There are a plethora of ways to create fire. Methods range from sparkers to collateral damage bombs! Here in this post I hope to explain some more practical ways of starting fire and why each method is useful.
Lets talk about sparkers. These are things that usually you touch/strike together to produce a shower of hot sparks or an ember.
Flint and Steel - This is one of my personal favorites because it is what the mountain men would have used. This method will work rain or shine... with shine being preferable! It involves a piece of flint or chert (both are rocks) and a piece of strong steel. When the steel is hit against the sharp edge of the rock it chips away a little of both creating sparks. These sparks can be caught in your tinder and coaxed into a flame.
Steel Wool & 9Volt Battery - This method of fire is extremely easy and good for survival kits. Because it requires little effort, even an injured person could do it. If you make a nest out of your tinder and place some super fine steel wool into the middle and just touch lightly with the battery, the steel will smolder.
*a couple of points to remember* Don't keep the steel and the battery in the same container! (separate pockets work well) Also Do not leave the battery on the steel or in the fire area!
Now on to fire by friction!
Fire Piston - This is a unique device that works just like the pistons in your car. It is a little more difficult to use if your not familiar with it but it is very compact. The piston consists of two pieces, one that goes into the other. You place a chunk of anything that will smolder into the end of the inner portion. Then you rapidly jam the two together creating the same motion as the pistons in a vehicle, which produces friction. This friction heats the "chunk" and turns it into an ember!
Bow/Hand Drill - YES! FIRE CAN BE MADE WITH TWO STICKS!
This method can be used when your in need of fire and don't have ANYTHING to start it with! You can take your shoelace or any cord (natural or not) fashion a small bow out of a twig. Wrap that cord once around a second stick, which the end is in a notch on a board. As you pull the bow back and forth the upright stick should be creating friction in the notch gathering heat and eventually will smolder.
The hand drill is the same process only rubbing the upright stick in between your hands instead of using a bow.
These are just a FEW of MANY ways to make fire. Before I go I want to share a couple of EXCELLENT fire starters.
Charcloth - It is Charred Cloth! This will catch a spark and smolder for a long time!
Cotton Balls in Petroleum Jelly - If you take cotton and smother it in petroleum jelly then light it.... it will burn IN THE RAIN for easily 10 minutes.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Winter Rendezvous
Here it is winter and those January vous are just SOOOOO cold, so here are some things I do/have to keep me nice and toasty.
For my head I wear a voyageurs cap. It is hand knit of 100% wool so it both warm and authentic. A red wool flannel shirt keeps me fairly warm but a nice wool vest is a nice thing to have also. I wear a capote (Native American blanket coat) and I made a pair of mitts from the scraps. They saved my fingers at the last winter rondy I was at wear it was -16!!! You can wear wool leggings under your buckskin which helps a ton but the thing that ALWAYS seems to get cold is your feet... In a pinch you can put a piece of cardboard in the bottom of your mocs and that will insulate your feet surprisingly well. If you want to be authentic though, you can sew a pair of "wool moccasins." They just go on like socks and will add at least another ten degrees of warmth to those poor little toes! I lust recently tanned a HUGE buffalo hide which is going to make a splendid blanket this winter. So I guess the simplest thing you can do is look at what keeps you warm everyday and figure out what alternative they had back in the day.
One last thought... If you get some chamomile and mint wrap it in cheesecloth and throw it in some hot water before you go to bed. It makes a tasty HOT tea that all of your buddies will absolutely love you for!
I am hoping to post patterns for a lot of clothing like these here soon.
leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions...
For my head I wear a voyageurs cap. It is hand knit of 100% wool so it both warm and authentic. A red wool flannel shirt keeps me fairly warm but a nice wool vest is a nice thing to have also. I wear a capote (Native American blanket coat) and I made a pair of mitts from the scraps. They saved my fingers at the last winter rondy I was at wear it was -16!!! You can wear wool leggings under your buckskin which helps a ton but the thing that ALWAYS seems to get cold is your feet... In a pinch you can put a piece of cardboard in the bottom of your mocs and that will insulate your feet surprisingly well. If you want to be authentic though, you can sew a pair of "wool moccasins." They just go on like socks and will add at least another ten degrees of warmth to those poor little toes! I lust recently tanned a HUGE buffalo hide which is going to make a splendid blanket this winter. So I guess the simplest thing you can do is look at what keeps you warm everyday and figure out what alternative they had back in the day.
One last thought... If you get some chamomile and mint wrap it in cheesecloth and throw it in some hot water before you go to bed. It makes a tasty HOT tea that all of your buddies will absolutely love you for!
I am hoping to post patterns for a lot of clothing like these here soon.
leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Buffalo Tanning
I had this absolutely gorgeous buffalo hide that I wanted to tan for a blanket. On those cold rendezvous nights a buffalo robe was just the thing to have! I made one and you can too! Here is a summary of how I did it. I used traditional ideas with new twists.
Fleshing: Removing the meat and flesh is the first priority. Because a buffalo hide is so thick and can take a beating, we used a pressure washer to literally "blast" the flesh right off. This was very effective but be warned it gets messy with meat and fat flying everywhere!
Thinning: A buffalo hide is so thick that it has to be thinned down. Normally this would be done with a scraper once the hide was dry. The way we did it to save time was use an angle grinder with a heavy duty sanding wheel on it. Once the hide was dry and stretched we ground it down. This removed the membrane and thinned it all at once.
"Braining": Traditionally Native Americans would have used the brains of the animal to tan the hide. Brains have become very hard to find in recent years so many have turned to alternate methods of tanning. Some use Soy Lecithin or eggs, however the way we chose to tan was soap. Ivory soap can be grated and added to water to create a great tanning liquor. Apply it in the same manner you would brains. (warm it, massage into flesh side, etc)
Finishing: Once the tanning solution is soaked in for a long time, go ahead and have the hide propped up to where you can walk on it and walk around on the hide till its dry. This will stretch it and make it softer. You can finally stop this whenever it is COMPLETELY dry and warm to the touch. DO NOT STOP BEFORE YOU ARE TOTALLY SURE ITS DRY!!!!!
Smoking: The last step before you can enjoy your beautiful new blanket in the field is smoking it. This process coats the fibers of the skin with creosote. If you skipped this step your hide would not have the golden brown color of traditional tanned hides and it would become stiff if it ever got wet. By coating the fibers with smoke it lubricates them enough to keep them pliable even if they get wet. So smoke it and enjoy!!
Hope you learned something! =) It is so gratifying when you get to use something you made yourself! Go and try it!
Tyler
"Scratch"
Fleshing: Removing the meat and flesh is the first priority. Because a buffalo hide is so thick and can take a beating, we used a pressure washer to literally "blast" the flesh right off. This was very effective but be warned it gets messy with meat and fat flying everywhere!
Thinning: A buffalo hide is so thick that it has to be thinned down. Normally this would be done with a scraper once the hide was dry. The way we did it to save time was use an angle grinder with a heavy duty sanding wheel on it. Once the hide was dry and stretched we ground it down. This removed the membrane and thinned it all at once.
"Braining": Traditionally Native Americans would have used the brains of the animal to tan the hide. Brains have become very hard to find in recent years so many have turned to alternate methods of tanning. Some use Soy Lecithin or eggs, however the way we chose to tan was soap. Ivory soap can be grated and added to water to create a great tanning liquor. Apply it in the same manner you would brains. (warm it, massage into flesh side, etc)Finishing: Once the tanning solution is soaked in for a long time, go ahead and have the hide propped up to where you can walk on it and walk around on the hide till its dry. This will stretch it and make it softer. You can finally stop this whenever it is COMPLETELY dry and warm to the touch. DO NOT STOP BEFORE YOU ARE TOTALLY SURE ITS DRY!!!!!
Smoking: The last step before you can enjoy your beautiful new blanket in the field is smoking it. This process coats the fibers of the skin with creosote. If you skipped this step your hide would not have the golden brown color of traditional tanned hides and it would become stiff if it ever got wet. By coating the fibers with smoke it lubricates them enough to keep them pliable even if they get wet. So smoke it and enjoy!!Hope you learned something! =) It is so gratifying when you get to use something you made yourself! Go and try it!
Tyler
"Scratch"
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