Today... I failed....

Thanks for all the advice and support guys. I need to get out there more often but between work and school i have very little free time. Yesterdays hike was solely to practice survival skills, and though im bummed i couldn't make a fire, it was at least a bit of practice under the belt.

texastonydobbs said:
what fire steel do you have ?

What kind of cotton balls did ya buy ? you could of grabbed synthetic cotton balls & they will not burn...
Click to expand...

I was using a fire steel that I got a while back at a sportsmens show. I think its called the "strike master" or something. It works ok, but the rod on it is kind of thin, and I used quite a bit of it yesterday. The cotton balls were stuff from my dads air force survival kit. They werent soaked in anything, and later i tried out some dipped in vasoline, and some paper towels with olive oil on it, and they both worked great.
 
Cotton balls with vasoline works AWESOME...

I suggest a misch metal fire steel from Going Gear... you can get them all all kinds of sizes!
 
Great post, it's guys like you that take time to post things like this, that's why I love this forum. Really got me thinking, I need to try, but it always lights in my mind.
 
Both the LightMyFire and ESEE ferro rods work good, so does the GoingGear misch rods. They do require a slightly different technique. GG misch can be had for a few bucks, and the GG striker is also a verry nice addition. Last time i noticed LMF has a striker too.
 
basb said:
Both the LightMyFire and ESEE ferro rods work good, so does the GoingGear misch rods. They do require a slightly different technique. GG misch can be had for a few bucks, and the GG striker is also a verry nice addition. Last time i noticed LMF has a striker too.
Click to expand...

I have that little GG Striker... works very well (I think its 1.89). And my LMF came with a large striker as well.
 
kneedragger650 said:
Thanks for all the advice and support guys. I need to get out there more often but between work and school i have very little free time. Yesterdays hike was solely to practice survival skills, and though im bummed i couldn't make a fire, it was at least a bit of practice under the belt.



I was using a fire steel that I got a while back at a sportsmens show. I think its called the "strike master" or something. It works ok, but the rod on it is kind of thin, and I used quite a bit of it yesterday. The cotton balls were stuff from my dads air force survival kit. They werent soaked in anything, and later i tried out some dipped in vasoline, and some paper towels with olive oil on it, and they both worked great.
Click to expand...

If it helps you feel better, I have a terrible time with the tiny mag/ferro rod that comes with the Izula kit - I break out a larger one and it's much easier.

If it's easy every time, you're not pushing yourself enough, and may fall short when the chips are really down.
 
I would say your day was a total success. Being here in wet Washington, I learned early on that I had to overcome my ADD to get and keep a fire going. Tender collection is so important. When you feel like you have enough, go get yourself some more. Nothing will hurt your chance quicker than running out of tender while your blowing the coals. That, and take your time and break it down. Anything you can do to give yourself the best chance at successfully keeping the small flame going.

I'm a big fan of real cotton balls and Vaseline. Again, here in the conditions I am used to, it seems to give me the most amount of time to get the small stuff arranged properly before burning out. They also take up such a small amount of space and weigh next to nothing. I also found during my last trip, that when I ran out of cotton balls, the Vaseline left in the baggy worked just as good on the lint from my socks. So even when you're out of cotton balls, you're not out of a fire source.
 
I've had trouble getting a fire going after chopping & batoning some wood from a fallen tree - I don't think it had been down long and the wood was fairly 'green'. I should have just gone for a walk and hunted for some nice dry dead wood, that stuff burns easily. Once the fire is burning well even the 'green' wood will be fine, but to start with you want the really dry stuff.
 
texastonydobbs said:
Pic above reminds me of a quote :D

Indian makes small fire, sits close.
White man makes big fire, sits far away.

-- Stalking Wolf
Click to expand...

I always thought it went something like:

Indians stay warm sitting next to a small fire and white man gets warm carrying wood to a large fire.

Something like that.
 
May I make a suggestion?
Since it seems you are working on getting a "bug out bag" stocked with items,
as someone else also mentioned before: birch bark - shred a bunch of it (peel the layers apart, etc.) and pack as much as you can into a 35mm film container.
You could also just keep a piece or 2 in there too, I just like to have it pre-shredded.
Also, throw a 3-4" long hunk of 2x4, 2x3 or 2x2 in there (your bag).
With the 2x4, you can shave off little pieces of super dry tinder.
neither take up much space or weigh much, and they very well may help you get that fire started in an emergency.
In a real bug out bag, prolly want to have your vaseline cotton balls and a few bic lighters as well (why make things harder than they need to be, right?

May not be pure bushcraft fire starting, but it'll get the job done.
 
Just like everyone else said, you took a giant first step in trying. Just keep getting out there and don't give up. One day, it'll click and you'll figure it out.
 
If you want to bring your own tinder, just clean out your lint trap. You can pack tons of dryer lint into a film canister and it starts so easily that you'll be afraid to leave your dryer unattended anymore.

Personally, I favor char cloth, but I have an unlimited supply of lint. :D
 
I had the same experience a week ago and I sympathize. My brother and a friend and I have been getting together weekly to learn and practice our bushcraft/survival skills. Last Sunday's exercise was fire starting. I tried for forty-five minutes (half of it in freezing rain) before giving up. However, the other two guys got their going.

As much as I felt like I should turn in a "mancard" that afternoon I learned a ton. As has been said, I would much rather learn from my mistakes when I could retreat into a warm house that learn when my life depends on it.

By the way, this past Sunday's exercise was a trip to the shooting range. My brother had a new Kahr 9mm that needed breaking in. It went much better. :D
 
Today I again failed to find a job. However, I had a workout full of win at the gym!

Does that count? :D

Keep at the firestarting. If it had worked, you would not be studying as hard as you are now. This past weekend, I flubbed a stage at our local pistol match - I usually score great with tiny targets, and I usually do OK/good while moving. However, tiny targets while moving was an unexpected fail. The positive side is that now I know, and this week I am going to train hard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top