[Alice Cooper]

ditto on the fire piston.I made one from a copper stubout (plumbing section of lowes) by directions in "backwoodsman" magazine.it was fun learning how to make it work, but for survival? naaa....like you said,too fiddly.these ferrocium rods and the old time flint, steel and charcloth are by far the best for me.

[SwampRat1]

ron great video. i will definetly be ordering some firesteels soon. be good to have one in every bugout bag.

[Fisk]

hey guys, has anyone here have any tips on using a firesteel on *natural* tinder say dry grass and such. I am able to use the usual vasel-cottons & dryer lint but was wondering if I only had in my possession my firesteel w/ no pre-made tinder (I would have to lose my wallet for that to happen) is it possible to start a fire? Any tips?

[Mac]

Originally Posted by Fisk

hey guys, has anyone here have any tips on using a firesteel on *natural* tinder say dry grass and such. I am able to use the usual vasel-cottons & dryer lint but was wondering if I only had in my possession my firesteel w/ no pre-made tinder (I would have to lose my wallet for that to happen) is it possible to start a fire? Any tips?

Ron mentioned one key natural material in the first post - bark from a birch tree. It has natural oils which lend itself to starting/maintaining fires.
*When using bark from a live birch tree - never peel it all the way around - that will kill the tree - cut small strips vertically.

Other materials that are good:
- wood/bark - use your knife (or firesteel scrapper) to scrap it off into a pile of dust / small scrapings
- dry grass or leaves (make sure you rough it up - roll it in your hands as if it were silly putty or playdo... this will expose more edges)
- Cattail tops - the seed parts the fluff out make excellent tinder
- old/abandoned wasp nests (i wouldnt recommend using ones that are occupied :-)

If it is pouring rain/wet outside and material is hard to come by... look for trees that have a slight slant to them (not perfectly perpendicular to the ground) and there will usually be a dry spot at the base of the tree - you will find leaves/materials here.

You can also dig below the first inch or 2 of leaves to find drier material or sometimes under /around rocks where the rain is not hitting directly.

I hope this helps... the best thing to do is try anything you can whenever you can.

Mac

[LaRemnant]

There are quite a few natural fire starters (don't ask me their names though!)... The smart thing to do is to never pass them up even if you already have some in your pack. Never pass them up either just because you may assume there will be more to get later either.

Also, using sap is good too. If you find some leaking out of a tree, cut off a chunk and use it later because as it melts, it will melt in the form of a liquid flame dropping down below to ignite denser and harder to burn woods because it will coat it and be REALLY hot too. Kinda like a grease fire - it will spread all over whatever is directly beneath it.

[spotlightin83]

I also am impressed with my firesteel. I carry two with me at all times. I have been ridiculed until it was too cold outside for the trusty bic to light, but my firesteel done the job. I also carry a small bottle of rubbing alcohol for sanitization and fire aid. By the way Ron, great movie.

[Fisk]

Originally Posted by Mac

Ron mentioned one key natural material in the first post - bark from a birch tree. It has natural oils which lend itself to starting/maintaining fires.
*When using bark from a live birch tree - never peel it all the way around - that will kill the tree - cut small strips vertically.

Other materials that are good:
- wood/bark - use your knife (or firesteel scrapper) to scrap it off into a pile of dust / small scrapings
- dry grass or leaves (make sure you rough it up - roll it in your hands as if it were silly putty or playdo... this will expose more edges)
- Cattail tops - the seed parts the fluff out make excellent tinder
- old/abandoned wasp nests (i wouldnt recommend using ones that are occupied :-)


I hope this helps... the best thing to do is try anything you can whenever you can.

Mac

Mac I traveled back to Alabama today and spent an hour trying to practice. My *temporary* problem is that there are only hardwood trees for at least 10 miles around (found 1 pine tree ).

setup:
used dry dead grass/leaves formed a birds nest
batoned some wood to get to the inner bark to use as kindling
vasel-cotton as tinder
dry limbs from a tree, finger width

once the cotton was lit I placed it in the middle of the birdnest which was located at the bottom of my teepee formation. the grass caught fire w/ ease but the sticks did not. I''m sure that I am missing something in my technique and I will try again tommorrow. Oh and I do have a nice stick of pine wood full of resin in my bag but I am trying to refrain from using it

[skippy]

Fisk, I use tiny twigs just above the grassy nest, slightly larger twigs above those, and keep increasing the size layer by layer, until I get up to finger width. I always have to use a ton of twigs, but it works.

[Fisk]

Originally Posted by skippy

Fisk, I use tiny twigs just above the grassy nest, slightly larger twigs above those, and keep increasing the size layer by layer, until I get up to finger width. I always have to use a ton of twigs, but it works.

thanks Skippy for the tip. went back to the drawing board today and finally got it

I used more kindling from the wood I split as well as bits and pieces of wood placed into my tinder nest which helped alot. there are two things that I will remember to do for now on: 1.)when tinder is lit provide oxygen to get the fire going 2.) don't ever make a dang lanyard that long for a knife again(gets in the way of batoning wood, lol)

[skippy]

Originally Posted by Fisk

thanks Skippy for the tip. went back to the drawing board today and finally got it

I used more kindling from the wood I split as well as bits and pieces of wood placed into my tinder nest which helped alot. there are two things that I will remember to do for now on: 1.)when tinder is lit provide oxygen to get the fire going 2.) don't ever make a dang lanyard that long for a knife again(gets in the way of batoning wood, lol)

Nice fire!