Son of Making Fire

S

stitchawl

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
2,849
I've been giving this some thought.

Blast Match, Swedish Fire Steels, Magnesium bars, peanut lighters, Flint&Steel, Lifeboat matches, Zippo lighters, Waterproof match cases, Bic's, Lamplighters, Hurricane Matches, Strike Force, Ranger Rick's "Dog Tag Fire Starter, Spark-Lite, Fire Pistons, Fire Bows, lightning....

We do have some choices to make. There is the school of thought that says we need to use the BlastMatch because it's a one-handed operation and 'what if' we are injured. There is the school of thought that says Zippo is absotivly, posolutly fail-safe. The school of thought that says nothing can go wrong with a good piece of English black flint and a well made striker. (I like that one, myself.)

It struck me that almost ALL of the above will work fine 'if the creek don't rise.' But what if it does. The odds are that we'll have both hands to light our fires. Hell, the odds are that we'll never "NEED" to light an emergency fire! But what if we don't have both hands? What if we do need to make that fire?

It strikes me (no pun intended) that what we REALLY need is redundancy. Again. That peanut lighter or the SparkLite will do fine IF the tinder is really dry. The flint & steel will work well, IF we lay the fire correctly. But what if it's raining? What if we ARE injured and can only use one hand? Having a back-up of the BlastMatch or a Zippo begins to make sense.

Almost everything in my emergency kits serve 2-3 different uses. I want to conserve weight. And I really don't like the size of the BlastMatch. I don't care for the smell of a Zippo any more since I quite smoking. But I do realize that I must have redundancy at least in my fire making kit! And that it should be something that works well with only one hand. Now... do they make a left-handed BlastMatch? :rolleyes:

Stitchawl
 
I smoke. I like Zippo's. But, even day to day I dont rely on them 100%, I carry a bic as a backup in my bag becuase I normaly just fill the zippo when it's close to running out (you can tell the day before most of the time) butsometimes I forget.

The point is, out in the woods the need for redundancy even more evident, there is a huge diffrence between having to ask someone for a light and freezing because your zippo failed. Redundancy is a good thing, and fire is probably at the top of the list for things that need to be redundent.
 
I keep a mini bic and a ferro rod in my PSK

Both can be done 1 handed

I am a smoker so I always have a lighter or 2 on my person as well as other ferro rods stashed in different places.
 
I have made fire with flint and steel in adverse conditions(downpour)
I get your point though, I have read "the call of the wild" I think that is the right reference?
Del
I like redundancy though too.
 
delbert ealy said:
I have made fire with flint and steel in adverse conditions(downpour)
I get your point though, I have read "the call of the wild" I think that is the right reference?
Del
I like redundancy though too.
Click to expand...

Hi Delbert, When you say flint and steel, do you mean ferro rod or actual flint(rock) and steal. I ask because I don't hear about to many people carrying traditional methods of fire often.
 
tonym said:
Hi Delbert, When you say flint and steel, do you mean ferro rod or actual flint(rock) and steal. I ask because I don't hear about to many people carrying traditional methods of fire often.
Click to expand...

Tony, I ALWAYS have a flint and steel striker (NOT Ferro rod) with me, (mini sized though, the striker has a strike face about an inch long and the flint just a bit larger. Just enough to make a nice spark,) even when NOT in the woods! I carry them in a small leather pouch that I made. I carry it not so much to make a fire in the middle of town (I don't include char cloth or jute in the pouch,) as to remind me that everything does NOT have to be high tech to be effective. As a Taoist, it balances out my cell phone, GPS, laptop, etc.

In the woods I carry a larger set, perhaps three inches long. I forged a variety of strikers for myself out of old files and have made up several tinder box kits with striker, flint, char, jute, and some even have fatwood in them. If the striker is made properly, and you use a good piece of flint, you can usually catch a spark with a single strike. If you add some PJ cotton balls or some mag shavings, etc., it's just about as effective as a small ferro rod, and to me, a lot more fun! :D

Stitchawl
 
I go with the trio of ferro rod, matches, and lighter(Bic, but I carry a Zippo daily as a smoker.) So far they haven't failed me, even in the rain(and it had been raining for two or three days before as well) the ferro rod did the job.
For those that are concerned about the ability to use them if you injure your other hand or something, no problem. Got ya covered there too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0bU0F0hKdI


Gautier
 
stitchawl said:
Tony, I ALWAYS have a flint and steel striker (NOT Ferro rod) with me, (mini sized though, the striker has a strike face about an inch long and the flint just a bit larger. Just enough to make a nice spark,) even when NOT in the woods! I carry them in a small leather pouch that I made. I carry it not so much to make a fire in the middle of town (I don't include char cloth or jute in the pouch,) as to remind me that everything does NOT have to be high tech to be effective. As a Taoist, it balances out my cell phone, GPS, laptop, etc.

In the woods I carry a larger set, perhaps three inches long. I forged a variety of strikers for myself out of old files and have made up several tinder box kits with striker, flint, char, jute, and some even have fatwood in them. If the striker is made properly, and you use a good piece of flint, you can usually catch a spark with a single strike. If you add some PJ cotton balls or some mag shavings, etc., it's just about as effective as a small ferro rod, and to me, a lot more fun! :D

Stitchawl
Click to expand...


Thats awesome bro:thumbup: I rarely see anyone using that anymore. I tried it before and it is definately something I have to practice at. At the W.L.C. we used steel wool to catch the spark. Worked rteally well:thumbup:
 
tonym said:
Thats awesome bro:thumbup: I rarely see anyone using that anymore. I tried it before and it is definately something I have to practice at. At the W.L.C. we used steel wool to catch the spark. Worked rteally well:thumbup:
Click to expand...

E-mail me a snail-mail address and I'll send you a home-made striker and a chunk of flint. :)

Stitchawl
 
Really:eek:

Awesome man, Thanks a bunch bro:thumbup:

Fore some reason I can't email you through the forums:confused:

I use my work address to recieve everything so I'll just post it here.

Tony Montero
Sleep Etc
508 Main Ave
Norwalk, CT 06851
 
Real flint, huh? Haven't seen/used that since Boy Scouts. Know of any online suppliers or something?

As far as the OP, redundancy is key for me. I keep the Zippo, some matches, ferro and steel and occassionally a Bic in my kit or very near to me. I also have a butane lighter that stays in the truck. Ya just never know, right?



PeACE
Dougo
 
dougo83 said:
Real flint, huh? Haven't seen/used that since Boy Scouts. Know of any online suppliers or something?
Click to expand...

There are quite a few place that sell flint online, mostly for flint knappers, but a few also sell for fire making.[/url]

http://www.survivalschool.com/products/fire_starting/Flint_Steel_High_Intensity.htm
(I really like their English Black flint!!)
http://www.greyowlcrafts.com/strikers_sprs_knvs/strikers.htm
http://nativeway.safewebshop.com/flintknapping_supplies.html
just to get you started.

Some fellow in the UK contacted me asking about Asian Billhooks. I offered to send him a few in exchange for a pound or two of local flint. (He lives in an area that is COVERED with the stuff!) He agreed, I sent him four large farming billhooks, and waited... and waited... and waited.... That was about two years ago. I'm still waiting, but I'm not holding my breath.

As far as the OP, redundancy is key for me. I keep the Zippo, some matches, ferro and steel and occassionally a Bic in my kit or very near to me. I also have a butane lighter that stays in the truck. Ya just never know, right?
Click to expand...

There was a wonderful movie years ago called "Quest for Fire" about some Neanderthal folks who had let their fire go out, sent a couple of the men out to search for a lightning-struck tree that was still smoldering, and the problems/adventures they had trying to get some fire. Eventually they met up with some Cromagnon people who taught them, among other things, how to make fire with two stones. Very cute story with a nice ending.

Fire and salt. Without em we just can't make it!

Stitchawl
 
Hello folks, just made it here thanks to the guidance of Brain Jones, this is certainly going to be a fun place to share stories.

I have a trick I keep in my kit that some may have heard of, others may find it odd. Sure, I keep a Bic on hand, but in case of a tumble into the drink (or worse) I keep something in my back pocket; a steel soap box with a fire kit inside, and the box is chanined to my belt loop with a sink drainpug chain. The soap box itself is not waterproof, but it doesn't have to be. Inside the box, I have a 9 volt battery, some steel wool wrapped in wax paper, and a bar of Zip BBQ lighter dipped in wax. (you know that "Zip" stuff to light charcoal BBQ briquettes, it looks like dense styrofoam and smells like diesel fuel?)

Anyway, the battery had proven to be the weak point of this kit because it would sometimes short out against the soap box and die. Recently, my son, who is a guitar player, gave me a little plastic cover that snaps on to the 9 volt battery top, keeping the terminals from contacting other objects. I guess these are common to musicians who carry batteries, so I am told.

How it works: BReak the wax covered Zip stick into pieces, shattering the wax coating. STretch out the steel wool so it is loose, the place the broken stick and wax onto the steel wool with the wax paper over the pile if it is raining, or under the pile if the ground is wet (you can actually put the whole pile inside the open soap box if need be). Then touch the 9 volt battery to the steel wool, and presto, the steel wool lights up, and then moves onto the Zip/wax pile. Best get some kindling on it right quick though, and build it up, but it's a sure fire way to get a flame, even in the rain or snow. Just for fun, go give this a shot in the back yard, it is actually kind of amusing and makes for a great display for doubting onlookers! ;)

Glenn
 
tonym said:
Hi Delbert, When you say flint and steel, do you mean ferro rod or actual flint(rock) and steal. I ask because I don't hear about to many people carrying traditional methods of fire often.
Click to expand...



Yeah I mean a steel bar and a chuck of rock(flint)
When I was backpacking frequently, I had it in the kit on my belt, and I used it a lot. My companions got a kick out of it.
Del
 
I have a small ferro rod, a peanut lighter, a small spycapsule full of PJCB (petroleum jelly and cotton balls), a small spycapsule full of lighter fluid, plus a Vic Classic or a Gerber Clutch on my keychain for firestarting. The Vic and Gerber each have one of their blade's backs squared off sharp to act as a striker for the ferro rod.Everything (except the keys) has its own swivel clip attached so i can quickly remove any item from the keychain.
I have that with me whenever i leave the house.
In my pack is another peanut lighter plus 1 or 2 disposable bic style lighters plus a film cannister full of PJCB plus a water-proof container full of shortened "kitchen" style matches.

Bushman5 had an excellent giveaway for a firestarting kit in the Canadian forum recently.
I was the lucky winner!
Thanks Bushman!
I'm hoping to get to try it all out early next month!
Here it is-
bushysfirekitpic2.jpg
 
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Good idea to carry a bit of tinder along with the fire starters--dry tinder can sometimes be tough to find. I often keep a ziploc bag in my pocket and add dry tinder as I find it.

I'm a redundancy guy as well. Bic, wooden matches, fire steel. Nice tip in re one-handed technique for the fire steel; thanks.

That flint and steel thing looks tricky but fun.
 
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