Best firestarter

[i_am2bz]

Just do a google search for the Woodsmaster dvd's, made by Ron Hood. I can't say enough about these video's! I've 15 of them now, hoping to complete his series, up to 25, and then his wife Karen has 5 video's called "cave cooking" that are good as well.

On topic wise, on video is totally dedicated to fire making using all sorts of methods.

Thanks, Jaxom...I did a search on these...the video on using dutch ovens looks interesting, as I've been hoping to get one soon.

I watch every single "survival" show I can find (Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, Dual Survival, etc.) Just wondering if these videos cover the same ground or are more intensive...if you know...?

I need to try the bow & string...I'm thinking long-term; you know, at this point if TSHTF, we have no idea when things will get back to "normal". What happens if all your matches, lighters, etc are used up? How did people start fires before all that stuff? That's a great skill to know, IMHO.

 

[urban dreamer]

I've used glass and dryer lint before. The hard part is keeping the lens focused on the lint. Have tender and fuel on standby for when you get a flame. Dry grass and very fine wood shavings are good fire starters too. I have a hard time with friction fires and flint and steel.

 

[k0xxx]

SKR8PN is spot on with the Blast Matches. They are great.

Take some cotton balls, infuse them with petroleum jelly and store them in a "zip lock" bag. They are light, and start easily with a blast match or other flint and steel type devices. The also burn surprisingly long. They're a excellent addition to a BOB.

Small, flexible Fresnel lenses are great also for sunny days. I keep one in my wallet, as well as in our BOB's and 72 hour packs in the car. You don't have to worry about breaking them, like with a glass magnifier. They also work quite well as intended for reading menus, and other fine print when I forget my glasses.

Edited to correct FFS (Fat Finger Syndrome)

 

[valmom]

I need to try the magnifier thing to actually start the fire, but for a fire accelerator I stuff dryer lint in the wells of a cardboard egg carton (I have lots of those!) and drizzle them with the melted ends of candles to hold it all together. I am hopeless at keeping a fire going long enough to catch wood. These keep the flame going a fairly long time.

 

[Wifezilla]

THE best fire starter? An unsupervised 4 year old?

 

[valmom]

 

[Icu4dzs]

SKR8PN is spot on with the Blast Matches. They are great.

Take some cotton balls, infuse them with petroleum jelly and store them in a "zip lock" bag. They are light, and start easily with a blast match or other flint and steel type devices. The also burn surprisingly long. They're a excellent addition to a BOB.

Small, flexible Fresnel lenses are great also for sunny days. I keep one in my wallet, as well as in our BOB's and 72 hour packs in the car. You don't have to worry about breaking them, like with a glass magnifier. They also work quite well as intended for reading menus, and other fine print when I forget my glasses.

Edited to correct FFS (Fat Finger Syndrome)

Not sure what a blast match is but I carry two things in my BOB. The first is the old magnesium block with flint on the side. Works really well, is very light and does not give a rip for day/night or wet/dry conditions. Magnesium burns really hot and will start wet wood if pushed.

The other thing I carry is for sunny days. It was called a "Solar Cigarette lighter" and I got it some years ago for just this purpose. It will definitely light a cigarette on a sunny day. (I don't smoke but finding cigarette butts has always been easy). The cotton ball and petrolatum jelly works very well. The limitation here is the number you can carry and for how long do you prepare?

Any magnifying glass will work, but of course you need good sunlight and great tinder. The magnifying glass on the Swiss Army Knife does work if you are patient enough and take your time.

Of course, there is the possibility of being in an environment where you have significant ice. It is true that you can start a fire with ice but the technique involves shaping it into a lens with your hands...takes some getting used to but it IS possible.

Dryer lint is great with the 9 volt battery as mentioned above but eventually the battery runs down and then you have to find another or come up with some other way.

Cottonwood was mentioned and is without question the best for starting a fire using a bow/drill. In his book Tom Brown mentions this fact. If you don't have cottonwood, knowing how to use a bow/drill puts you at an advantage. You can make it anywhere you are (perhaps except the desert) and it will perform beautifully for an indefinite period of time. I would however, recommend that you try it a few times before you consider it as one of your armamentarium. It can be daunting at first, but eventually, you will get it. The cottonwood fluff, dryer lint, very finely ground up paper, etc. will assist you in getting started.

The tinder you use is the key to the whole thing. The finer it is, the greater your chances of getting fire started before your hands turn to a bloody pulp.(see Cast Away with Tom Hanks...he learned the hard way) The second most useful item is an accelerant. Pine trees yield a good option. Fatwood is great, too!

As for leaning, there are unlimited videos on YouTube on any subject you could imagine. Some good, some fantastic. All are helpful and done by folks who mean to help. We may talk about these skills here but seeing them is really helpful for learning them.

Nothing works better than the technique with which you are most familiar. Stick to what works. Stashing butane lighters is good but don't leave them out. Keep them in an airtight container. The gas will eventually leak, but also the flint will deteriorate after a number of years. I particularly like the butane lighters with the long stem and piezo-electric sparkers...I use that to light my corn stove and it does wonders for keeping your fingers from being sinnged.

Hope you find this helpful.
Best to all
Trim sends

 

[Emerald]

The fluff from the cattail heads will catch fire really well too.
And you can used dried hard stalks from cattails to use as a drill on a drilling platform to get a fire going too-does not work well with a bow but by hand power it does work well.
The fluff from cattail heads will also work well as an insulator between two pairs of socks to help keep feet warm in an outdoor "I got lost in the woods" emergency too.
Don't forgot any of those little bottles of hand sanitizer- they burn like you would not believe and put on a bit of cotton- make a nice "sterno" like burner for cooking.

But I can recommend really learning to use the bow/drill/platform to start a fire as once you know how, you can make a fire out of almost nothing! But really practice in the back yard one day before you need this skill-it can be frustrating to do the first time, and you don't want to have your first time be the emergency! And make a fire this way WARMS YA TWICE!!

 

[SKR8PN]

And make a fire this way WARMS YA TWICE!!

My dad used to say that cutting and splitting wood warms you THREE times.
Once when you cut it.
Again when you split is and stack it
And then a third time when you burn it!!

 

[Emerald]

And make a fire this way WARMS YA TWICE!!

My dad used to say that cutting and splitting wood warms you THREE times.
Once when you cut it.
Again when you split is and stack it
And then a third time when you burn it!!

I can remember hearing that every summer while cutting wood for the stove! lol
I just warmed myself by cutting up the top of my beloved peach tree that came down in the last windstorm we had this week! it was too big just haul to the wood pile by it self so I decided to just saw off a few limbs here and there!! what I was I thinking!! lol time to get the chainsaw sharpened.. Those little bow saws work ok, but now I am all sweaty!!