Wind, water, fire and the BK9. Lighting a fire in the rain.

[Saint Loke]

Moozes challenge said max 5 pics and no chatting. So here is the full story of my rainy experience.

I always wanted to try to light a fire in pouring rain, and today the sky opened up for real. So I thought it would be a good time to test my abilities (or lack thereof) as a firemaker. And any excuse to wield the BK9 is a good excuse.

Mind you, my wife tok the pictures, and she had a hard time to get any focus while the rain was pouring down. I wasn't an easy object to capture either, as I was wacking away at the log.

My saw had to help out the BK9

I dragged the log down to my back yard, and fetched some kindling I had prepared. My plan was to split a log, use the two halves as a base for the fire, then ignite the kindling. All that with a firesteel. That was my goal.

Batoning the damn hard birch wood.

Then the hard work starts. The weather gets worse, and it starts to get quite windy, while the rain pours down. How the heck am I going to light a fire with a firesteel in this weather?

I had a ball of hemp rope in there, but you cant see it on the pictures.

Lots of sparks, but no fire, alas.

I gave up after 15 minutes, the dry kindling I had was getting more and more damp, and the wind transported moisture everywhere. I pulled out a lighter and got a lasting flame.

With the lighter getting me the initial flame, and lots of huffing and puffing, I managed to get the kindling burning, despite the extreme humidity.

Firesteel is a survival tool and back up, but I'm not skilled enough to make a fire in the pouring rain without a lighter or a match.

The King never fails though.

 

[Chameleonbear]

As a suggestion, try using a cotton ball with vaseline. I made a small fire in the bottom of a boat the other week using that method. It was a PCB with some fat wood and hemp rope.

 

[trailbum]

Lighting a fire in the rain is the best practice.

 

[Saint Loke]

Thanks! It's fun trying out stuff like this. I learned a few things. One of them is that it is possible to get a good and lasting flame, even in pouring rain. But that a firesteel needs better preparations than I had. It could be that dry bark from birch wood is perhaps not the best source for a firesteel, but there were absolutely no chance of finding any dry grass or moss.

I'll try your tips, Chameleonbear! Next time the sky opens up I'll give it an other try, then I'll be equipped with wax-induced hemp and cotton.

 

[iwouldhurtafly]

very cool post, I love seeing people who get out there and do a test of their own skills, not always just testing the gear. Good job!

Also you can scrape the inside of the bark with the blade spine or edge to get some "fuzzies" that will light better with a ferro rod, but I do not know if that would have helped you because if they got wet you still would have been SOL. I dont think you did anything wrong here you just did what you had to do, so in essence overcoming and adapting is the best characteristic necessary had this been a situation where you REALLY needed fire.

:thumbup: