Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
Topic Options
#162662 - 01/12/09 06:29 PM Group experience with fire-starting
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Well, for a no-burn day we managed to have a pretty good fire-making adventure. We all managed to burn stuff up. It didn't hurt to have some good refreshments through out the day,too.

You might want to get your gang together to do the same thing.

The goal was to widen our survival imagination as well as to practice various fire-related techniques. Among other things everyone had multipe chances to experience use of all of the following fire starter and tinder combinations.

As fire starters:

Bic lighter
Strike anywhere matches
REI stormproof matches
9 volt battery
magnifying glass
Knife struck flint and steel
Blast match flint and steel
Bow drill
Hand drill
Coals from a wood fire

As "tinder:"

Newspaper
Fine steel wool
Wet Match fire stater tabs
Couglan fire starter tabs
Petroleum jelly soaked cotton balls
Dry cotton balls
Inside of road flare
Fluffed fragments of heavy brown twine
Dried and crushed up leaves

We were there for hours trying many different combinations. Pretty much everything worked except the magnifying glass, though not everyone could make everything work.

Top
#162666 - 01/12/09 06:44 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: dweste]
Rodion Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 04/29/08
Posts: 285
Loc: Israel
Newspapers aren't tinder.
_________________________
Whenever you rest, someone, somewhere is training to kick your ass.

www.kravmagafederation.com

Top
#162667 - 01/12/09 06:49 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: Rodion]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Originally Posted By: Rodion
Newspapers aren't tinder.


Maybe, but they are "tinder."

Top
#162668 - 01/12/09 06:52 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: dweste]
scafool Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1534
Loc: Muskoka
So why didn't the magnifying glass work?
Was it too cloudy of a day?
_________________________
May set off to explore without any sense of direction or how to return.

Top
#162685 - 01/12/09 08:23 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: scafool]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA
Great!!..everyone here needs to try out all the stuff we talk about to see if it really works..someone in an old post said alot of the information in old--1950-60's survival books was bunk
and would never really work--you have the right idea--
did you take any photos ???


Edited by CANOEDOGS (01/12/09 08:24 PM)

Top
#162686 - 01/12/09 08:30 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: Rodion]
clearwater Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 1177
Loc: Channeled Scablands
Originally Posted By: Rodion
Newspapers aren't tinder.



?

Top
#162689 - 01/12/09 08:45 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: dweste]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Great topic/great experience!

What tinders worked best (or even at all) with sparks struck from the flint/knife combo? I've never been able to get that work with anything other than char cloth. blush

-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

Top
#162694 - 01/12/09 09:20 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: Blast]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Flint/knife and Blast Match are both flint-and-steel spark generators.

The one-handed Blast Match produced are relatively huge spark shower for everyone and easily ignited fine steel wool, road flare stuffing, and newspaper "tinder", sometimes ignited petroleum soaked cotton. I didn't try or see it used to ignite the twine or leaf tinder bundles - next time.

The flint and steel we used was the flint rod edge of a Doan magnesium block. Users found it more difficult to use and the spark shower was relatively weak for most. Still got the fine steel wool going but stuggled to fire up the rest for our users. Next time we will try to have a bigger flint to strike and will also remember to try the magnesium shavings off the Doan block with both its own flint and others.

Does this match your experiences?

Thanks.

Top
#162697 - 01/12/09 09:35 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: Blast]
clearwater Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 1177
Loc: Channeled Scablands
With a basic mischmetal rod I have lit

pre char'd candle wick (scrape some filings into a frayed
top)


steel wool


toilet paper (make a cone shape and scrape some filings into
it before making sparks)


Edited by clearwater (01/12/09 10:53 PM)

Top
#162700 - 01/12/09 09:57 PM Re: Group experience with fire-starting [Re: dweste]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Quote:
The flint and steel we used was the flint rod edge of a Doan magnesium block.


Ah, a nomanclature problem. When you said flint I thought you meant the rock rather than a bar of ferrocerium.

Sparks from ferrocerium rods are much hotter and appear in significantly larger numbers than sparks tossed by a knife blade hitting flint/chert/petrified wood/etc and so are much more likely to ignite tinder. I was hoping you found something other than char cloth that would work with old school flint/steel strikers. frown

-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

Top
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 456 Guests and 71 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.