How to Make Fire Sticks

I wonder if pre-waxed vegetable transport boxes would have enough firestarting wax already?

Survival Topics - good idea.  I do not have any on hand but if you give it a try and let us know how it goes. 

The firesticks were easu to make and fun too!  The wax made our home smell good as wel.

This is a great idea.  I have heard of fire sticks, but never thought of making my own.

I am a minister and I was looking for a proper method to build a fire, as a illustration for a message. I was pleased with your site, so much so I sent it to a fellow minister in Washington State who is preparing to go homesteading. He will make these fire sticks, I am sure, as he is very methodical in his preparedness. Thanks so much for the excellent pictures, I am a visual learner. Be blessed..Phyllis Toth

Great Idea.  I was wondering is it OK to make the fire sticks longer than 2 inches?  If so would it work as a torch?

Survival Topics - you can make them as long and as large as you would like.  Of course if wieght and/or bulk are an issue then that would be counter productive.  Firesticks could be used as a torch, especially the larger size you mention since they would burn and give off light for an extended period of time.

This goes back to my Cub Scout days. A small tuna can with the same corrugated cardboard rolled up inside and soaked with hot wax makes a good camp stove. A when you run out of fuel you have a small pot or cup. As I remember they would burn for about 20 minutes.

How do you think sap/pitch would compare to wax? I know pitch will catch fire and burn, but maybe it would burn too fast. I ask because in a survival situation it's pretty easy to make pitch from sap and charcoal but wax is probably hard to come by.

Survival Topics - Good observation.  Pitch from conifers such as pine, fir, and spruce is an excellent aid for starting fires.  A small glob or lump of pitch can burn for several minutes with enough heat to dry out and ingnite tinder.

Hello there, I have been making my own firestarter for a while, I am using wax like you but I use hamster wood litter that I put in a paper muffin cup. I then drop hot wax on them, no need to put a string to light them, there is always a piece of wood that you can use.

Another method that I like is to take old egg cartons, fill the holes with the lint from the dryer lint trap, and pour the wax over the lint. It soaks in, you cut up the carton into the individual eggs compartments, and put into ziplock bag. Work great, and all materials most of us have at home.

These firesticks worked great and  even provided enough heat to cook my beans. What do you think about using citronella oil on them and keep biting insects away at the same time?

Survival Topics - Good idea!  Give it a try and let us know how it works!

Dryer lint also works great especially with a firesteel and some kindling.

Survival Topics  - see the article on Fire Starters.

As far as the waxed produce boxes work quite well. They are impregnated with wax not just coated. The firesteels on this site rock. Thank you for a great survival site.

Some time back I'd heard of a method for making fire-starters that combined your "waterproof matches" and "home-made fire-sticks" ideas. The plan was to:

1. Cut cardboard "across the grain" into strips the same length as your strike anywhere match-sticks.
2. Tuck the match-sticks into the cardboard, using the corrugations as sleeves. (When I did it I left one sleeve open on either side of each match-stick.
3. Dip it all in melted wax and - when dry - cut apart into individual fire-starters.

I made some of these and found that each "fire-starter strip" would burn for about 3 minutes and that the wax would melt onto other tinder as an accelerant. They worked great.

But I stored some of them away in my emergency kit and when I went to use them about six months later, they failed badly. The strike-anywhere match heads wouldn't strike anywhere and just kind of smeared to pieces when I tried using them.

Survival Topics: A big problem with matches is that they have a shelf life.  Degrading over time, you must be sure to test the matches in your survival kit on a regular basis.

This is one reason I advocate always having on hand three methods of starting fires.  Should one or even two methods fail, you still have a third.

I highly recommend carrying FireSteels.  FireSteels are lightweight, easy to use, and work even when wet.  And they do not degrade in the same way that matches will.

Another great idea! Simple to make, compact, simple to use and effective!

I was just wondering whether the "firesticks" you described above can be ignited using the sparks from a firesteel or other artificial flint. If not, I suggest adding a wad of natural cotton inside the cardboard folds and then dipping it in the molten wax. The wax infused cotton can then be simply pulled out, fluffed out a bit and ignited using the flint. The sparks from the flint striker of a butane lighter can usually (depending on quality of flint,spring force) ignite such a setup.

I like to use "trick" birthday candles the kind that won't blow out. They store nice in my pack and have worked well every time I used them.

I use a small crock pot to melt and store the wax. I have used it for a while and make up a bunch while I am in the garage. They can be found all over at garage sales and thrift stores for next to nothing.

The fire sticks are an excellent addition to survival kits but you may add a small piece of heart pine ( does not have to be cured out ) preferably in the knot of the pine, I guarantee is very easily started and has enough resin ,good luck putting it out before burned completely. Items needed; small knotty pine tree, and small hatchet, 30 minutes of your time.

I used a few of these fire sticks over the weekend. along with my magnesium firestarter.  In minutes had a roaring blaze going in below zero weather.

Use a 2x7 strip of paper towel dipped in wax. Allow extra wax to drip back into the wax pot. Before the wax on this strip hardens,but not before it has dried, fold it length wise. Fold both of the long sides over enough to seal them and by adding a little more wax to the sides waterproof it.You should now have a wax paper pouch. Take dryer lint and stuff it into the open end. Fold this closed and add wax to seal this fold. When finished you should have what looks like a wax ravioli. When you get ready to use it open one end and strike the lint. It will not burn for as long as these firesticks, but it does work well.

Here is how I make my own fire starters. I started the habit of dipping Copenhagen snuff when I was a teen boy and wondered what I could do with the wax coated cardboard cans. Take the empty can and fill it with very thin wood shavings. You can buy this very inexpensively and it comes in a bag in the arts and crafts department.  (People use this a lot for Autumn decorations in their crafts).

Break match sticks, twigs or popsickle sticks and push as many as you can through the shavings. These will be thicker than the shavings you first used. Fill the can as full as possible until packed tight. Now pour mealted wax into the can until all tender is completely covered.

Put the metal lids back on and press them down tightly. Let cool. After cooling I place 10 cans on top of one another and wrap in duct tape. When I need a fire I simply cut one can off, discard the lid and light the fire starter with whatever means I might have at the time.

This can will burn hot for about 15 to 20 minutes and they have yet to fail me.

I made a batch of fire-sticks and tossed one into a snowbank for a few minutes. Then I retrieved and lit it. It burned long enough that I eventually got cold and stomped it out.

Just made a bunch, tried one out today on a windy beach. Was a little hard to light at first but it burned incredibly well. Thanks for the great idea.

Thank you so much for providing this information! My husband and I have talked about how well prepared we aren't for an emergency and thinking we ought to be. This is very useful information as we begin the process of preparing for an emergency that sometimes seems inevitable to happen.

I've made something similar using dryer lint, paper egg cartons, and wax. Take the egg carton and place a wad of dryer lint into each cradle, filling it, then melt the wax and pour that over the lint. Allow to harden and break apart into easy to carry "bricketts" Pull out a thread of lint while drying and use this as a "wick" to light.

I have always used cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly. Just heat the jelly till it melts and then use the cotton balls to soak it up. I can put quite a few in a 35mm film canister. To light, just fluff up the cotton ball and then hit it with a fire steel or match. Will burn for about 4 minutes.