Minor firestarter tests

[Joe Talmadge]

I took a few firestarters out back this weekend. I found some minorly interesting things.

First, I took out my Gerber Strikerforce, which I haven't actually carried in probably 3 years, maybe 4. In the little carrying case was one of the Strikerforce tinders. The tinders are those little white cubes that burn a long time. I've been warned that these tinders lose their abilities once they're exposed to air for too long. Well, this one was sitting in its little cube package, but the top cellophane has been ripped off, so it had been exposed to air for several years (albeit in the cramped compartment of the Strikeforce). Nevertheless, I roughed-up the top of the cube with a knife, and it lit quickly and easily with both my Sparklite and the 3/8" artificial flint I had bought from Bagheera.

I also tried getting together the driest tinder I could find, and there was some very dry crumbly stuff in my backyard, and some very dry fluffy stuff too. Couldn't get it to light with either my Sparklite or the 3/8" flint. I'd never tried lighting a fire with natural materials and a sparker. I've used a sparker with artifical tinders, or a match/lighter with natural materials, but never sparker + natural materials. So, question: any good books or videos on how to do this? Is it especially difficult, or something I just need to practice?

I tried another artificial flint firestarter that had a magnesium block glued to it. Now I finally remember why I didn't like magnesium -- if it's windy, all the shavings blow away before you can light 'em!

I also tried yet another thing I hadn't before. I had always had this notion that only non-stainless steels work well on artifical flints. Don't know where I got this idea, but I always had a little piece of hacksaw along with my flint. Well, duh, the spine on my endura worked just great with the 3/8" flint.

In the end, I think I've decided I like the Sparklite better than the 3/8" flint. Sometimes, if I only have a little tinder that's not catching quickly, when I drive the striker off the 3/8" flint, it kind of blows the tinder away. With the Sparklite, you just hold it there like a lighter, and the tinder stays put until it catches. Of course, this may very well be saying more about my firestarting skills (or lack thereof) than it does about which one of those firestarters is better.

Joe

 

[Bagheera]

Hi Joe,

Nice to hear that you started experimenting with the Spark-Lite and Military Firesteel.

The "blow-away" effect when stricking with a piece of hacksaw blade or spine of your Endura along the Military firesteel can be solved by not moving the striker towards the tinder along the firesteel but the other way around so move the firesteel over the striker away from the tinder.

The other solution I have is get yourself a piece of Maya sticks, those pieces of pinewood conatining 80% resin and makesome thin shavings still letting them stay attached to the Mayawood. Then put the firesteel just in front of these thin shavings and strike once or twice and they are burning.
Because the shavings are still attached to the larger piece of Mayawood they don't blow away.

Cheers from Holland,

Bagheera



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[Michael Bennett]

Joe,

Good topic. Bagheera is right about keeping the steel fixed and pulling the firestarter, rather than pushing the steel along the firestarter.

For tinders, try the downy fluff from milkweed pods and the fluff from bull thistle. Both should work with ferrocerium. Both should be available soon. The same may be true of many downy-type plant pods. Maybe dandelions? I haven't tried them.

I've been meaning to try breast feathers from geese. There's plenty of them in my area. I'm not certain that they will work.

I recently started a page at my site called "Thoughts on tinder." You may wish to check it out at http://lynx.neu.edu/m/mbennett . Any feedback is appreciated.

Mike

[This message has been edited by Michael Bennett (edited 08-21-2000).]

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Bagheera -- pull the flint away instead of pushing the striker forward. doh! easy enough solution.


Michael -- Interesting page, thanks! At the very least, it kind confirmed that I'll need very light fluffy tinder to get a fire going with flint.

 

[Leef]

My son and I did the same type of tinder test this weekend. Friday evening we had a major storm front come through and blow over trees, flip an 18 wheeler over, dump inches of rain, and knock out power for a couple of hours- so we decided this would be the perfect time to work on fire starting!

Sunday we took a Gerber strike force, a few metal matches, and hiked in from the trailhead to the river. We collected tulip popular and cedar bark from dead but still standing trees along the way. Sitting on a large rock by the rivers edge for fire safety we tried all possible combinations of strikers and tinder. What we found was that the strike force was head and shoulders above any of the metal matches we had along on the less than idea (moist)tinders. Because of the very recent, very heavy rain the tinder had to be rolled between my hands until it was nearly powder before it would catch a spark. Normally just getting the tinder to a thread like state is all that's needed. We had fun with the wind too. It was blowing right down the river channel and would keep the sparks from ever reaching the tinder bundle if it wasn't protected. I will be buying several more strike force units for use under these type of conditions.

Great job on your website Michael.
Lee


[This message has been edited by Leef (edited 08-22-2000).]

 

[Greg Davenport]

No matter what technique you use... it is all about control. I tell my students to stroke the metal match like you would a fine women (of course the reverse applies to the females). Learning the stroke and technique takes practice. The key is putting the spark into your properly prepared tinder and not spreading the tinder out or snuffing the flame out.

Technique.... practice... Since this is all my students use to start fires in my programs... they get a lot of practice.

Good luck.



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Greg Davenport
Simply Survival's Wilderness Survival Forum
Simply Survival's Web Page
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 

[Bagheera]

Hi Greg,

I'm lying/walking/standing at home recovering from a nasty jaw infection that could not be traced to some root problems. Amoxicicline for 5 days and some potent painkillers should do the job the doc said. Well I think I know now how tyring pain can be, my inflamated jaw nerves gave and still give me an very awfull pulsating kind of pain.
Two days ago I would have given my left pinky if the pain stopped luckily I now feel some improvement.

Greg what you wrote just about handling your firesteel just like you would handle a woman and that it needs practice sounds allright to me.
So "practising" your techniques on a woman may improve your firesteel handling or is it the other way around?

Must be the painkillers that I'm taken but I had to comment on it.

Cheers,

Bagheera

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[This message has been edited by Bagheera (edited 08-23-2000).]

 

[Stryver]

Here's some natural tinders I've had good luck with.

Birch bark. 'Nuff said. almost any way you prepare it.

Fine scrapings from most any bark. Hold knife perpindicular to tree, with something to catch the shavings, and scrape away.

I tried cottonwood fluff, but it burned so fast I needed secondary tinder of such quality it wasn't worth the effort. Just spark the secondary tinder.

Fine grass seed heads. Use very dry ones with the 'hairs', and use a decent size bunch.

Most any other dry, sufficiently shredded material.

Man-made tinders of note:

Dryer lint. This stuff rocks! Test it first (Nomex lint does _not_ work) and keep it dry. Cotton clothes work best.

Blue jeans. Use a knife, edge perpendicular to pants, and scrape back and forth. You will get some blue fuzz that works as well as dryer lint.

Toilet paper. Easy to shred, almost doesn't need it.


Another solution to prevent hitting your tinder with your blade is to angle the blade tip down so that it hits your firebuilding surface before the rest hits the tinder. This works best (for your knife anyways) if you do not build your fire on a rock.


Stryver

 

[Jimbo]

To add to Stryver's tinders:
My grand-daughter's favorite tinder - old man's beard. Fortunately not mine although she did try..
The green lichen that hangs off trees up here in the rain forest - usnea. Usually you collect it, dry it and as soon as you need it to start a fire in damp conditions it is too damp to start a fire with, since it really absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. The trick is to saturate it with balsam fir resin. Then when this dries (waterproof)a spark will immediately give a large flame.
Unlike spruce gum, the balsam resin is not sticky when dry.