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Morgan101

Morgan101

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I wasn't really sure where to put this. It could be a craft or maybe a household tip, but I found a new method for making fire starters. The author called it a "firewad". I used small napkins and half sheets of paper towels. You roll them as tightly as you can, then twist them even tighter. The author recommended tying the ends with string, but I didn't. They seem to work fine just being rolled and twisted. You should end up with a roll that is about 3" long. Kind of looks like an ugly roll-your-own cigarertte from the cowboy days.

On one side I used a lit candle to drip wax on the roll. I let it cool for a few minutes, then dripped lighter fluid on the other side. I haven't tested them yet to see how long they will burn, but they definitely burn. I stored them in a prescription bottle. When I get some data on how long they burn I will post the results.
 
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Sounds good, toilet paper roll could be used for this, if you do not compost them.
I use fatwood, that I have been collecting for twenty years.
 
Morgan101 said:
I wasn't really sure where to put this. It could be a craft or maybe a household tip, but I found a new method for making fire starters. ....When I get some data on how long they burn I will post the results.
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Nice. 👍 And - great idea for 'putting "waste" to Good-use', eh? :cool:

Fwiw, I had a similar-idea, inspired by one of the 'Legends' over-yonder at SB, there.. His idea was soaking pieces of 'cotton-rope' in a 60/40-mix of wax (heat in a 'poupourri-pot' / wax-melter, etc) and lighter-fluid.. But I saw a more convenient 'Op' in Dental Cotton, ergo: DENTAL COTTON ROLLS NS #2 MEDIUM 1.5" X 3/8" 2000 PIECES PER BOX | eBay ..Which I was getting, anyway, to round out our Dental-Emergency Paks, etc, but.. I wasn't Expecting to find that the 'cheapest Price' was these 2000 packs (but what the heckfire am I gonna do with 2000 of these?!! :)

..So, I took to making his 'slurry', and dipping / drying, and 'mini-pak' storing these, 10x-up at a time, ie:

Dental-Cottn2.jpg
..and Thus, I made-up / packed in All 'BOBs' / truck / hiking-packs / LTS-stores (along with Magnesium + Ferro-Rods / Carbide-strikers, etc, etc) 1-2 of these 'mini-paks', and They - each - produce a Nice, Big Flame, and burn for a good minute / minute 1/2+, so.. Good 'investment' for pennies, in-aggregate.. :cool:

Nonetheless, Your idea is Great - for 'putting scraps to work', and Surely, there will be plenty of-such, when all the "Municipal Garbage-services" go belly-up, at some point. (P-U! :p

Fwiw :cool:
jd
 
I just gather squaw wood starting at needle thin and working to half inch. Never have had a problem starting a fire that way even in the rain. But when around the house I just grab the propane torch and use that to get my fires going.
 
SoJer said:
Nice. 👍 And - great idea for 'putting "waste" to Good-use', eh? :cool:

Fwiw, I had a similar-idea, inspired by one of the 'Legends' over-yonder at SB, there.. His idea was soaking pieces of 'cotton-rope' in a 60/40-mix of wax (heat in a 'poupourri-pot' / wax-melter, etc) and lighter-fluid.. But I saw a more convenient 'Op' in Dental Cotton, ergo: DENTAL COTTON ROLLS NS #2 MEDIUM 1.5" X 3/8" 2000 PIECES PER BOX | eBay ..Which I was getting, anyway, to round out our Dental-Emergency Paks, etc, but.. I wasn't Expecting to find that the 'cheapest Price' was these 2000 packs (but what the heckfire am I gonna do with 2000 of these?!! :)

..So, I took to making his 'slurry', and dipping / drying, and 'mini-pak' storing these, 10x-up at a time, ie:

Dental-Cottn2.jpg
..and Thus, I made-up / packed in All 'BOBs' / truck / hiking-packs / LTS-stores (along with Magnesium + Ferro-Rods / Carbide-strikers, etc, etc) 1-2 of these 'mini-paks', and They - each - produce a Nice, Big Flame, and burn for a good minute / minute 1/2+, so.. Good 'investment' for pennies, in-aggregate.. :cool:

Nonetheless, Your idea is Great - for 'putting scraps to work', and Surely, there will be plenty of-such, when all the "Municipal Garbage-services" go belly-up, at some point. (P-U! :p

Fwiw :cool:
jd
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I have found old prescription bottles to be great containers for stuff like this. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we have a bunch of old prescription bottles available With three of us on maintenance medication there seems to be an endless supply. I have made several fire kits for all of our bags using prescription bottles. Seal the lid with a strip of Gorilla Electrical tape, and they are waterproof. I haven't tested how long, but they float.
 
We use chaga chunks for this once they no longer produce tea. Chaga is perhaps the best of the natural firestarters. Best that I have used, at least.
 
Many years ago while hiking in the Cascade mountains just east of Seattle with a friend and his family, in heavy rain, we started a very good fire with pitch pockets from downed trees, pine and fir have the best pitch.
 
dademoss said:
Nice idea. I carry pieces of rubber bike inner tubes, one they are lit you can start a darn nice fire.
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Ranger bands rule! :great:
 
viking said:
Many years ago while hiking in the Cascade mountains just east of Seattle with a friend and his family, in heavy rain, we started a very good fire with pitch pockets from downed trees, pine and fir have the best pitch.
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In some areas they would call that fatwood, and it is an excellent fire starter.

MT, have you ever put dryer lint in the egg cartons with the wax? I have never made them myself, but I have heard they work well. I do save dryer lint to add to fire kits.
 
I used to make a fire log type thing out of toilet paper tubes, sawdust and wax. did you know that most 2nd hand stores almost give away old crayons?
If not, paraffin is cheap. tape up one end of the tube, loosely pack it with dry sawdust, pour in the melted wax, let cool. I got out of the habit after dad showed me what a road flare would do with wet wood. they're like 5 for $5 at big lots. Wally world has a decent deal:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Orion-15...our-Light-Stick-3-Count/52620413?athbdg=L1200
 
I guess I am lazy. I just keep a few of these wafers in my possibles bag. When you find them on sale, they cost about 10¢ a piece. The wafer will burn 10 minutes. We use them to start fires in our woodstove, too. One wafer will start an entire load of split firewood without using any kindling.
1669992491878.png
 
Cabin Fever said:
I guess I am lazy. I just keep a few of these wafers in my possibles bag. When you find them on sale, they cost about 10¢ a piece. The wafer will burn 10 minutes. We use them to start fires in our woodstove, too. One wafer will start an entire load of split firewood without using any kindling.
View attachment 99301
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Someone gave me some of those, I can not remember where I put the box.
 
My normal "go to" fire starter (or actual fire) is hand sanitizer or denatured alcohol.
A small amount of either will easily start a fire and keep it burning. I've poured a tuna can 1/2 full with hand sanitizer and it'll burn nice and hot (probably over 700 degrees) for about 15 minutes.
Be careful with alcohol. When it's bright in the environment, you can't easily see the flames.
 
Morgan101 said:
In some areas they would call that fatwood, and it is an excellent fire starter.

MT, have you ever put dryer lint in the egg cartons with the wax? I have never made them myself, but I have heard they work well. I do save dryer lint to add to fire kits.
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I use dryer lint in cardboard egg cartons. I bought big religious candles at dollar store, melted, poured over and cut apart. Work great. Stored in gallon container. Did have learning curve though when we moved while stored in non climate control a lot of wax melted. But egg cartons were saturated with wax and still start beautifully.
 
Morgan101 said:
In some areas they would call that fatwood, and it is an excellent fire starter.

MT, have you ever put dryer lint in the egg cartons with the wax? I have never made them myself, but I have heard they work well. I do save dryer lint to add to fire kits.
Click to expand...
Yes. I've use dryer lint in my fire starters before. All lint will have some hair in it and I don't care for the smell of burning hair. It's fine if they're just used for starting a fire, but I use them more for hand warmers when I'm out trapping or plowing the road and get cold. Lately I've been saving the saw dust from my table saw and adding that.
 
I used to make Make those wafers out of medium density fiberboard and wax. I added potassium nitrate to some for hiking in the Olympics. The wettest spot in Washington state is there. The potassium nitrate speeds up the burn but it can dry out wet wood and burn anything. In high school I was called the "fire god" cause I could get nearly anything to burn into a nice warm fire in short order.
I can still light a fire and have a bed of coals for cooking in less than 15 minutes in nearly any situation.
To make those wafers just cut some scraps from MDF and set them in molten wax until they sink. Take them out and let them cool. Adding potassium nitrate can be risky so I won't explain how to do that but I will warn you that adding it to molten wax will get you burned.
 
I have been on site, magazine articles & books on how to start a fire.
I will use a lighter as long as they make them, got 1000 candle BOL.
I use straw, grass, leaves when it is dry & fat wood when it is wet out.
Most of the above tricks work well, in scouts we used most of them one time or another, just to teach the scouts.
 
Joel,
Anyone can start a fire using what is on hand at their location. In wet, cold, high altitude areas it can still be done as long as you have the patience and time to prepare and care for it as it builds.
If you don't have the time because you have stage two hypothermia and you are loosing control of your muscles it makes sense to be prepared to get a fire going fast. Wind, rain, and snow can kill a fire just as it gets started. At 8000 feet it can be difficult to be selective about your materials. It pays to have a well thought out alternative to stay alive. Carrying fat wood or MDF soaked in wax will help a lot. They are both "cheats" but all's fair when it comes to staying alive.
 
SheepDog said:
Joel,
Anyone can start a fire using what is on hand at their location. In wet, cold, high altitude areas it can still be done as long as you have the patience and time to prepare and care for it as it builds.
If you don't have the time because you have stage two hypothermia and you are loosing control of your muscles it makes sense to be prepared to get a fire going fast. Wind, rain, and snow can kill a fire just as it gets started. At 8000 feet it can be difficult to be selective about your materials. It pays to have a well thought out alternative to stay alive. Carrying fat wood or MDF soaked in wax will help a lot. They are both "cheats" but all's fair when it comes to staying alive.
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Hopefully we will never have to do that.
On my farm have everything I need to burn a fire for days, but a car wreck or plane crash would put a spin on thing & test our skills.
Hair is a good starter, if all you have is two sticks or two rocks.
 
When I was in the military we made tank traps by blowing holes in tank trails with nitrate fertilizer mixed with diesel. But it is not for camp fires, just big holes in the ground. Alcohol is the only high burner I would use in a camp fire, I may have the skill to pull it off, just not the need.
I have seen people use road flares to start fire, but I never needed that kind of heat to start a fire.
 
When hiking, I carry lots of different ways to start a fire. Lots of good ideas for tinder above. I use the old standard cotton balls impregnated with Vasoline. I store these inside oversized plastic straws. I use a pair of hemostats to squeeze one end closed tightly, then I heat the end with a BIC lighter to melt it closed. Then I stuff the straw (usually cut in half for more convenient carry size) with the Vasoline cotton balls. I use a toothpick to stuff them down. Then I repeat the squeeze-and-melt treatment on the remaining end. Vasoline does a good job of waterproofing the cotton balls all by itself, but the addition of storage inside plastic straws finalizes the deal. Use your knife to cut open the straws when you need the cotton balls.

For an actual source of ignition, I have many things. Number one is a BIC butane lighter. Those won't work every time, especially if they get soaked in water. But if they DO work, then starting a fire is quick. The next thing I always have are some of those trick "can't blow 'em out" birthday candles. If you're fighting the wind to get a fire lit, if you can just get one of those candles lit, then the wind is no longer a problem. They get blown out, they come right back. You have to really suffocate those things to get them out, like shoving the lit end down under the dirt.

But in case the BIC lighter doesn't work, I also carry a ferrocium rod, a fresnel lens, and waterproof matches. And a small chunk of hacksaw blade. Normally I use the smooth backside of the hacksaw blade on the ferro rod, but if push comes to shove, I use the toothed side. Yeah, it chews up and shortens the lifespan of your ferro rod significantly, but boy does that toothed side make the sparks! Remember, for better aiming of ferro rod sparks, don't push the striker down the rod. Instead, hold the striker steady and pull the rod back against it. Much easier to aim that way. And you can get closer to your tinder without fear of knocking it around with a forward moving striker. Put the tip of your rod right up there touching the tinder then pull backwards against the striker. You need to practice with a ferro rod to get good at it. My favorite is still the BIC and trick birthday candle. The BIC works most of the time, but failures do happen, so it shouldn't be your only available option.

[edit]p.s. - Another thing I carry that I forgot to mention above is one of those old school small pencil sharpeners with the built in razor blade. Get you a stick and sharpen it like a pencil and you end up with good shavings for fire starting. You can easily sharpen off wet wood on the outside and then keep sharpening until you reach the dry wood deeper in.[/edit]
 
You should try to start a fire using two sticks and hair. Try making a hole in the ground with some nitrate fertilizer and diesel oil. You have to mix the oil and fertilizer just right and then set it off with dynamite because a #11 blasting cap won't do the job. The ANFO will burn quite well without exploding if you light it with a match.

Well said Haertig! Multiple tools to cover the job under variable conditions. I have never used the special candles - may have to give it a try.
 
All of this reminds me of a story that happened to my wife. She worked in a dental office. The dentist wanted to solder some pieces of a dental bridge together. He didn't have anything to light the soldering torch. Due to the force of the gas, his matches and lighters kept blowing out before igniting the gas. My wife said, "Let me have a try." She pulled out the magnesium fire starter she keeps in her purse,. The sparks from the firestarter immediately lit the soldering torch.

The dentist asked, "For what possible reason do you have that in your purse?" She said, "I'm a survivalist, I may have to start a fire if I'm stranded." She went on to say, "you really don't want to know what else I carry in my purse."
 
SheepDog said:
You should try to start a fire using two sticks and hair. Try making a hole in the ground with some nitrate fertilizer and diesel oil. You have to mix the oil and fertilizer just right and then set it off with dynamite because a #11 blasting cap won't do the job. The ANFO will burn quite well without exploding if you light it with a match.

Well said Haertig! Multiple tools to cover the job under variable conditions. I have never used the special candles - may have to give it a try.
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We used cap & detonating cord, in 1980-1986, then the Army had a rocket that was 48 inches off the ground. It went underground before
exploding on some time fuse thingy.
 
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