Somebody start the fire...

[SSScout]

Sad to hear about the Scout who's leadership was put down by some uber urban Scout Leader. So how do we use Buffalo Chips any more?

 

I'd like to start off here by listing some of the more unusual, "oh wow" fire starting techniques I've seen. (and used)

 

* Homasote board, 3/4 thick, cut into 2x2" chunks, soaked in parafin/wax. Portable, burn for 30 minutes or more, start any wet wood.

* Fritos... Some potatoe chips, some not. But regular Fritos. Even seen'em started with F&S!.

* human hair (off mom's hair brush) and yeah, it does have an aroma.

* Pocket Lint, mostly dry, but it can absorb the humidity and be hard to light.

Other sources of lint: Shoe linings, the cuff of a pant, the cloth tube behind the shirt buttons,

* Old wool socks. The wool is still oily (lanolin), even after many years use. Use cotton for char cloth.

*Qtips soaked in earwax (use your imagination). It's wax, it burns.

* Deoderants. The aerosols make blowtorches (bad example) the rollons are mostly alcohol or wax. Careful! and expensive, but in a pinch...

* I like that belly button lint stunt! Havta remember that one!

 

***Any more??

 

!!!And don't forget::: melt the parafin ONLY in a double boiler arrangement, And don't use mom's best D/B either, use a dedicated #10 can for the wax!

 

 

>>>Things that MIGHT make a good fire starter, but I've always been told not to consider'em: Bacon fat.It burns, but the storing will attract varmints. Fluids (alky, gas, vegetable oil) Some too volitile, some too smelly, again attracts varmints.

And if you have gas, where's the stove?

 

Y'all be careful out thear!

 

[OldGreyEagle]

throw some sparks on some steel wool and watch the steel burn, always a true thrill.

 

and oh yeah, it stinks, do this out side, far far outside, but its so kewl!!!!

[Gunny2862]

If you happen to be carrying a can of Kerosene...

ROTFL

 

No, not really, I'm a fan of the egg carton style, hand cleaner has a significant alcohol content and can start even reasonably damp tinder, For non-Scout big dog camping Everclear has lots of possible uses which happens to include as an accelerant. Cotton balls have lots of possibilities to include serving as a great base for any accelerant you may have.

 

And in the weird department: Methane ignition (use your imagination)(clearly not a Scouting event)to start a birds nest. Only a limited number of tries on this one.

[Nike]

We discovered the steel wool and lantern battery trick in sixth grade science period. Mr Cobb kept glaring at our little cabal. We kept doing it until he confiscated the battery. Lesson learned, no harm done.

[BrentAllen]

I used to do the egg carton thing, but during last summer's WB course, one of the patrols made them out of newspaper. Cut the newspaper however wide you want it - around 2" seems to work well. I used a thickness of 6 sheets, and rolled it up very tight and tie with a string. They end up being between the size of a cigarette and a cigar. Dip them in parafin/wax (using a double boiler, of course). They are a lot easier to carry than the egg cartons, and more durable when packing.

 

Cotton balls and vaseline is still hard to beat. They can be ignited with the flint & steel, and they can burn for a couple of minutes.

[NealOnWheels]

A bag of popcorn - buttered even better. Smelly but gets the job done.

 

Birch bark - from fallen limbs of course. Has a natural wax that keeps it from getting wet.

 

Although I don't recomend it around scouts my favorite is gun powder. It will start wet wood everytime. A little goes a long way.

[Eamonn]

Again not for the youth but Brake fluid and chlorine!

Eamonn.

(Why am I now singing Billy Joel songs?)(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

[roguedawg]

I tried the brake fluid and chlorine, but I could not get it to work. Another set of chemicals are Magnesium Permanganate and Glycerol. I tried to find a source for some MP since it is used in sewer plants, but I have not found it anywhere.

 

You can shine the bottom of a soda can with peanut butter or tooth paste and use it as a lens.

 

You can use a #10 can, a piece of plastic, and a rubber band. You slip the plastic over the #10 can and hold it with the rubber band. You pour in water and allow it to freeze. You remove the plastic, polish it with your hands and form an ice lens. It is neat to show at a polar bear or winter camp.

 

You can buy book lens at Barnes and Noble for about $2.50. They are light, flat and fit into a military ammo pouch. I use the ammo pouch to hold all my fire starting gear. You can light leaves, steel wool, gun powder, dried out wet matches, etc.

 

An old spent bic lighter works good too. You tear off the metal covering, scrape the igniter, collect the scrapings on paper, and when you get a small pile, ignite them with a spark from the lighter. This will ignite the paper under it and get your fire going.

 

You can also use an old file and a stone with quartz in it. I had a scout run out to the church parking lot to fetch a white stone. He came back and on one strike each, I ignited lint, steel wool, and gun powder. My ASM laughed since the entire presentation was flawless with all fires being made on first strikes. We had a saying in my troop, "When you get into leadership, you do everything...perfect!" The boys usually reply, "I can't wait until I get into leadership!"

 

When I was on staff at Camp Brule' in 1984 we started the council fire using water and pure sodium. The MC asked if anyone had a canteen with them. One tenderfoot came forward and gave it to him. He drank some and spitted the rest it on the wood. It dripped down to the sodium and it caught fire which spread to the rest of the wood.

 

The next week we used an entire steel wool pad with gun powder mixed in it. The signal was given and the electric was connected. Fooom! and the fire was lit. Oh the sounds of "ohhs and ahhs."

 

I have another idea but you will have to wait and see if I get permission. I think it would even impress Les Stroud. Enjoy. RD

[Hal_Crawford]

Many compasses have a magnifying lens in the base for map reading.

[Twocubdad]

Raw cotton, picked out of the cotton field after harvest, makes great tender. The raw cotton is loaded with oil and burns like crazy. Processed cotton balls don't have as much oil and sometimes isn't even cotton (synthetics melt rather than burning.) The same can be true with dryer lint. Depends on the clothes you're drying. Natural fibers are better.

 

In the woods, bark shavings from scrapped from red cedar trees are great. Tends to stay dryer even wet weather. Fat pine, of course, makes great kindling, but you can take scrapings of it (or saw dust) and use it for tender.

 

I've also found that that old Altoid's mints tins make great containers for making char cloth. Rinse out the tin and punch a couple holes in the top. I bought a yard of linen from an upholstery shop for a couple bucks and it makes a 10 year supply of char cloth. Cut the cloth into squares about the size of the Altoid tin, put the lid on and throw the tin in the fire. The heat will boil off the organics and leave pure carbon char cloth. Watch the smoke coming out of the holes. When it stops smoking, take the tin out of the fire. Wait for the tin to cool before you open it. If you open it to soon, when the oxygen hits the hot char cloth, it will start to burn.

 

Being a woodworker, we make fire starters out of wood shaving. I was always taught to use a bathroom size Dixie cup. Pack the cup with wood shavings then fill with enough wax to seal the cup, you then have a waterproof fire starter.

[roguedawg]

I ditto one the Altoids tins and making char cloth. That is what I taught my outpost and at adult LTA camp-out. Everyone has to make one on Friday night for the next days fire building class. Put that in a bird nest and you got fire very soon. I cut up old jeans to use as the cloth. I like to get my moneys worth out of stuff. RD

 

I still can't do the "Fire by Fiction" method. Yes "fiction" because I never saw anybody make fire this way during demonstrations. I have on Youtube though.

[DeanRx]

The steel wool + 9vt battery

 

The dryer lint + flint + steel

 

The Magnessium filings + flint + rock

 

Magnifying glass + anything with a low flash point

 

An old sock with sterno in the toe (keep it in a ziplock until ready to use) - I've started council sized campfires in the rain using this method.

 

My personal favorite (because its sooo simple and everyone has it with them on a campout)....

 

Wood Shavings + a drop or two of hand sanitizer

 

I always enjoyed making my own gun-cotton (if you can get your hands on the nitric and sulfuric acid needed)...

 

As an aside - an old cotton shoestring dipped in parafin is a great "helper". You can cut off a 2 - 4 inch length and use it as a wick to start anything you want to be FAR AWAY from when it ignites (not that an adult scouter would ever begin a campfire with something that goes Whooooosh !!! or Boooom !)

 

Happy pyro everyone

[raisinemright]

I'm keeping this list.

 

I picked up some sort of fungus at a mountain man reenactor show. One spark gets is started and it's hard to put out. I haven't tried it on a fire yet, but I did smoke out my bedroom when I thought it was out and was still smoldering. (Luckily, my wife puts up with me.)

 

 

[scottteng]

Like I said in the other thread I use wax, lint and egg carton. I have an old hot pot electric cup like you have in an office or dorm room to melt the wax. works well and does not get hot enough to burn. Here in Florida we have "monkey fuzz" this is plant matter that grows out of the base of palmetto bushes and anyone that's been to Florida knows we have lots and lots of those. When harvested and prepared it is as good a fire starter as charred cloth or anything else. It can realistically be started with plain flint and steel no matter what the weather. I like the cotton balls and Vaseline thing I will have to mention it to our fireman chit instructor he goes through pretty much everything else.

[Twocubdad]

Speaking of re-enactors, the traditional method is char cloth and flax tow which is raw flax fiber before it is processed into linen. I've bought it several times at reenactments and you can find it on line at any of the reenactor supply sites. Google "sutlers" and you'll find a bunch.