Best fire starting without lighters
Equipment
Haven’t done this since boyscouts but I’m going to put together a kit to keep at the house just in case. Thanks for any suggestions.Good luck Lewis
Why not just keep a lighter at the house ?
Steel wool & battery. Keep them separated. If needed, rub the battery on the steel wool & ya got fire. Oh, make sure you have something to burn..
With the right types of dry wood. The bow drill is a pretty dependable way to start a fire.
Bob I do actually several but just over thinking just in case Lewis
Might want to keep some matches around also. Both waterproof and regular
I know at one time they taught the Boy Scouts the bow drill method. Not sure if they still teach this method today to scouts. Flint and Steel too.
i would not say they are the best but the magnesium fire starters work.
Magnesium stick with steel wool tinder. But a butane windproof lighter is better. Just need to refill it from time to time.
Fire Steel and Birchbark for me. If you’ve got Birch, the magnesium blocks aren’t remotely worth the wear and tear on whatever you’re using to scrape ‘em with.
I really want to get good with a bow drill; I think that’s as good as Friction gets, and I can’t imagine ever being unable to come up with enough cordage to do it. I just need to educate myself on selecting the wood to use and then get the practice… One of those basic things everybody ought to know, but for no good reason I have never taken that small amount of time to figure it out.
You can always use your shoe laces for a friction fire. I always carry a small piece of Paracord anyway
Ferro or magnesium rod with striker and cotton balls soaked with Vaseline. I keep the cotton balls etc. in an "old" 35 mm film canister. (Yes, I'm that old). 000 Steel wool works too-especially in nasty weather. Of course, I also have a lighter and matches. For some odd reason Vaseline soaked cotton balls, steel wool, rods and strikers all make it past TSA for your hunt. The lighters and matches-never. Those you need to buy when you get there if you can.
“You can always use your shoe laces for a friction fire. I always carry a small piece of Paracord anyway”
Exactly what I was thinking…. If I’m lost in the wilderness without so much as a pair of lace-up shoes…. That’s gonna be One Bad Day…. LOL
But more than once I have killed a chipmunk with a rock, and I’d think chipmunk hide would make some pretty satisfactory cordage…. I suppose if I have no laces and no knife, I’d be good snd screwed. Time to take up knapping….
When I was younger I did a lot of hiking and camping in the woods. I always carried barn burner matches dipped in wax and wax paper in a waterproof container. Started many fires with that set up.
The bow method can be near impossible for some. Watch a few episodes of "ALONE" a reality show of some sort of some what experienced Survivalists & see how tough it is. Also, the flint method can do some in. Your start kindling is very important & it must be DRY. Lots goes into starting a basic fire without modern tools, I've done some in the Military (Navy Corpsman with a recon unit a short time) and 6 months in a tent in Mountains of Colorado & another 6 weeks in a tent in boundary waters of Canada/Mn.. It's tough at times with the modern fire makers.
Fire pistons start a fire anywhere anytime.
https://survivalschool.com/product/fire-pistons/
The reason the bow drill method is near impossible for some is because they’re using the wrong material and probably damp. I’m not an expert and I can usually get an ember in 30 seconds or less. Bass wood, willow, red Cedar are a few good ones.
ferro rod and dryer lint (cotton ball if you don't have a dryer)
“Fire pistons start a fire anywhere anytime.”
No, they don’t.
IF you have dry char-cloth or tinder fungus, the piston can get you an ember. But that’s it. After that, you’re in the same position as someone using friction once they’ve achieved an ember, which is still some ways away from an actual flame.
Also fire pistons fail sometimes to create an ember. I know.
Just like Bic lighters. Fire pistons are great if they are working.
You could always use the political posts on Bowsite. They are usually scalding and fiery.
When I was a Boyscout we had this stuff called Boyscout juice.
I carry five different ways to make fire in my everyday survival/first aid kit. I will NEVER need a bow drill and am content to watch them try, and mostly fail, on Naked and Afraid.
Cricket, for a dollar forty nine ;0) scentman
Haven't seen a Cricket lighter in many years.
Propane torch with built in igniter is a whole lot easier than a bow drill or flint and steel.
“ I carry five different ways to make fire in my everyday survival/first aid kit.”
Sounds right to me ;)
Honestly, in cold, wet weather, I could about talk myself into a highway flare. Seems like if you ever actually Need a fire, you REALLY need it. Right freakin’ NOW….
But I can’t really say that there is a fire-making technique that’s not worth knowing….
20 gauge shotshell stuck into a 12 gauge, filled with strike-anywhere matches and a piece of emery cloth. Seal it with duct tape. Better yet get yourself some lifeboat matches.
I never have a lot of redundant stuff, other than lighters. They're exceptionally lightweight and cheap. No reason to not have a few.
There are better fire starters than a fire piston (lighters & matches come to mind:) but the OP said something to keep at the house...I've assumed something other than a conventional lighter which I may be in error.
I keep a fire piston at home along with a small tin of char cloth. I used it for years, mostly as a novelty to show others. It's a very reliable generator of an ember with next to no effort; at least that has been my case. I suppose anything can fail but I haven't seen it. There are many styles and sizes of pistons in various quality. They are a bit misunderstood but they have their historical roots in fire building by many cultures.
No matter how you start a fire it is understood that you need the correct combustible materials and oxygen to turn the ember into a flame. The vasiline soaked cotton balls kept in a cannister is one of the best I understand though I've never used it with a char cloth ember.
My answer to was too short on the first post; it needed more clarification I suppose.
Ferro rod and cotton balls with Vaseline… tough to beat. In 35 years in the field, I’ve never had to use anything but a bic lighter though… but a ferro rod is fun to play with
Don T- you are describing me...I have tried that bow drill a couple of times in the woods and have never been able to get it to work....thankfully, I had a lighter in my pocket and didn't need it.
Anyone who thinks that if they ever needed to, would use a bow drill one day in a survival situation should do themselves a favour and try it at home with no pressure. I did one time and got humbled super fast. Found out that wood selection is your #1 most important thing. Species wise. Got some cedar and got it to work, but it's far from a cake walk your first time. With practise and good wood, totally different story. But having done it, I do NOT want to rely on that skill I can tell you that much!
Bruce once you figure out the most reliable wood combinations to use for a Bow drill your confidence will build. It’s just science. When you get that wood dust up to 800°F it turns into an ember. the hand drill is even harder to do. But that too can be mastered. Ever watch dual survival on TV. That guy, Cody with the braided pigtails and bare feet. He is very good at it.
The one problem with Bic lighters is that they often don't spark when your hands are wet and cold. Been there and done that. That's why I carry four other methods.
One of my favorite short stories is "To Build A Fire" by Jack London. Only 31 pages.. here's a link to a pdf of it anybody wants a quick read. Written in 1908
I agree. Jack London’s story to start a fire is a good read. They made a short movie of it too.
Magnesium rod and striker. Ask your wife to save a quart ziploc full of dryer lint. Store the rod and striker in the same bag. There’s enough lint in that quart bag to start a lot of fires.
Tampons, magnesium, striker. Pull the fluff out of the tampon, sparks right up!
2017 in Idaho, it snowed on KHNC and I for days. We got that big log in the foreground to burn, it burned through the next day. About 20 feet of it. Had to stomp it out after it was mostly burnt up.
I've had good fortune with this Pyro Putty and the electro lighter that comes with it.
Good luck, Robb
I first won it for a big buck contest and have used it ever since.
See my link
Enjoy,
Robb
5 gallons of gas and a road flare. Works every time. ;)
Good stuff here y’all I’m just putting a kit together for a just in case moment thanks all Lewis
Add some calcium carbide, when wet, it produces ethyne gas, and gets things started very well.
I take a small clump of paper shreds from my wife's office shredder and roll those into a ball. Place that in a small 2 oz pleated baking cup and add melted paraffin. A damp tinder bundle above that large flame will catch. The cups burn for a few minutes. Never used one in an emergency but there are a couple in my fire starter baggie just in case. And a ferro rod with striker throws a massive amount of sparks regardless of rain or damp. That said a basic Bic lighter is in my pocket all the time.
Athletic tape is all ya need
Sounds like cheap e-bike lithium batteries work well. And they will start on their own!!
Thanks for all the suggestions I think ?? now I’ll put my kit together Lewis
One of my buddies use to poor gas over a bunch of dry stuff. He use to say “make it woof”. Lol.
A 9 volt battery, 2 pieces of wire and some steel wool works well.
So do Fritos…. LOL
Worth their weight in white gas!
I know duct tape is good & flammable… not that that’s an Indoor bet. Makes me wonder how many BTUs you could get from a square inch of Flex Tape…
That pyro stuff works well Lewis
Lots of good ideas. I like Bigfoot Bushcrafts Fire starters with a Ferro rod.
I took my sons to a black powder trail walk a few years back and we got points for how fast we could start a fire with flint, steel and "char cloth". I keep a small stash on hand with the flint/quartz and steel.
Another vote for Bigfoot bushcraft fireplugs.
