Simple, cheap, and EFFECTIVE firestarters.

This is for you people who like to make the most of things. Start collecting your paper egg crates, dryer lint, and spent candles. Collect enough lint to PACK into every egghole in the carton. when you have, Heat and pour wax and soaking every ball of lint. when they dry, you can just tear one off, light under the fire, and it stays lit for quite a while. You can add saw dust to make a longer burn. This cost nothing, or little to nothing to make and is very useful for the DIY survivalist. Just my two cents, Hope it works for you.

reply to post by mactheaxe


My husband bought cotton balls and vaseline at the dollar store, he heated the vaseline and put the cotton balls in, then put them all in a quart container. They work so incredibly well! One cotton soaked ball and I can use kindling and no paper.

nvm

Both good ideas! I've seen both mentioned before when I was fitting up a bob.

Still, if you're as inept as me at getting the magnesium flint to actually make a spark that ignites anything, you'll still freeze to death in the cold cold wilderness, or be eaten by the dire wolves.

Bloody things are made to look so easy on youtube vids.. scraps, instant bonfire.

when I try, scrape scrape scrape, well there goes half the stick...

I think an essential item with the tinders you've made here, is a pack of 20 bic lighters.

cool, plexiglass can be soaking wet with water dripping from it....and burn non stop for hours

Fire piston, the way Rudolf Diesel came up with the diesel engine

If you add all the fluff from your tumble dryer to melted wax and cut into little blocks you can use them also.
I love making these I have a box full now

Don't forget one of the easiest, eternally reusable (during the day), a magnifying glass!

My favourite way to start a campfire:





... don't ask, it's a Canadian thing

A small bag of Fritos corn chips, no joke.

Napalm in a bag. and a high energy snack if you find yourself lost in the woods.

reply to post by mactheaxe


I do this as well. There is a certain stink to the lint though. I also use a LOT of wood chips from my chainsaw. As long as your chain is sharp, you should be getting very good sized ribbons that will start piling up and these make great fire starters in the wax/egg cartons.

reply to post by winofiend


I got a tip for you. Sock fuzz. You just pinch it off for a while, and when you got a small marble ball, put it in a piece of tp, or something that can burn easily with flame, and strike your empty lighter real close. It will flame, I do it when my bic is empty.

reply to post by winofiend

Still, if you're as inept as me at getting the magnesium flint to actually make a spark that ignites anything, you'll still freeze to death in the cold cold wilderness, or be eaten by the dire wolves.

Steel wool and a 9v battery. Don't burn your fingers.

I always carried along a little pill bottle of partially burnt cotton balls, a magnesium lighter, and a couple of butane lighters in a very small baggie. The lighters are useful if you need to fix some rope, too.

I can light a fire with a bow drill, but I've got to be really desperate by that point. A few matchheads will get the job done a lot faster.

Also, you can light a nice fire by stuffing a cotton ball in the receiver of an M4, pulling the bullet out of a cartridge and putting it back in the receiver, then firing. If you're not observing light and sound discipline, that is. The flaming cotton ball will emerge and fall right into your kindling if you do it right. You can do this with most any rifle.

Oh, and you can also get a pea sized ball of c4 and light it with a lighter, it will start most any wood fire even if wet. Just don't stomp it out if you like your foot with all the toes on.

eta: Our unofficial motto was: "Travel light; freeze at night" so YMMV.

Originally posted by clay2 baraka
A small bag of Fritos corn chips, no joke.

Um, just saying, that's the "pyro's delight". You can start a house fire with that and it'll never show up on a dog search.

Ok in another thread saying you can watch your fire to know what sort of weather is coming and I'm thinking how I have a heck of a time even starting one. I've tried the battery and steel wool like Phage says and some dry grasses and it just simmers and then goes out (could just be my bad luck). I will blow on it and everything - but can't get it to really take.

Don't like the idea of saving stuff as I have too much crap around my house as it is but if nothing on hand I've heard rubbing a stick on a rock with some moss can work (not rolling in hand as will cause blisters but back and forth). Have to try this out this summer.

Originally posted by DianecI've tried the battery and steel wool like Phage says and some dry grasses and it just simmers and then goes out (could just be my bad luck). I will blow on it and everything - but can't get it to really take.

A lot of that is your firechain. You need to get something sappy like cedar and shave off little bits as a secondary starter.

Also, it helps to coat your steel wool with paraffin (a cheat, I know). It'll pop and flame but that's good unless you try it during SERE-C, in which case they become irritable.

reply to post by Bedlam


Paraffin is easy and cheating is just fine with me. Ill do that. Thanks

reply to post by Char-Lee


Now I know what I'm going to be trying this winter!

Originally posted by Dianec
reply to post by Bedlam

 

Paraffin is easy and cheating is just fine with me. Ill do that. Thanks

Don't be surprised when it pops like firecrackers. I was the first time or two.

After a bit, you'll find you can start a fire with a flint and steel with cattail fluff, dryer lint or partially burnt cotton balls or the like. But I'm also partial to getting the job done (we call that field expediency) so a *drop* of naptha will do the job, or a butane lighter. It's not bad to practice with cattail fluff and a flint-n-steel but when you're down to freezing or a fire you do what you have to.

Your forebears used to keep a little box with a piece of burning charcoal in it in glass wool. They didn't consider it a cheat, but most of them could start a fire with available materials and flint. If you're REALLY worried about this, get you a setup and practice it while you watch TV on a lapboard. Eventually, you will be able to light a fire anywhere it's practical.