Hi ya'll. I am new on here, but have read on the ETS site extensively. I am working on a good PSK and really need some ideas for tinders.I have tried the vasoline soaked cotton balls recently and nearly froze my butt off trying to get a fire going like that. Is there any secrets to available items that can be used for this? How about tampons? They are about the densest type of cotton you can have. what's the possibility of using some of these soaked in the fire ribbon and vacuum packed?? Thoughts?

I recommend you give the vaseline/cotton another try. It works very well for me....always. Make sure you have used real cotton not some poly substitute. Mine is coated with vaseline not dripping, but coated. I place a tuft that I have pulled apart some on a curl of wood....



Then holding the firesteel right on the cotton, I hold the knife spine steady



and pull the firesteel.



Transfer the chip to your prepared fire and away it goes



I stuff my cotton into a small candy tin. I usually take a couple of cotton balls and lay on some vaseline, put these in the tin, cover with a pulled out cotton ball, squash with my thumb, lay on some vaseline, another pulled out cotton ball, squash.....ad nasuem until the tin is stuffed full. This forces the vaseline through the cotton and any excess is squeezed out. I pull out one or half of one cotton ball for a typical spark strike. This little flat Clik-Clak tin holds plenty of pieces.



For my kits I have made Tinder Straws...a plastic drinking straw stuffed with vaseline/cotton with the ends folded over and secured with another piece of plastic straw. These work great to keep the PSK from being coated with vaseline.

There are probably one or more threads here about tinder straws.

Nice pics.

Schwert,

What is the model of stove you are using in your pics?...Thanks!

Dan e boy.

I believe it's a kelly kettle.

Lee

I'll have to try this the way you described. Seems I may have had too much vasoline. 15 years in the Air Force has taught me the value of LOTS of vasoline for trips to the commander's office. So, where did you find that fine cutting instrument in the pics, and what was the cost?

That is indeed a Kelly Kettle, the one-pint size. I really like it as a brewup stove...but it is for hot water only not cooking.

I was able to beg my way into buying the larger size Kettle just this month, but I am being forced to wait for it until my birthday....

Many of you may have seen me post pictures from an article I have up at Jimbos place or at JM's Outdoors-Magazine.

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=126

I think you can have too much vaseline on the cotton. Mine is definately greasy feeling but the cotton fibers are not completely matted down when I pull a ball apart. I think the loose thin fibers catch the spark then the more matted vaseline coated mass takes over to give a long burn time.

If yours was real cotton then either it was too matted or too coated. I have just never had this sort of tinder fail me, so give it another go for sure.

That knife was made by Nick Wheeler, and once again more information (as well as most of the above pictures) can be seen in an article at JM's Outdoors-Magazine.

http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=175

And welcome to the forum.

Definitely, too much vaseline will make it hard to light. A dry cotton ball is easiest to light, but burns too quick to be useful. A bit of vaseline makes it burn longer. Too much smothers it.

I have better luck with fluffed cotton with vasoline, rather than matted.

Sue