FIRE STARTING

[childishthing]

In a survival situation, being able to start a fire is usually the first task you'll need to tackle - and most will agree, it's the most important amongst the keys to surviving (fire, shelter, water, food). Those of us who are used to living in the Northwest, know that being able to start a fire in wet conditions is a real factor that has to be addressed.

So I'd like to start a discussion. I'd like to talk about the various ways we get a fire going, despite the wet conditions around us.

Some talking points for example:
-What are we using to make spark? (match/lighter/fire-steel/bow drill)
-What pre-prepared firestarters do you use, if any? (cottonballs with petroleum jelly/dryer lint/store-bought fire-starters/white gas, etc.)
-What do you (usually) use for tinder, and how do you prepare your tinder?
-How do you arrange your fire-pit & fire wood?

Feel free to add!

This is a Dakota Fire Hole for those of you who might ask.

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[gehrheart]

Road flare.
Has never failed me in the wettest of wet days.

Of course you will need to have one with you ro use it. But always works. Keep one in the BOB.

 

[OREGON FALER]

I typically use pitchwood as my tinder and a ferro rod to light it, but I've started carrying lighters lately also. I keep fire kits everywhere and i'd say none are the same. Petroleum jelly cottonballs are an excellent man made tinder.

 

[ATCclears]

Adding self to thread to learn...

Peter

 

[mosinguy1]

Wow gehrheart beat me to it, I also use road flares. I carry some saw dust and small pieces of wood in a 1gal ziploc bag with the road flares. I also carry mag bars and a flint and steel set along with a zippo. The style of fire I build really depends on the location and weather. I try to always have some sort of device to direct heat to sleeping area. I also try to keep the wet wood near the fire to dry.

In the wet season I try to find rocks to build the fire on to keep it off the ground, and to have hot rocks to boil water, or to put under sleeping area when it is very cold. One would be surprised as to how long a hot rock radiates heat.

I also try to keep green branches near in case we need smoke for rescue or to fight off the pesky insects.

 

[JGRuby]

Road flare.
Has never failed me in the wettest of wet days.

Of course you will need to have one with you ro use it. But always works. Keep one in the BOB.

I carry two in my back pack

James Ruby

 

[FortunateSon]

In my GHB -
1. Magnsium Fire Starter.
2. 4 boxes of matches.
3. 2 Bic Lighters.
4. Dryer lint with petroleum jelly, sealed in a gallon sized ziplock baggie.
5. Kindling made from scrap wood left over from home projects, which I made sure was well seasoned last summer,also in a gallon ziplock baggie.

And I always carry a Zippo.......

 

[Puddin99]

I am in the process of trying this.

Slam Rod Fire Starter - Ignition By Air!! - YouTube

How To Make Char Cloth - YouTube

 

[salmonriverjohn]

To the OP, the Dakota fire pit is the way to go. If you folks haven't looked into them, you should.

 

[coyoteman5]

Cotton balls coated with Vaseline works good throw'em in zip lock bag for storage can use flint/steel or matches works good when its wet out also.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Magnesium starter, military surplus heat tablets, railroad flare.

 

[SIG383]

A good firestarter to use is egg carton filled with sawdust and melted wax. If you want to "recycle" a bit, collect the last part of candles from around the house. My wife buys candles all the time so I have an endless supply there...

 

[HansC]

I've mentioned this on another thread, but a welder's sparker is really easy to use, since it was designed to be operated with a single, heavily gloved hand. If you toss it on the ground, you can get great ignition just by stepping on it, once you've nudged it with a toe and tipped it 90 degrees. Jamming a cotton ball in it and squeezing it provides instant ignition.

I carry a tinder box, which in my case is a repurposed Ovaltine container. Has the welder's sparker, extra flints, tinder, and a rifle cleaning kit bottle filled with mineral oil, which makes for a safe, non-explosive, odorless lamp.

Sometimes you don't need a fire until your fingers are so cold that your hands are useless. Some fire making methods require considerable manual dexterity.

I have loops taped on to the jar and the lid so the jar can be opened with numb hands.

 

[fyrediver]

A Sparkie Mini Fire Starter is my tool of choice. It operates one handed and puts out a great amount of ferro rod sparks. It's the little brother of the Blastmatch which is the Snohomish County SAR recommended fire starter. Both are awesome tools.
Of course, I also carry matches, a Bic, vaseline cotton balls, some magnesium flakes and rod, and some commercial tinder that came with the Blastmatch kit.

I've also recently found, thanks to a cold, that the wax paper wrappers on Ricola cough drops burn like a candle. Cough drops are in my kit already, now they're Ricola.

 

[knuckle Head]

I strongly and mean strongly suggest watch Dual Survival, that guy Cody is the master of starting a fire, I have my dvr setup record all the new show and sometimes watch the old episodes just to refresh my memory. Also there is a husband and wife show called, man woman and wild these show are very informative and worth the time, beside maybe those who are having problems getting the spouse on board can them to watch as weel and spark an interest

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Wow! I carry an IMCO of Austria windproof Super Triplex lighter. These light weight lighters were invented during WW1 for use in the trenches by German troops and their allies. They have a wind screen/flame adjuster and you can light the wick then pull the entire tank with flaming wick out to light your fire! Blow it out and slip back into the striker/housing and done. Burns lighter fluid and I carry a small plastic ronson container in my gear. They are super tough and a really slick piece of gear. The wow was because I checked on Amazon and they are running $25 to $50! I got mine a year ago and paid $11.99! Pretty much carry the same items as everyone else except for a couple of small bottles of hand sanitizer which burns great as well as its obvious uses and ranger bands (cut from bicycle tubes) which burn for a long time.

PS: I also have a multi tool made by Corona. Visualize a bypass pruner with folding handles and knife etc in those handles. Use it to cut up small branches and the tip to scrape out fat wood which we use in our #10 can hobo stove. The pruner is much easier to use than a knife for processing small wood. It comes in in a belt pouch and is no bigger than a full sized Leatherman etc. really a cool little tool!

 

[receo]

I take the round cotton make up removal pads from the wifebots bathroom drawer and drop them into melted left over wax from her many glass jar type candles. Easy, cheap and a super fire starter. I normally use a out 1/4 of a pad per fire.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I strongly and mean strongly suggest watch Dual Survival, that guy Cody is the master of starting a fire, I have my dvr setup record all the new show and sometimes watch the old episodes just to refresh my memory. Also there is a husband and wife show called, man woman and wild these show are very informative and worth the time, beside maybe those who are having problems getting the spouse on board can them to watch as weel and spark an interest

Dual Survival is a hoot! Those guys bicker more than the husband and wife team! Good entertainment and information both!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

A good firestarter to use is egg carton filled with sawdust and melted wax. If you want to "recycle" a bit, collect the last part of candles from around the house. My wife buys candles all the time so I have an endless supply there...

+1 SIG, I have some that my Mom made 40-45 yrs ago and they still burn like fire! She added a string wick for convenient lighting.

 

[MarkAd]

fritos are a great fire starter