Fire

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.