how to make fire

[SwampFootParticipant 62]

i figured this might be a fun topic. i grew up in a swamp, hence my user name. often, i was either homeless or without electricity growing up. my family was poor enough that we actually had a TV for picture and a TV for sound at one point, both of which we pulled out of the trash.

one of the things my brothers and i did a lot was camp. we learned how to eat all kinds of wild edibles, make our own medicines, etc. one of the things we did was constantly experiment with different ways to make fire. in the wild, it is a VERY useful skill. if you know how to do NOTHING else, simply making a fire is probably the most likely way to ensure you survive if you ever get lost in the middle of nowhere.

so, here are some tutorials on interesting ways to make fire. i have used all of them. the most difficult part of making a fire is getting the spark. if you have something that readily makes a spark, you have most of the battle won. even when things are wet, its usually possible to find something dry enough. so, here are some of my favorite methods. im not going into rubbing sticks together because that is a skill that you have to learn before you need it. the ones im listing below take pretty much no skill to prepare for or do. you just gotta have the know-how.

ill start with a simple fire starter, fire cloth. while it doesnt produce the spark, this stuff is super useful as a easily produced and portable tinder. it can be made out of all kinds of things, doesnt even have to be cloth. the basic idea is to burn stuff without letting too much oxygen get all up in its junk. after you let it cool, it catches sparks like coal does.

here is a video describing the basic idea. nearly any metal container will work. hell, i have even used tin foil. experiment with various materials if you want to have an idea of what you can use should you ever have the opportunity to make some while camping.

starting fire with seran wrap, plastic bags, bottles.(aqua-lens)

another one along the same lines. the last one is nearly useless knowledge, but still kinda cool.

for this next one, i have successfully used the lead from a .5 mechanical pencil and an AA battery to light a cigarette. i have also used the metal bits from a mechanical pencil, its lead, and a cell phone battery to start a camp fire. you can also use a regular pencil lead and your car battery to produce a temporary bright light, should you find yourself in a situation where that would be handy…

here is another variation with the battery. it works well with the pencil lead as well.

and then there is the prison match. when i was in SUT, i was leaning against a tree that had just recently been burnt in a controlled fire. myself and couple guys wanted to smoke a cig, but the only lighter we had had a crack in it and all the fuel leaked out. so, i took some of the burnt tree bark, packed it into the end of a cig, and used the broken lighter to light the cigarette. and of course, if it works to light a cig, you can use it to light a fire. here is the basic idea:

[Anonymous 42]

My problem isn’t lighting them, IT’S PUTTING THEM OUT! Here in neighborhood match-light fire can run for miles and miles!

[Anonymous 54]

Cool.
Many a time Ive had an empty lighter.Now I know how.

Country Boy can survive!!

[Anonymous 0]

Thanks for sharing. I learned new things.

[sidecarParticipant 35837]

SwampFoot wrote:

in the wild, it is a VERY useful skill.

It’s a very useful skill growing up in the city, too.

Just saying.

Anonymous wrote:

My problem isn’t lighting them, IT’S PUTTING THEM OUT! Here in neighborhood match-light fire can run for miles and miles!

That’s only a problem when you’re downwind.

[Gravel PitParticipant]

Wow, ziplock bag and some water, never would have guessed. Awesome! I didn’t learn that in the boy scouts!

[HermitParticipant]

Very interesting and useful. I always carry one of those magnesium fire starters. They work very well.

The evil in women’s hearts leaves them no moral bounds as to inhibit them from descending to the lowest levels of darkness to acquire their self entitled desires.

[AncientwisdomParticipant 6089]

Cool s~~~!

Thanks for posting this.

I liked the 5 ways to start a fire with water, where he has a make-shift grill from blocks and plastic.

I keep imagining myself as Tom Hanks in Cast Away, having a bbq of lobster on the beach =D

Resident cynic.

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