on them, the magnesium shavings seemed to ignite and keep the flame going. It's hard for me to get scientific, and if anything, it just adds a little bit more fun to making the straws.
Click to expand...

Ok, it's been awhile since I've been in a science class, but IIRC, magnesium shavings are also what they put in those novelty birthday candles that you can't blow out, at least not very easily.
 
Interesting on_the_edge. Now that I have some fatwood too, I'm going to experiment with it as well just for the heck of it.
 
I made my first firestraws the other day--wow...they are great. Half a straw (McDonalds) burned for about 10 minutes--enough time for anyone to build a good fire. I was really impressed. First strike with the firesteel!!

When I did it, I really PJ'd up the middle and MUCH lighter on each end so it would be easier to light. I don't know what difference it made, but it was my plan anyway.
 
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