Fire starting...

[determinator]

Today I was playing around with the old-time way of starting a fire...with flint and steel. A few years ago, I got into that, and have a few decent pieces of hand-crafted steel strikers, and a piece of flint. I could get some sparks, and start a piece of char-cloth, to create a fire.

There is a better way to achieve the same effect, I found, aside from pulling out a Bic lighter. The modern fire steels throw off tons of 4000 degree sparks, and work great. I got one a year or so ago, from here...http://firesteel.com/gobspark-firesteels/

I use it all the time on my charcoal grill, and it does the job well. I tried it today on some char-cloth, which is 1" squares of cut up T-shirt that you bake in the oven until they turn black, in a tiny metal box. That is used for a starter. What I found to work as good if not better, is the lint from a clothes dryer. Catches the spark real quick.

[barkspud]

Thats somthing ive always wanted was a good fire steel never had one or played with one..

[determinator]

Barkspud, they're pretty cheap, and will last a VERY long time. I've used mine a lot for about a year, and it has lots of mileage left on it. Pretty cool to see all the sparks flying around! ;D

[Jack of all Trapping]

I carry both when I head out on hikes. I have used them too many times to count. I always carry matches in a small waterproof container, but these are added insurance. Plus its fun getting a fire going this way. ;D

[determinator]

Playing with fire again today, I hope that I don't wet my bed! It gets old after a while...

I played around with a piece of flint and steel striker. It's pretty haphazard, though. Not a whole lot of sparks, and no counting on where they will go. It must have a steep learning curve.

What worked really good was this...http://firesteel.com/gobspark-firesteels/ I got some sparks to catch the best on clothes- dryer lint. A couple little pieces of dry cedar twigs on top of that got a really good flame goin'. The burnt T-shirt squares worked good, too, but the best was the lint. ;D

[tryinhard]

Try a 9 volt battery and some 000 steel wool.

[brl]

What I use is cotton balls smeared with Vaseline. Hit it with the flint and it burns for a min or two.

[daswolter]

Use a old toilet paper roll core a paper from you paper shredder and old trap wax. Stuff the paper in the roll melt the wax and dip the roll in the wax let dry. They ignite even with the fire starters.

[Admin]

Feb 18, 2014 12:35:32 GMT -5 brl said:

What I use is cotton balls smeared with Vaseline. Hit it with the flint and it burns for a min or two.

These work awesome.

[rhyla]

Feb 18, 2014 12:35:32 GMT -5 brl said:

What I use is cotton balls smeared with Vaseline. Hit it with the flint and it burns for a min or two.

Yes! We just discovered this method this last year. It is always so wet here and this has been a godsend to avoid spending hours in the rain trying to get a fire started.

[put'n the dog on]

I know it's an old topic but I always carry matches and hand sanitizer it burns great. Even on snow long enough to get sticks etc.