I know this will seem trivial to some / most, but I just lit my first fire using nothing more than an axe, a pocket knife and a firesteel.

I picked up some branches from the yard, processed with the axe into the typical kindling / fuel piles. Then I used the axe to scrape a thumb size stick down to dry wood. I used the knife to make wood shavings (would have been a feather stick if I'd left them attached). Piled them up against a backstop as described in the video below. Then I scraped some very fine shavings using the back of the knife and lit those with the fire steel.

Once the fine shavings were lit, dumped those into the course shavings and use the "stack method" of fire building (also in same video). Worked perfectly. Even with mostly damp wood.

The key today was the very fine shavings from the back of the knife. The wood was damp and I couldn't find any fat wood. So something easy to light with the firesteel was key.

I saw someone describe the difference between bushcraft and survival as using the same equipment but you choose to go bushcrafting.

Either way, it was a nice accomplishment and a reminder to go practice with the gear once in a while. Took longer than I thought it would and took more effort than I would have guessed. And this was on a perfect fall day with no wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ma9O2h17_0

Nice!

Good job, groo. Making fire with damp wood takes patience and knowledge. Definitely an achievement in my books.

I'm pretty sure none of my knives would cut shavings using the back of the blade. Do you sharpen the back flat?

Ken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmCwyG65PJo

Yeah. Helps to buy a knife without a rounded spine to start with (not as obvious you've modified it). Works great for that and for scraping firesteels. Obviously, never use the sharpened edge to scrape a firesteel.

Nice accomplishment. What really matters is that you are a person who actually did it. Don´t let that get spoiled by the thought that others might have more practice.

Thanks.

It's easy to get a fire started with modern tinder. TinderQuik, cotton balls, etc. This was the first "bush craft" fire. Nothing more than firesteel and a blade.

I suppose two down from this would be flint and steel with char cloth and a bird's nest, and then.. bow drill?

For flint and steel a good steel striker is important. Tinder preparation is a key factor. I have an old triangular scraper that works fine. For the char cloth I use denim from old jeans.
Try it. It´s fun and will give you a feeling of accomplishment.