I imagine everyone here watched SURVIVOR this past Sunday night, for those who haven't there was a fire challenge, a fire making test to see who goes on to the next level and who gets voted off. Sandra and Becky were given equal amounts of tender, kindling and wood. They were also given a knife and flint to create sparks. After an hour of no success they were given matches. Sandra, in her attempt, ran out of matches. Becky, an hour and a half later into the challenge, was able to build a fire big enough to burn through the rope which rang the bell.

Never having actually built a fire in the true sense, I laughed and thought I could do a better job.

Yesterday was too nice of day to build a fire in the fire place. Today, after coming home from a funeral, I put my self to the test. I began with leaves, small twigs, bigger sticks and a log. After a few tries without the Tinder-Quik, I tried with the Tinder-Quik. To make a long story short, after countless tries with the Spark-Lite, three Tinder-Quiks, newspaper, two matches, an artificial log and thirty-four minutes I got a fire going. This has indeed been a humbling experience; however, it is good to learn now where my short comings are than to learn this in a survival situation. Until I am able to improve my skills, I will keep an artificial log in my trunk.

Jeanette Isabelle

I took my nephew out this past weekend, and, as part of his lesson, we used our sparklights and natural tinder. the tinder has to be VERY dry, and, if you mold it into a sort of nest, and aim the spark into the middle of it, it works ok. But, it did take about 15-20 mins for it to catch a spark. Using the provided tinder-quicks, it caught immediately. All were we doing was catching a spark & getting a flame going; not building an actual fire. Not as easy as it seems!
I also tried with my gerber tinder thingy; I gave up soon enough. Took too damned long <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Not a thing pathetic about it. You did the experiment and you learned from it! Do it a few more times and you'll have developed some skill with it.

TV (when things are going right) makes it look easy because they don't have time to show the actual reality. That would waste airtime. (and be boring)

Actually doing things, trying things, learning how to actually do stuff is wonderful! The only thing that would be pathetic would be needing this skill in the future and remembering that you'd skipped the chance to actually try it.

unimogbert

You need to practice to keep skills up. In my youth, I worked at at scout camp two summers teaching merit badges in the scoutcraft area. For the camping merit badge, I tried to get the scouts skill up to building a two match fire.

Years later, on a Webelos scouting weekend with my son, I was trying to help the camp staff build a fire for lunch following a heavy overnight rain. No problem in my own mind. Half a box of matches later, finally fire. I was awarded a certificate of the "order of the match" at the end of the weekend. How emberassing.

It's amazing how quickly skills can get rusty. Some tinders are better than others after a rain. If you don't build fires with any regularity, and in different locations where the available materials may be different, it is easy to become complacent and think that you "know" what to do. If I had been in a survival situation with limited matches, I could have been in trouble.

Good job trying.
Fire making is a lost art / skill.
After spending my entire youth as a "pyro" I am glad that I have these skills today. I'd like to think that my attraction to fire was my ancestors working through me to keep a survival skill alive.

I used to attend some Native American sweat lodges, the medicine man who is Cree would start a blazing fire in just seconds with one match. He used to say the wind gods would help him out. I always thought that he and his wisdom wer so cool.

Yes. Those of us who grew up starting fires every day in woodstoves as part of our chores and for outside fires take for granted the skill required. And though anyone can learn how to make a fire, it does take some knowledge and practice.

When tourists come to this rural area to camp, they are known to hold matches to whole logs in an attempt to start a campfire. Of course this is viewed with merryment even by the local grade school kids :-)

No, not pathetic at all. Daniel Boone/ Davy Crocket freezing to death at 40 degrees with fire starting supplies might be pathetic, but taking more than a few min. to start your first fire is nothing to be ashamed of.

My "first fire" required "BoyScoutWater"!!! It takes a bit of knowledge and experience to become comfortable with firemaking.

You are off to a good start, unfortunately, without someone about to show you - you must learn on your own......Watching is magic, but learning from discription makes the knowlege truly your own. Just try..once a day, or once a week...Pretty quick you will have the knack, and will be able to start a fire with only the basics - wind - wet - cold - be damned..... You already know the basic principal, now put it into practice, and practice.......and then you can make a fire whenever, whearever......and pathetic can be reserved for other things..Ok?

It took me a long time the first time I tried with a magnesium firestarter, and that was in warm weather, not life threatening cold or rain. It's definitely something one should practice!

It is not pathetic at all. In fact I applaud you for discovering and admitting your (temporary) weaknesses and acknowledging it; If you were in a position that you needed these skill and thought it was easy, you would be defeated more by demoralization then by the fact that the fire wasnt built. Keep practicing, learning and discovering better methods. Then pass that knowledge and skill on.

I tried to make a fire with a bow and string. No luck. Then I tried it with shavings from my magnisium fire starter. No luck. Then I tried it with my magnisium and flint. I got it but if it wasnt 70 degrees and dry, I would have been very cold and wet. I kept tring and eventually I was able to start a fire by all the methods that I tried. But it took failure on many different attempts. But that is what built my knowledge. keep trying and dont get discouraged.

You got it lit, that's what counts. Now you know a lot more than you did three days ago. Look at worked and what didn't. Ask yourself why the stuff that didn't work didn't- odds are, the tinder was too damp.

So you've got more tabs I assume? Put them in your kit to replace what you used, and a little Bic. Practice, practice, practice. When you can get the fire going in the fireplace, move outside- you might even find it easier. If you have the space, one of those yert warmer/portable firepit things is great for practicing, but a metal garbage can lid will work just as well.