5 tricks to start a fire
Other than wishing he’d gone to the dentist recently, the number one thing on Tom Hanks’ wish list during the movie Castaway was knowing how to make fire. He was finally able to get a fire started through the friction method, but not before rubbing his hands raw and suffering hours of frustration. Unfortunately for Tom, there were no Bic lighters in the Fed Ex boxes that he opened after being stranded on a deserted island!
If you’re ever in a survival situation in the wilderness, this is a skill that you will wish you possessed. Other than water and shelter, fire is very likely the most important thing you’ll need to survive. After all, it’s good for warmth from the cold, it can purify water, melt snow for water, provide a cooking flame and heat to dry wet clothes, create smoke for rescue signals, scare away animals, provide light and much more.
Check out this article, Fire for Survival Part One: Materials and Ignition. The author lists the materials needed for starting a fire, adds some effective fire starters and then gets into ignition sources.
As with just about everything else when it comes to survival, it’s all about being prepared. Even if you have a fire-starting manual with you when you find yourself in a survival situation, it could still take longer than you’ll have time for to get a fire going. Know how to do it before it happens
Here’s a top five list of ways to get a fire started:
- Friction-based method – probably the most difficult way to start a fire and one that will make you wish you had a Bic lighter more than any other.
- Bow drill – the most effective of the friction-based methods.
- Flint and steel – matches get wet, so a flint and steel set is something you’ll want to keep with you.
- Lens-based method – remember when you used a magnifying glass and the sun to melt stuff as a kid? Same principle here.
- Batteries and steel wool – Rub the wool on the battery contacts until it warms and then burns.
Are there any other ways you’ve used to get a fire started? Which methods do you prefer? What would you recommend to a novice? Which method would you not even wish on your worst enemy? Hope to hear from you.
Get the magnesium block with the flint, Shave the block & put the shavings in a sealed container. Bought 6 containers of this from a guy at a gun show. keep the flint & steel with this. Pour out a pile about the size of a quarter, put kindling around it. you won’t get your hands away fast enough!
Great ideas. Ladies of certain ages always have tampons with them. You could use the cotton as the tinder. Saw that on a survival TV show.
A Boy Scout buddy heater works very well. You can use a small flat can similar to what tuna is packed in and empty the can and line with rolled cardboard. With a snug fit of the card board, melt wax and pour wax almost to the top of the cardboard. The cardboard will serve as the wick if it’s not covered with wax. This same concept can be used with a gallon can and kept in the trunk of your car if you live in the cold country. It will not spill and it will last a very long time ( FOREVER )
Thanks – Don ( Texas Ex-Scoutmaster )
The gallon container can be used very effectively as an emergency heat source in case you get stranded. It will consume some of the oxygen in your car unless you open a window slightly.
I have found a way to ensure that both my first aid kit and my fire starting kit are up to speed. Alcohol prep pads are soaked in highly flammable alcohol. A mag rod throws plenty of sparks to ignite the alcohol in a prep. Just build your teepee, place a alcohol prep at its heart, fire some sparks at it and you have an instant fire. They burn with a bluish, almost invisible flame, so be careful.
Really those are the 5 ways to start a fire? Not a Bic, Zippo, Storm matches, Fero rod, unless that falls in with flint and steel, or Potassium Permanganate?
Place bullet in barrel of rifle wiggle side to side . slug will come loose
Pour power pn leafs put empty cartridge in gun fire primer at power instant fire
Neat trick, it sounds like something cowboys did in the westerns!
Have you tried this? Don’t think so. Primer generates enough air movement to blow powder away.
Won’t usually work with a rifle (the hot gas will cool considerably on its travel down the barrel, but will work quite well with a pistol (either a revolver or auto-loader). You get best results by covering the powder pile with pine needles or crumbled leaves, then placing the barrel at the edge of the powder.
Char some punky wood and keep in altoids can. It will catch a spark similar to char cloth. If you run out there is punky wood all over in the woods. Just char some more in your current fire.
Char it by letting it burn for a few seconds.
I have used most of the methods discussed above and prefer the fire piston (requires a small bb if char cloth) with vasaline soaked cotton ball as tinder. Very easy to get flame once you master the technique of the piston. Piston requires a lot of strength to compress fully to achieve the pressure require for ignition. My second most preferred method is the cerro rod. A vasaline soaked cotton ball is used as tender here also. Trick to getting ignition is to spread the fibers of the cotton and direct the sparks from the striking of the rod into the tinder. Place the rod vertically into the tinder and make short controlled strokes of the rod. The sparks should land on the tinder. There is a new paracord (Fire cord) that has an eigth strand of flammible material for fire starting. I have some, but have not tested yet.
Hey Steve thanks for your tip on the Vaseline and cotton balls, and the Swedish fire log and the rope knot’s and all the other life saving skills you share. Your a great asset to your family and neighbors.
I used to smoke (I quit years ago) and since I had the habit of carrying a lighter with me all the time I never quit and make sure I always have a bic style lighter with me. Over time I have added a purpose made emergence lighter that uses lighter fluid and a flint and steel. When I am out and about in the woods I always look for cedar trees or limbs that have been downed and “fat wood” in the form of pine knots or heartwood.
I use dried “Elk Turds” with a little wax soaked into them or dripped onto them. Lit my stove everyday this last winter this way. Perfect size to burn long enough to get a fire going.
I just thought of this idea, If you have gasoline ( Put a very small amount ) On something steel and hit it with something else steel and make a spark, Could probably work ?
If I may, I’d like to suggest a Zippo lighter instead of a Bic. (or in addition to one). They truly are windproof, and don’t blow out.
Clothes dryer lint is a great fire starter. Lights quickly wit a small spark.
You took the words out of my mouth. I was about to extol the merrits of dryer lint. Let’s see. It’s dust, it’s dry(duh), and it packs easily. I have two gallon-sized zip-lock bags filled with it.
Dryer lint only works if it is only cotton.
I always carry a small bag of Fritos in my backpack. Great as a survival food, but if you crumble them they light easily and burn hot. Lot’s of oil in them.
cotton balls and vasoline in a film canister burns readily and you can pull apart only the amount you need ….also works for chapped lips, stuck zippers etc.
vasoline & cotton balls … hmmm … hadn’t heard that one but it sounds good, and anything that’s multipurpose is a good thing in the woods … I’ve found a few cedar shakes (get a bundle from your local ‘big box’ building supply store – they’re cheap if you don’t get the premium quality ones, which you don’t need since they’re gonna burn up, not go on your house)
easy to split, pretty easy to keep dry, and they can be used as message boards with a crayon or carpenters’ pencil.
what really make a fire hard or easy is, in my mind, the tinder … proper tinder will make or break you … I use char cloth and a flint & steel in a cute little brass container with a burning lens on top …
and (duh) practice practice practice …
we often collect dry grass and the moss/witches hair off trees to start a fire quickly. the small propane torches are a quick way to light a fire, one we often don’t think of. I have told my girls to pull the lint out of their pockets and the inside of their shirts where the button holes and buttons are. Also keep some dryer lint in a water proof container or put it in card board egg cartons with a small bit of wax and keep a few in the car or back pack.
Encourage the kids to play with rocks and try to get sparks. This is fun and they learn a valuable lesson that may come in handy some time.
(dont forget hair spray burns very well so spray some on a dryer sheet and keep it with you both will burn very well)
Any car battery w/jumpers briefly struck together will really spark.
For the trail, small vitamin screw top vials stuffed with the cotton fillers that come in them, then pre-greased with Vaseline -will start many fires using a little bit at a time.
Peel off he dead ‘outer-layer’ of Yellow-Birch(won’t harm tree), it will burn even when wet -if available or carry some with you.
Lightly oil soaked cardboard is a great fire-starter, lights easy, rip off a small strip to ignite dry wood. Prepare some and keep it handy at home, camp or car. It will go a long way, one strip at a time!
A hand-shaped clear piece of ice into a convex lens will start a fire in winter in sunlight, best at its highest point in the day-(11am-1pm).
Wet, but seasoned dead standing wood is dry inside the outer layer, so should be be split apart to access the dry center wood if in the wild and MUST build a fire fast. Chopping will help warm you up too.
And of course plain dry newspapers, crumpled up one sheet at a time into a compressed pile w/kindling or dry scrap wood.
The most valuable item char-cloth take a old t shirt cut into 2in squares and char in a Altoids tin use with any tinder will take smallest spark and start to glow a few puffs of breath will fire it up NOW
Thank you Mr. Bates you rock. I thank you for all of your hard work
Dryer lint is fabulous for starting fire, just one good spark is all you need, and burns fast and hot!!
Thank you for sharing all the useful information!
I always carry at least one solid fuel tablet when hiking or hunting. Easy to light, will burn for about ten minutes, will get damp kindling burning. Available at most outdoor outfitters.
A styrofoam cup catches fire pretty easily. Also, it’s waterproof and can be crumbled into a small space for storage.
nice, never thought about a Styrofoam
I appreciate this site so much. Frank, you are my hero! I also love to read the others comments. I am a single senior woman living alone in the deep woods, and need as much advice as I can get to prepare myself. Just went to the website “Gofastandlight” as mentioned above, and found some great deals. Thank you all, for all of your knowledge and input. Stay safe, and stay ready!
Frank,
I just want to Thank you for all of the hard work you do putting this material together for us. I know it takes alot of time and research and You do a Awesome job.
Thanks again,
Buddy
Google firestarting. There are videos showing exactly how to use the various tools and methods. One shows setting an orange on fire with friction – if all you had was an orange you;d appreciate knowing this. Bizarre but, whatever works IMO.
I find that when in a hurry to start a fire in my fireplace, it is very quick and easy to use Trioxane tablets.
How does that work?
I don’t know if many people have heard of fire cupcakes? I never had until my wife found a recipe. Gather dried wood chips such as chips produced by a chain saw, let them dry. Put the chips in the small cupcake papers ( which are waxed by the way) and pour melted parafin over the chips. When the wax sets you have a long burning source of fire. The only problem is that it can’t be lit by spark. A cig lighter can do the trick. You can store these things forever and they work even if they are melted.
Where I live we use what is called lighter knots. Pine that contains resin. Just a sliver will produce a good fire. You can’t beat BICs or flint and steel on dryer lint to get the whole thing going. GOD bless, be prepared, we will beat what’s ahead.
Dear Jerry, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading your post. I wish that everybody (myself included) had the attitude and the spirit that your post has. Thank you, and God bless you as well.
jerry, That’s a good idea, but I believe the piece is about starting a fire in an emergency. Do you always carry one of those in your pocket? If you get stranded on the side of the highway or on a hike, would you have one of those on hand? Better to carry a flint kit on your key ring. They’re available at most sporting goods stores or Harbor Freight tools has one for about $2.99.
Goggle “Blast Match” …. Awesome little fire starters about the size of a lighter that shoots 3000 degree sparks and works in any weather including high winds. They’re good for 1000’s of lights to!!!
They sound delicious, Just kidding. Great Idea I will have to try that thank you.
When casting the “cupcake”, place a “stay lit” birthday candle in the center for a wick. Ever try to blow one out?
SportsmanGuide.com has premade parifin and sawdust fire starters. They work very well.Light quick and burn hot.
Did you mean the square batteries?
9 Volt will do just fine and are a lot easier to carry.
Thank you Mr. Bates, ALL OF YOUR INFORMATIO N HAS BEEN MOST INCITEFUL TAKE CARE, AND CONTNUE TO WAKE SLEEPERS UP GOD BLESS :)
Thanks.
I’m going to try them all.
I not sure I’ll be successful though.
After getting it lit, keep a small container of sawdust and kerosene or diesel fuel to really get it going. I use this instead of fat iighter to start my stove at home. Only takes a little and is lightweight if you just dampen the sawdust just enough. Add a little and shake container until damp. Not enough for any to run out in case you don’t close it all the way and it gets knocked over. Heavy plastic container or coffee can works well
My all time favourite fire starter comes from go fast go light. They are a camping/backpacking supplier. I do a lot of motorcycle traveling and camping. It’s a magnesium stick with a flint rod embedded in it. The whole thing is embedded in a cedar handle with a leather thong threaded through a hacksaw blade. Use the hacksaw blade to shave some of the cedar handle for tinder, then shave some magnesium onto the cedar. Again use the hacksaw to strike the flint rod. Soaking wet it still works. I have one in the bikes tool kit, the car and the boat and camping gear. I’m never more than 200 yards from one.
I’m going to practice the lens method. I can’t do anything or go anywhere without my glasses, might as well practice lighting fires with them. Flint and steel is next on the list to learn. I already have waxed matches in my kit, but once they’re gone….
Road flares work great to start fires if you pack one in your car and get stranded. waterproof matches. I always pack cotton balls covered in vaseline in a sandwich bag, one ball ignites with a spark and burn for around five min even in windy conditions.
Unless you could find a steel wool tree growing in the forest and a Wa Wa close by to buy batteries Not logical to find yourself with a lot of choices especially a flash light and a pocket full of steel wool If so you will probably wake up out of a bad dream and find yourself in your own garage Keep in mind that 80% of the population would perish in a survival situation Remember the Boy Scouts motto Be Prepared My tip before venturing out into the wilderness get your hands on a good multipurpose knife and a few strike on anything damp proof matches This tip comes from a Vietnam Veteran
I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, not sure if its even possible.
Dave, as a young boy scout, I found out by trial it is possible IF you have a LOT of determination. Cheat and get a flint kit!!
amen I keep a steel match with me. Is that cheating.
A thin strip of light weight foil about 6 inches long crimped in the center then place the loose ends on the terminals of a AA battery or larger. The foil will ignite at the fold in the center.
I want to “like” Jerry’s post. A mini bic lighter is part of my EDC. And I don’t smoke. Sure does start some interesting conversations when I offer a light to friends who smoke, but don’t have a light!
I have several hand made fire pistons. My favorite is the one I designed to work with a modified, but fully functional black–powder rifle ball–starter. Chat cloth is also the best material for creating and holding an ember when using the diesel method.
I make chat cloth in large quantity using a Christmas cookie tin. I cut big circles of flannel our other 100% cotton cloth, till I fill it. Press the lid on. Is not airtight and gas will escape, but no air can get in to support combustion. Put it in the fireplace, woodsstove, or on the “barby”.
Be aware even chat cloth is tough to use if the weather is damp. And then when you have an ember you still have to convert that to a flame!!!
When we would stay in the mountains as kids. We would get all our wood for burning there at the site so that way everyone had to help. Then we would find a really rich pine tree, and harvest the resin and if you look a lot of the limbs have knots with the resin in them. These items are like using gasoline to start a fire, then pine cones and needles. Very easy to light and once to pine is burining your harder woods do great. We would also use rocks to make a type of blast furnace, which ever way the wind was blowing we would make the smaller inlet port where the wind would blow through it and it was better than laying down and blowing it yourself and catching your hair on fire.
My preferred “no matches” method is a flint and steel.Also,when I am out with my smokepole,I can use the gun lock to start a bit of char cloth.For those of you that don’t carry a flintlock rifle and a possibles bag,a very handy item that takes up virtually no space is a credit card-size plastic fresnel lens,which can be purchased at many book and bible stores.It is as thin as a piece of paper,flexible,and therefore unbreakable.Try it-you’ll like it. Another method that I learned from my Malasian grandfather is largely unknown in the Western world uses a bamboo stalk of 2-3″ in diameter.Split it lengthwise.In one piece,on the outer side,cut a notch that goes thru to the inside of the stalk half.What you then have is something resembling a round-bottomed boat with a hole in it.Next,you secure the other piece by stepping on it with your foot with one edge up.Place the piece with the hole crosswise to the piece being held by your foot,with the edge transsecting the hole in the free piece.You then commence with a rapid back-and-forth motion.soon,burning bamboo dust will begin to fill the hole in the free piece.You then tip the coal into your tinder,and you have a fire.
Something I always keep with me is a 1-2 1 inch sections of a fire steel rod I picked up at a gun and knife show that I sawed done. One is on my key chain and the other woven into my para cord with an inch and a half to 2 inch hacksaw blade. In a Altoids tin, the tin has a few holes for the cut coat hanger to use as a stove. In the tin I keep a few tiny plastic vials with a few chosen items to aid in fire making. one has shredded magnesium, another contains small section of char cloth and the last two contains potassium permanganate and glycerin (each are safe when separated but produce fire after a minute or so when a few drops of glycerin are dropped on to the PP.
additionally, I keep a small file that I rubbed Berts Bees wax lip balm rubbed and impregnated into a cotton ball. Although it does light pretty good with the wax protecting the cotton if in a damp/wet environment, its great to pull out and rub on your lips if out hunting and chapping of the lips starts. Rub a little of that on your lips and your good to go. I dont know the number of chap sticks and the like that have melted and leaked in my glove box on hot day…
Getting back to the firesteel and hack saw, it is packed to ignite the magnesium I shaved off an old bar I picked up at Bass Pro or to ignite the char cloth.
Everyone talks about using dryer lint and bringing some along is always fin, but if in the field, dont forget to reach into the deepest depths of you pants and jacket pockets for little lint stuck in the bottom corner.
I have tried the fire drill, used the bow drill with some success gave on ever trying to get enough heat off a fire saw. Ill only pick that back up if actually stuck on an island and no other means. Quite frankly, I should be ok since I leaving flying to birds.
Well thats all I have to contribute at this time. Feel free to comment or ask any questions.
I keep a bag full of pine pitch and a cig lighter in my pack, very helpful way to get your fire going. If that doesn’t work you probably have bigger problems.
EVEN a dead Bic Lighter will produce the capacity to start a fire.. It is similar to scraping the soft magnesium off of a firestarter,, Rotate the Thumb-wheel slowly, do not create spark, this small amount of flint filings WILL ignite most dry material, if they are collected with care and ignited by sparking the lighter on them.. A lighter with a useable flint is not garbage.. A ziplock with ‘dryer lint’ does not take up critical space in a ‘go-bag’.. But, please check to make sure the lint collected will ignite, YES there is a difference in dryer lint, the best is from Jeans and cotton clothing.. some call me Nuts,, I like to consider myself as thinking outside the box.. We do not FULLY realize the things we all take for granted each and every day.. spend a few hours in your house with the Main Breaker off,, a few hours with your gas turned off, with your water turned off.. I have, just to see what could be possible with my own supplies.. REMEMBER to relight any pilot lights and reset anything affected by your self induced outages.. It is a good drill to run your family thru if there were any TEMPORARY public shut down of your gas, electric, and water supplies.. RUN DRILLS, Talk about the “what-ifs” if this or that happened.. IF and WHEN something does go down, You and Yours will know what to do “when the lights go out”.. Thanks for reading, and everyones input,, and God Bless those who prepare..
Frank,
The #1 thing about starting a fire for heat or cooking is to;
Start small (TINY TWIGS) like dead pine branches.
Have the next four or five sizes of sticks ready to go.
Dont smother the fire, each time you add to it let it det hot (little smoke)
John
I keep a plastic bag filled with drier lint and a magnesium type striker in my survival gear I don’t worry about wet kindling in case of rain.
Frank Bates, I love you! Thank you for ALL the e-mails that make this old girl feel much better! Keep up the good work! I especially like the battery/steel wool! I always have steel wool in my gear! Bless you Frank!
Razz, Just make sure to pack them so as not to come in contact with each other. Could be a bad surprise. Saw it happen to a guy camping one time. Luckily for him they didn’t come together till he set his pack down.
Batteries and steel wool is a great one! Makes sense. The others I have already stored in mind , in event of emergency. Thanks! PK
various types of tree limbs are very difficult to start a fire using bow drill method-spent one entire day trying-wasn’t successful
Put your kids into Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts and read their study material with them. If you don’t already know how to start a fire, by now and you are reading this… you’re not living on the edge, you are, in fact, taking up to much space and need to withdraw from the gene pool.
The most important part of starting a fire is to have the tinder and wood available and within reach. Once you have the fire started it is too late to go looking for wood unless you want to start all over again.
I had a group of Cub Scouts and their fathers out on a field trip one weekedn, part of the exercise was for them to start a fire. I was amazed that the boys were better fire starters than most of the fathers. I was blown away when I saw one father trying to light a piece of 2×4 with a wooden stick match. The match stick is the size it is for a reason. The strike anywhere head will only create enough heat to start the match stick on fire it will not light a 2×4. Pick your tinder carefully the smaller and dryer the better, just like anything in life you have to start small and build up.
partial to flint and steel and for accelerant i like pitch from coniferous trees, birch bark and cheesies work really well too
It is not hard to start a file with cerium “fire steel” rods. I find that dryer lint or cotton balls make excellent spark targets, and usually get flame in one or two strikes. I use one of those magnesium sticks, but instead of scraping the magnesium, I use lint; it works better. Also, a few drops of alcohol, camp fuel, or other flammable liquid are pretty good at turning spark into flame.
I have tried to use an empty Bic lighter as a source of spark, and never was able to ignite lint. But those fire steel rods, with a piece of hacksaw blade work great.
When I was about 12, I learned to make file with a fire drill. I cheated: I used my dad’s drill press.
The real problem is the “naked into the wilderness scenario”. For that, I probably has to be the bow and drill method, with totally scavenged materials. Not so easy! In a total collapse situation, rare earth metals like cerium will probably not be available.
Next on the agenda: experiment with a diesel fire starter, the piston method. That could be fashioned with primitive technology, but probably not while you are on the move pursued by gubbermint agents. Anybody out there have experience with fire pistons?
Thanks for the tips. It might be good to maintain materials for all of these methods.
Along with your flint and steel you need to make and keep char cloth. The way I make char is, 1. Take Tim snips and cut the top and bottom off a soda pop can. Cut the can down the side and flatten out the can. Fold it in half, the painted side out. Take a few small 1- 1 1/2″ awards of cotton… Perhaps from a used up T-shirt. Place the squares between the folded can. Set the can on a fire source on medium low heat. Check the cloth occasionally. When it turns black you have char. I use an old Altoids tin to keep my char and store it with my fire starting kit.
Another must have is a magnesium fire starting stock. It has a spark striker on one side. Just use a pocket knife to scrape off a one inch circle of magnesium. Place the pile on a dry leaf, in some dryer lint, in an old bird nest…anything that will catch easily. Hold the stick, striker side up and use your pocket knife to scrape down, directing the Sparks onto the pile of magnesium. Be careful. When it lights it will burn, white hot. You can also use the striker to put a spark on your char.
One other note, keep a multi-blade pocket knife and always use the same blade to shave the magnesium and to use the striker. It does tend to wear out a blade over time.
Clothes dryer lint is an excellent fire starter. I clean the dryer vent in the door and put the lint in a empty medicine bottle. Lightweight for bug-out bag.
Water # 1, Fire #2 Having the knowhow of the 5 different fire starters is most important information. Learn them by “Doing”, and once you do, then go out and by 10’s yes, even hundreds of propane lighters ! Cheapies. Throw them in your Bug-out or Scram- bag. Their not that large or heavy, and you never know how long you will live like this. Being ready like a “boy scout” will never do you wrong. After that, “Defense” ! Having a 9mm or a .45 acp is real good, but think, how many rounds can I carry of those ? Think .22 pistol and even a brake-down 10/22 or a remington AR-7. Tactical .22 rifle which will fit real good in a back-pac. Think again of how many rounds you can carry of that compared to heavier handgun ammo….and cheap! At Wal-Mart, a brick of 550 round’s for less than $20.00. ” Red Dawn “…..Bring it !!!
My son and I started to build a survival kit couple years ago. One of the things that we added to it was a Flint and steel – matches… Great one!
Car Road Flares work too. I always line my sleeping bags and towels with newspaper to keep things dry and to have dry paper to start the fire.