I would put the ability to make fire right behind water, shelter, and food in the list of most important things in a survival situation, and before food and shelter in some cases.
Since being able to start a fire is so important, are you really going to rely on only one or two ways to do it? I think you should have at least 5 fire starters in your Bug Out Bag or in any survival preps for that matter.
Be sure to notice that I am not talking about different types of tinder, like cedar shavings, fire log, paper etc. I am talking about 5 ways to actually make fire, to get that first spark. Without that, the rest really doesn’t matter. Updated Topic: 5 Ideas for Fire Tinder
1. Matches
No surprises here. Check out Stormproof matches, I have tested these things and they are pretty tough to beat. If you go with regular matches there are two important things to remember about your matches.
1.They need to be waterproof. SurvivalTopics.com has a good article on how to waterproof your matches.
2. You need to store matches in multiple places. Even if you have a pile of waterproof matches, if they are all in the same bag or box and you lose them, that’s it. So use a couple of empty film canisters or an element proof Loksak bag and store matches in several places. (But not in the handle of your knife, which I explain here: Survival Knife)
2. Lighters
Notice lighters is plural. You need several lighters. It might be a good idea to get one waterproof and windproof lighter and a couple of cheap gas station lighters.
If you are going to buy a nice lighter like that one, you should carry some Butane refill fluid and it will last you 5 times as long as any of the throw away lighters.
3. FireSteel and Scraper
A firesteel and scraper, or what used to be a flint, is a tubed piece of metal, usually steel or magnesium, that creates sparks when you run the metal scraper down the tube.
A firesteel and scraper is important to have for a couple of reasons. First, it works even if it’s wet. So if all of your other fire starters got completely soaked or ruined for some reason the firesteel will still work.
Cool ones that we have tested include:
1. BlastMatch Fire Starter
2. StrikeForce Fire Starter
3. Sparkie Fire Starter (Can use with only one hand)
Also, it will most likely outlast all of your matches and lighters put together. Many firesteels advertise 3000 strikes, and some as many as 7000.
4. 9v Battery and Steel Wool
This is one of my favorites that I think should be in every survival gear set up. If you take a 9v battery and simply touch both poles to a piece of steel wool it will catch fire. Here’s a quick youtube video showing this: Steel Wool and 9V Batter Fire
I don’t consider this in the fire tender category because it is the steel wool itself combined with the battery that actually makes the fire.
Two things to remember: The finer the steel wool the better. Also, it only takes a tiny bit of steel will for this to work. Just enough to cover both poles of the battery.
5. Rub 2 Sticks Together
The most cliche survival tactic ever, rubbing two sticks together. I am not going to go into all the different ways you can make fire with nothing but wood, that is a whole different article. Just know that you should have at least one other way to make a fire without any tools at all.
Know any other ways to Make Fire?
I am interested to hear if our readers have any other good ways to “make fire” that are easily stored for survival situations?
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Good Day Lucas:
I"'m suprised that you didn't mention a fire piston, these little jewels really work.In fact you can construct one your self from PVC pipe. Great Job so far, keep it up: very informative!
Thanks
Don
I like the fire pistons, but you need REALLY dry tinder or char-cloth. A buddy let me experiment with his. The concept of how this works was pretty wild. I never thought that compressing air caused that much heat. The ember it made was quite small though. Not trying to act like I know all about these gizmos since I only used his a couple of times just to fiddle around with. They are a bit expensive though.
Don,
Thanks for the complements
I didn't mention fire pistons because I do not know a lot about them, and they seem less common than some other option, at least to me.
I would definitely be interested in seeing some plans for making your own. I just looked up a couple online and they seem a good bit more expensive then the other options, but a homemade one sounds cool!
Lucas
I made my own weatherproof matches by dipping strike anywhere kitchen matches in varnish and drying them in an empty 100 round 22lr. container. I store them in a military style tubular match holder. Use the extra space in the match holder to store cotton balls as tinder.
Keep up the good work Lucas. Fire pistons can be pricey. To make your own, go to youtube and type in "fire piston". Click on the one for AA mini maglite. This guy makes all kinds of gadgets. You can even watch videos on making them out of PVC.
You could have a look at chemical fire starters, check out e.g. potassium permanganate and glycerin reaction. Google it or have a look here: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-mini-chemical-f…
Adder,
Very Cool Idea. Thanks for the great video.
I have a couple of questions: are those chemical easy to come by?
Also, how safe are they for storage by themselves?
The SEPARATE chemicals are very stable. Glycerine can be purchased at the wally-world pharmacy right off the shelf. The potassium permanganate can be purchased at model/hobby shops, or science supply companies.
One VERY IMPORTANT note about the video: The guy that did the video apparently made the capsules and then went outside and started the fire shortly after. He also must have never stored the chemicals in the capsules before. The potassium permanganate is stable enough in the capsule because it is a dry powder. The GLYCERINE is NOT stable in the capsule. The liquid will dissolve the capsule casing in a matter of days. If these two items are stored relatively close, such as in a home, backpack, or fire-kit, it could be SUPER dangerous. If the glycerine was close enough to the potassium and ate its way through both capsules………. remember the Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial incident????????? You+flaming pack running down a trail.
Safe? NO WAY! Entertaining to see? MOST DEFINITELY! I'll be hunting the marshmallows when I see you coming down the trail.
If anyone choses to use this chemical method I would recommend keeping the chemicals in the containers they came in and put them as far apart in their packs as possible. Maybe even have a buddy carry one of the chemicals.
How about a small magnifying lens?
True, you could keep one of those as a backup, but the obvious drawbacks of course are that it will only work when it is sunny.
I put together a few "Fire Kits" about a month ago. All that a fire kit is, is a few basic fire starters contained in one pouch. I keep a commercial fire starter stick, a mini-Bic, a book of matches, a Fire-steel and a Zip-lock baggy full of dryer lint inside a waterproofed G.I. shotshell pouch. I stashed a kit in my E.D.C, my B.O.B and my G.H.B.
Keep up the good work!
Survivor_1997,
Sounds like you have a great Fire Kit going.
Dryer lint is another one of my personal favorites for fire starting materials. I am going to do a follow up post to this one about different fire tenders (i.e. lint, Vaseline cotton ball, etc).
The only thing I would say about your system is, make sure you either have more than one of these kits in your BOB or keep the items split up. If you happen to lose the Fire Kit that is in your BOB you are really in trouble because all of your fire tools are gone at once.
Thanks for commenting,
Lucas
Thanks for the tip. I like to keep a book of MRE matches in my wallet for when I need fire and dont have a fire kit with me. Also when you right the article on different tinders, be sure to explain how to obtain natural tinder (i.e. Cattail fluff, "fat wood", shredded cedar bark, etc.)
Yea matches are just one of those things you should always have with you, like a knife.
I will definitely include those natural things. I have used cedar shaving a lot, but cattails is one I hadn't thought of, but it makes sense.
Hi Lucas! I disagree with some of your firemaking choices, but that doesn't mean we can't have a courteous discussion about it! Here's the story I did, after extensive research on several methods of fire ignitors: http://survivalcommonsense.com/2010/01/18/best-ig…
Please take a look! I like your blog – keep up the good work!
Leon
Leon,
Thanks for commenting and thanks for the compliments. I checked out your blog and you do a great job. I'll be following from now on.
Now then about fire tools. I read you article and it is obvious you did a ton research.
I completely agree that matches and lighters are certainly not the best fire making tools, and I realize there are times when they are going to fail. Any system will fail eventually.
My theory, and the purpose of this article, is to point out to people that you should have several redundant and different fire making systems. You should have five or six in your gear in different places. Like I said, if you lose one you can still make it. (Like in your hunting trip story.)
Also, the 9V and Steel Wool method is a favorite of mine that has never been affected by the weather in my experience. You just have to make sure you keep a Lithium batter and change it every year or so.
To start a fire in hot climes I would recommend a magnifying glass. Doesn`t run out of gas or anything either just remember to start the fire while its still light.
Ian,
That's another good one. You really don't even need a hot climate so to speak either, just a day with clear strong sunlight.
I like the idea of having fire methods that don't ever run out of juice so to speak.
Another good one of these is the bottom of a coke can. Hold some dry tinder in the curved bottom part of a coke can (polish it as much as possible first) and angle it towards the sun.
I would like to address your statment about not needing a fire in hot climate well you are right and wrong about that. in the day time it can be hot as all get out but as the sun falls it gets cold really fast so Ian is right about needing a fire to keep warm cause as you know once you get cold and miserable its hard to keep a good positive attitude about your situation which is key to suviving any thing.
I'm glad to see this sparked a debate. Though I knew it would.
Everyone makes a valid point.
I agree that if you can use a rifle/shotgun then all the better but that's not always the case, and since this is a hypothetical anyway, I'll stick with just debating the two calibers.
I also definitely agree that getting shot by any caliber will change things in a hurry.
I chose .40 S&W as my primary caliber because of it's wide adoption by LE agencies all over the US. Also, during the ammo shortage in '09, .40 S&W was always still available. Sometimes the prices were inflated, but it was still available, while 9mm and .45 ACP was not available for any amount of money. I have only a limited requirement for factory ammunition, as I reload, but the experience was interesting.
I also have some pistols in 9mm, because it is very easy to shoot and ammunition is very cheap. After shooting .40 for so long, 9mm is an accurate round and recoil is extremely manageable.
With modern, bonded hollow point ammunition, all three calibers will perform equally, and provide equal "stopping power" (ability to stop an attack, not kill or maim or damage tissue). With ball ammo, you are going to want the heaviest, largest projectile, with the best shot placement possible. 9mm 124 gr ball versus .45 230 gr. ball is not a hard decision, especially if you are using a good quality .45 pistol and train and are proficient.
I think a large part of this would be "training and proficiency". If you cannot handle a .45 or .40 caliber pistol, shoot 9mm and be the best you can be with your weapon system.
bigger hole means the victim bleeds out faster.
In a service-sized pistol, I prefer .45 if its concealed carry, thats another thing but I still take .45 in MOST cases.
some JHP .45acp expands to approx. .70 caliber, thats a BIG hole. I prefer a fairly large .45 like the XD-45. no compare the capacity any 9mm on the market. the highest capacity one is the XDM-9 at 19 rounds versus the XD-45 of 13 rounds. 6 rounds while is a decent difference isnt huge especially when you consider the damaging effects of each respectable round. and if you compare it to say the G17, it only holds 17 rounds, the beretta 92 holds only 15.
I wasn't kidding when I said all modern bonded jacketed hollow point bullets have the same amount of "stopping power". Consider this photo:http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Misc_Images/DocGKR/H… All calibers and several bullet weights of each caliber all meet the FBI recommended minimum 12" of penetration and leave similar permanent wound trails. I you purchase quality hollow point ammunition in any caliber and you get it to connect you will get the same results
>also remember a 9mm is a .45 set to stun, and real men do not believe in stun.
I hear this from old duffers and guys that wear cammies at the range, but when I offer to try and stun them, they don't take me up on the offer. Why is this?
9mm may be cheaper to shoot using factory or import surplus, but if your serious about sustainable firearms independence, you should be at least a beginner reloader. In that case it can actually be cheaper to reload .45 ACP ammunition.
Just one thing on the fire strikers, The part you actually strike is made out of ferrocerium or steel and the silver, flammable part is made of magnesium.
Good call Josh, I mis-spoke in the article I need to change that.
Actually, the one pictured does not use Magnesium, except for what is incorperated into the rod. The Magnesium firestarters are rectangular. The one shown is just a ferrocerium rod that you scrape with the supplied scraper or a knife blade.
The plain rods can be found here at a decent price and varied sizes: http://www.campingsurvival.com/fefistro.html http://www.campingsurvival.com/avsurfir.html is an example of the Magnesium bars.
btw, I hve nothing to do with the site. they just came up in a search and had what I needed.
not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not but a good thing to try is using trioxine fuel tabs with your strikeforce fire starters all they need is a good hot spark and you have a 15-30 min flame to get a fast camp fire going just somthing to try out…
Caine,
Good call on the trioxane tabs. I would probably include that on my list of Survival Fire Tenders rather than fire starters since you still need something to give you the initial spark.
http://survivalcache.com/fire-tinder/
first off i am sorry I guess i missed the last statement about this being about the starters and not the tinber that is what i get for doing like twenty things at once lol. and second i would like to add that in a pinch a fuse ignitor works well when placed in dry tinder.
Steel wool and a 9 volt battery work well.
that they do i have to agree with you hole heartedly on that one. another thing to think on is in an extrme emergency like i had a few years ago when a blizzard hit my area while my buddies and i were out snowshoeing is using two or three rounds from your gun. pull the lead off empty out the powder and then fire the primer on some leaves to ignite them or even just make it smolder them touch the powder with it. I know from experience it is not the best way but it does work when faced with freezing to death or heat.
@ Josh
Agreed. I would have to say that is actually my favorite on this list.
I've never actually tried to use a 9V and steel wool until the battery went dead but I imagine it would take quite a few times.
However, it does have it's drawbacks. Mainly, batteries are susceptible to cold weather.
@Caine,
When I first read your comment I thought you were just going to say ignite the powder.
I've honestly never thought of just firing the primer, I've have to try that one. I wonder if it has any ill effects on your gun/barrel?
nothing really cause all you are doing is firering a blank lol but it worked well in the blizzard lol another thing is i dont think the one or two times you do it will avvect anything other than giving you knowledge which is somthing we all need
In the scouts we used to make fire starters out of paper egg cartons, sawdust, and gulf wax. Separate the top from bottom, then fill the cups with sawdust. Next, take the melted wax and put a good coating over the top. After the wax cools, dunk the bottom of the cups into the wax, and voila, waterproof tinder.
As much time as I've spent outdoors, I still had to learn that one from my daughter while she was in the Girl Scouts several years ago. Instead of sawdust, they used dryer lint but when she told me how she started a fire, I wondered why I had never thought of that. When I thought of all the time I spent trying to light pine needles and semi-dry bark with a bow-drill …
as for waterproofing matches…the old advice was to dip them in wax but the problem with that is the wax can cause the red tip of the match to deteriorate over time…applying some clear nail polish to the head would make it waterproof without deteriorating the head
survivor_1997,
That's a good point and something people should remember.
For this recommendation I was thinking more of either getting out of a city, where there might not be too much worry of people sneaking up on you because there are people running around everywhere. OR If you decide you are ok, and stay for the rescue process, drowning out the sirens could make your day a lot better.
Just wondering….how about keeping at least 3 road flares in your bug out bag? I keep fire making materials in 3"s. 3 separate sealed 50 match containers (150), 3 road flares, 3 bic lighters, 3 9v batteries in 3 separate pouches with steel wool, and the always handy-strikable magnisium flint. I also pack my favorite cedar fire board and drill compliments of the Earth.
I like the road flare idea. It just seems like overkill for one fire. I don't know a lot about them other than how to strike one. Can you cut them up for multi-use? Just curious.
I suggest storing the road flare in a PVC pipe. One side cap sealed and the other cap can be held sealed by tape. You don’t want it to break or leak in your BOB. I keep 6 road flares in my vehicle just in case.
Definitely interested in the 9 volt LED flashlight if you find the source. Thanks.
I believe the 9-volt flashlight company is pak-lite (9voltlight.com). And they are amazing little lights. I just posted a review about a flashlight study I did in the flashlight category earlier today. The pak-lite beat out all the expensive competition. I wound up buying 3 for myself (work/vehicle/B.O.B.) and I'm planning on sending some as gifts!
Its great to know a million ways to start a fire in an emergency. Personally, I find it funny to see die-hard campers/survivalists INTENTIONALLY not take a lighter out in the field or worse… spend $40+ on a super-duper-mega-amazing-lighter/torch/welder "thingamabob" (that eventually gets lost or they don't know how to refill). LETS BE REALISTS the common 99 cent cigarette lighter is super easy. Instead of buying $40 specialty lighters, here is my favorite little do-it-yourself 2 minute upgrade. Take a cheap-o lighter that you can buy at any convenience store counter. (I prefer the see-through kind, so I keep an eye on the fluid level). Take a 3 or 4 inch piece of scrap paracord, make a "U" on the lighter with the cord, leaving enough of the bottom part of the "U" hanging off, to form a loop. and wrap the sides of the lighter/paracord-ends with a 1 inch wide piece of duct/gorilla tape. Hang it on a carabiner, dog-chain, or wherever you like. I keep several of these just hanging around on the camping bag, B.O.B., workbench. Don't get me wrong. I still keep my emergency fire-skills sharp. but I can make WAY more fires with $7 worth of lighters than I can a $7 mag/ferro bar or $20 blastmatch. I do own mag/ferro rods and such for back-up but the basic fact is a 3 second burn to light your tinder is by far more calorie/cost efficient than alternatives. Feel free to critique.
I've seen fire started with ice (used like a magnifying glass). I have also "personally" seen the bottom of the soda can and chocolate bar method. Both take a lot of prep-work and optimum sunny condition. Both take enough work that I only recommend the techniques as entertainment… and that is only if you are very very very bored.
You can fill a clear condom with water and use it as a lens to focus sunlight to start a fire.
This isnt a way to start a fire really, because if you have a lighter you have a way before you try this. It is a entertaining thing to do though, and might be useful for something who knows? A light+some sort of spray (like Axe) becomes sort of a flame thrower. I dont really know what it would be used for, but just thought id bring it up. I use it for killing spiders. Heheh
Sorry, meant a lighter.
A tip my friend gave to me……… To protect your ferro rod / fire steel / etc, Cover it with wire "shrink wrap" until its needed. A quick nip with a knife and it peels right off. Great for BOBs where it may sit long term. Slide the shrink wrap on, heat it a couple seconds till it shrinks, trim it off.
Handguns don't really knock anything down. They just don't. I wish we would stop using that term.
Actually yes, the "Fe" in ferro stands for "iron". Iron rusts easily. I'm sure you could leave it out, let it rust, and it would still work. However, each layer of rust detracts from the amount of times it can be used. Not to mention, rust will sometimes stain your other equipment. There is an old saying…. "Take care of your tools and they will take care of you." So in short, I should have clarified in my original post— "shrink-wrap to prevent rust" (not to make it waterproof)
Dustin, that was a great way to put it when you said, "IMHO a 9mm OR .45 is really just a backup to a shotgun, which is a backup to a rifle."
The handgun is a weapon of high utility, but vastly inferior to a shoulder held weapon in almost any situation other than nose to nose contact like a gunfight in a broom closet.
Back to the potassium permanganate and glycerin. I really like these in my altoid tin survival kit. You can store them in separate drinking straws by pinching each end of the straw and melting it. I hold them closed with needle nose pliers and then melt with a lighter. I use different colored straws to designate each chemical. It’s also nice to put bleech in a straw.
The potassium permanganate and bleach can be used to treat drinking water and the glycerin is an effective treatment for psoriasis, burns, bites, cuts, rashes, bedsores, and calluses.
I really like having things in my kit that serve multiple purposes.
Stock up on dryer lint. It lights easily and as long as you're doing laundry you've got an endless supply and it's free. You still need to provide a spark but that and some dry sticks is what I use all winter long in my wood stove.
To be honest, the absolute best "fire-starting" tool or really tool for any situation has got to be human ingenuity. This can be proven by simply reading the posts here (a condom full of water?!), I have used a bottle of water, magnifying glass, strikers, ect. it just proves that when the "ordinary" person is put into a situation where they need to become "extra-ordinary" there is hope, and we can rise above our supposed limitations. Sorry if that sounds a little "hippie", but if you think about it you'll probably agree.
I keep at least one of all of the above, somewhere handy, and practice with the most difficult.
All for JUSTIN.
Get a laser. You can find one from http://www.wickedlasers.com for a reasonable price that will start a fire. Also, a laser is a great signaling tool.
These would work. Dual purpose too. ORION Handheld Red Locator $28.99 Box of 4 http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servl…
ORION White Handheld Flares $24.99 Box of 4 http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/29189–white-handhe…
if you have some of those cardboard matches and you want to conserve them. you could always peel them in half from the bottom and you get two chances per match. However, depending on the quality or age of the matches, they might crumble if you peel them by hand. maybe use a razor or knife to split the cardboard.
i have used a magnifiying sheet they sell at STAPLES stores for reading text.we found one in a truck where i work and we were able to light a co-workers cigarette with it,and melted the paint off some steel on a old bucket truck.(i do tree work for a living).you just need a little sun for it to work.i took it home and put it in my B-O-Bag ,it takes up no room whats so ever.try it it really works.
I store matches in 35mm film containers I get for free by asking the employee at the film department at walmart, costco or walgreens. I cut down book matches to fit in there, cut the rough strike area and slide it in the container then tape it off. Its waterproof and doesn’t take much room or weigh anything.
I do the same thing with tender and cotton balls dipped in vasaline.
Steel wool will start a fire without the battery as well. All you really need to do is use the ferro/firesteel on the steel wool and it will catch on fire just like with the battery. Steel Wool is also a plus because it burns at 1000 degrees F. if i remember right
There is a metal cleaning product called Nevr-Dull . It works fantastic for its intended purpose , its basically a can full of solvent soaked gauze . Just pinch off a bit of gauze and go to town . Its also EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE . A good spark will set a piece of its gauze on fire easily . I packed some in a film canister and put the canister in a zip lock , works great for tender . You can get this stuff at a decent grocery store or an auto supply place .
A good thing to pack which will help assist with the starting of a good fire. Learn to make "Char". Keep it in a sealed tin or plastic waterproof container that is somewhat ridged. Char is delicate. But all it needs is a small spark from flint, a spark from an empty lighter, or anything that will throw a spark. Further, ensure you have a well built stack ready to receave your char. Practice often and freaquently in your back yard, park, where ever it's convenient. Like land navigation, making a good fire from scratch or what ever is at hand, is a parishable skill.
you can buy small ones that fit easily into your kit. Even comes with a striker surface. Cheap at walmart in the camping section.
Fire-starter:You still need to light this, but it burns a helluva long time (think rain);
a cotton ball with a wipe of Vaseline on it
Also try a fresnel lens, it is about the size of a credit card. Weighs just about nothing plus its flat. Only downside is that the sun must be shining for it to work. Great as a back up to your primary fire starters.
One more interesting way is if you happen to have a pistol or rifle handy. Remove the round from the casing, pour anywhere from 50-75% of the powder on to whatever you’re trying to light, stuff a wad of cotton (think tearing a small piece from the bottom of your shirt) back in to the shell casing, then just point and shoot. You’ll fire a flaming ball of cotton on to the gun powder and will most certainly light your fire.
when potassium permanganate and antifreeze are combined they will burst into flames via chemical reaction (duh). i have these in my BoB
i got a firestarter and apiece of hacksaw blade. werks fas and effective for scraping little peelings
from the backend of the magnesium block and it burns hot. otherwise a cotton ball soaked in alcohol based hand santizer werks wonderfully as does a clump of cedar bark shavings happy hunting all
Bob,
you can also warm petroleum jelly to a liquid and soak your cotton balls in it. It makes a fabulous tinder and will even burn while floating in water. I keep several in a sealed prescription pill bottle.
In my Go-bag I carry matches, waterproof matches, lighters, a magnifying glass, a flint and striker, a magnesium striker, 000 steel wool (use the Surefires batteries for that) and am currently looking into acquiring a fire piston. I'll pass on the condom
, but I get the point. Bag of water etc.
I can use the mirrored reflector of my Maglite with the 000 steel wool to make fire. Remove the reflector and push a loose wisp of steel wool up from the bottom end into the cone of the reflector. Find the right angle on the sun….it don't take long.
I carry a 2 D cell Mag. Doesn't work well with the mini-mag.
Rub two boy scouts together.
I've seen fire started this way: Break an incandescent flashlight's bulb, place tinder on the wires, turn on the bulb. A.) You sacrifice a perfectly good flashlight and B.) incandescent bulbs are rarer every day.
A friend of mine went up in to Wyoming to do some hunting, He is a pretty good survivalist in his own right and as the day got longer and the temp was below zero he and his friend decided to stay in a natural made shelter for the night, 1 problem even though they had fire making tools the wood was frozen solid and covered with snow. His friend said he had an idea they got as much of the frozen wood as they could in a pile and then he took out a road flare, struck it and tossed it in to the pile of wood about 10 minutes later they had a roaring fire.
When asked why the hell he carried a road flare his answer was for a signaling device in case he was injured
This sounds a little out there but a multi purpose item that is a great fire starting aid that I discovered on accident is hand sanitizer most are about about 65% ethyl alcohol the necessary amount depends on ur situation but it burns sometimes with an “invisible” flame or light blue but it burns hot and consistent u can light it multiple times…just experiment with it.
Anyone watch the battery hack videos? There is one where the guy uses a phone jack to power a cheap LED light. That could be useful for short term losses of power. just and FYI.
Have you tried a bow drill?
Collect dryer filter lint. Great tinder. A former boy scout.
i like to keep not only waterproof matches in my survival kit as well as a sparker and torch flame wind resistant lighter; but a trusty or even cheep plastic magnifying gla…..er…..plastic to use the suns rays to your advantage.
How about Lithium metal strips out of a lithium battery? It reacts with moisture. It must be housed in light oil/sealed container.
If you mix Thermite (welding powder) with some lithium, all you have to do is add a drop of water and you got a fire hot enough to start any wet tinder.
I also keep a small ampule of powdered Magnesium in my backpack as well.
Although this method is pretty foolproof, these highly reactive metals need to be store properly (Especially the lithium).
You don't have to sacrifice a working flashlight for a fire, if you have a Bic razor. And I noticed there is one in the snakebite venom sucker kit. A fellow inmate in a county jail once showed me some interesting tricks with Bic razors. After the "ten second scalpel" demo, I learned how to light a cigarette using a 1.5 volt battery from a sheriff-approved radio and one of the thin blades taken out of the Bic, shorted in the 90 deg. angle where the stainless steel bunk was attached to the wall, or where the flat cross braces held the cell round bars together. I would imagine that if a 1.5 volt battery will heat that thin strip up enough to light a cigarette, just about any battery you can find will do, if you have a disposable razor and something to short it all together with. you might have to sacrifice something if you keep shorting a battery, so you want to think about that. But of course a fire trumps most things, eventually.
By the way, for the "10 second scalpel" you throw the razor to the floor, stomp the head of it to pieces, scoop up one of the blades and jam it into the hollow square plastic base of the razor handle. Could be slashing jugulars before you know it. Or more to the point, before they do. It's ever so sharp.
Thanks for the excellent article. If you're going to the trouble to carry a small can of propane for a lighter, consider also carrying a creme brulee torch. Basically a miniature propane torch, this device can provide heavy duty, sustained and easily directed flame for a longer period than a lighter. Sound silly? It's a McGivver solution that provides a substantial flame. If you or your SO owns one of these just store it in the bug out bag, with the propane can.
Excuse me. Just realized what I wrote… should be butane, not propane. duh…
One more chemical fire starter that would probably be readily available in an urban/suburban last resort scenario is pool chlorine and brake fluid. Make a small pile, tsp size or so, of chlorine powder in your tinder, pour a tsp of brake fluid on it, and stand back a bit. As seen on youtube.
Something to keep in mind: Bic lighters have about 3x more 'flint' in them than they ever use. I.E., you will run out of fuel in the lighter long before you run out of striker. After the fuel is gone, you still have what is essentially a Swedish Firesteel or Blastmatch in a smaller form. The sparks will light a soaked Q-Tip, or dryer lint, or steel wool easily; just take the metal hood off from around the gas nozzle.
He said you "don't need a hot climate" not that you don't need a fire in a hot climate.
Wait, what? Chocolate bar and soda can method? Weird! lol. I guess you can make fire out of anything. How does that work and, more importantly, is the chocolate bar still edible afterwards?
Fire pistons are awesome and I was also surprised I didn't see them here.
Imagine having a tool that requires only tinder and will produce a coal every time.
Oh and it's so simple to use a child can do it.
It can be used for delousing your sleeping area just watch out for the burn back or you could have a grenade in your hand!
I wouldn't put all your fire starting items in one pouch. What if you loose the pouch? Just like you never put all your eggs in one basket.
was going to suggest that. you can't buy potassium permanganate in australian chemists any more i believe. used to have so much fun with this stuff as a kid
uh there's a type of phosphorous i'm sure someone has mentioned. 1 i believe has to be contained in a liquid, catches fire when exposed to air. the other is the reverse, catches fire under water.
cheers.
agreed they are very stable separated and yep keep them in their own containers. glycerin i've seen in heavy duty plastic bottles, the potassium i've only ever seen in glass bottles. also it takes a particular mixture of them both to ignite. i.e. you can drown the potassium.
used to make a little pile of permanganate with a depression in the top of the pile, then put a couple of drops of glycerin into the depression. couple of seconds and voila
7th grade science.
potassium permanganate has other uses of course, not out of place in a survival kit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permangana…
i believe the nail polish is the water proofer as when i was in the scouts they recommended just nail polish to dip them in and i have never heard of candle wax
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