Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
Posted March 25th, 2012 03:21 PM IPI've just bought a magnesium stick from Wal-mart. It is in the camping section and goes a long way towards creating a fire source without using matches.
I've also ordered five Firesteel rods from Firesteel.com
They're only 99 cents each so I got them for each vehicle, my BOB (bug-out-bag) and even my wallet.
Couple of little tips I learned, save up your dryer lint and put it in a water-proof container (like an old vitamin bottle). The lint makes great starter tinder. Also, a cotton ball with some petroleum jelly on it also works great.Two thousand years ago wise men sought Christ, wise men still do.
Techniques are situational, principles are universal.
Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain.
He who gets there first with the most...wins!
Minimal force may not be minimum force!
We don't rise to the occasion...we sink to the level of our training.
Instructor
Master Member
Posts: 237
Registered: Feb 2012
Posted March 28th, 2012 12:06 PM IPI have a number of fire rods and steels myself. I also have the magnesium one.
All things being equal your garden variety cigarette lighter with the child safety devise removed and flame set on maximum is the runaway favorite of mine 99% of the time. The old survival joke was when the end comes only the smokers will survive because they have a means to make fire on them all the time.
They used to sell strike anywhere matches, those were also great but they are hard to find nowadays. I haven't seen them in stores for some time.
I also am fond of the large fresnel lenses. I've even started a fire with the credit card sized one. The big ones work really well on sunny days.http://hapkido-online.com
skpotamus
Member
Posts: 28
Registered: May 2011
Posted April 1st, 2012 11:55 PM IPI've found that a lot of dryer lint won't work anymore. Too much fire retardant in clothing these days.
What I do for tinder is soak some cotton balls in Vaseline, then seal it up in little sections of drinking straws. Just use a pair of needle nose pliars and a bic and seal the ends up. When you need to burn something, rip the straw in half, strike with the flint and whoosh! You can make them whatever length, I usually store them in an old pill bottle. Saw some other guys were using them to store meds and stuff to.
I try to keep a lots of ways to start fires in my kit. A couple bics (with at least one sealed in a mylar sheet). A flint and magnesium stick. I definitely don't want to be without the ability to make fire.
Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
Quote: skpotamus wrote:
I've found that a lot of dryer lint won't work anymore. Too much fire retardant in clothing these days.
I found this out last night. My son and I are preparing for a short camping trip today, so last night I wanted a little practice time with making a fire.
The dryer lint wouldn't catch a spark at all.
The magnesium block worked, but you really have to shave enough off the block to catch the spark and last long enough to get a fire going.
The cotton ball/vasaline combo worked best of all using the fire steel.
Tonight at the campsite I'm going to use the fire steel method w/cotton balls & vasaline. I've always got matches as a back up, but I want to get as much experience this way as possible.
Good idea with the straws. Right now I've got them in little ziplock baggies that I've squished down and sealed up. I'll try the dryer lint again, but I wasn't impressed with it last night.Two thousand years ago wise men sought Christ, wise men still do.
Techniques are situational, principles are universal.
Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain.
He who gets there first with the most...wins!
Minimal force may not be minimum force!
We don't rise to the occasion...we sink to the level of our training.
Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
Posted April 3rd, 2012 07:11 PM IPMy son and I got back from our camping trip this morning. We had an awesome time! Although it was just an over-nighter we had the opportunity to test out several things. First, I had the opportunity to test out several of our flashlights to see how they looked in the great outdoors. Overall, very satisfied with each one for the intended purpose. Secondly, we did not use a single match for the camp fire. The dryer lint, as posted above, was a waste of time. The cotton ball with the vasaline the firesteeel and some lung power was the most consistent fire-starter. Very good tool to have on hand. Thirdly, I didn't have a chance to test out the Gerber (Bear Grylls) but I did have the opportunity to test out the KABAR knife that I have (one of them). It performed VERY well hacking up an old thick branch for the fire. It had the necessary heft and strength to make short work of it as well. Very impressed.
Good trip and good experience. Two thousand years ago wise men sought Christ, wise men still do.
Techniques are situational, principles are universal.
Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain.
He who gets there first with the most...wins!
Minimal force may not be minimum force!
We don't rise to the occasion...we sink to the level of our training.
Posted April 3rd, 2012 09:39 PM IPYou can get the dryer lint to work, but you just gotta make sure you run a couple of cotton only loads through it. Even then, some of the cotton is treated with a fire retardant these days. So pretty much stuck with running a few loads of towels or wash clothes to get the lint. The Vaseline cotton balls always worked best for me, enough so that it became my main go to with a fire steel to ignite it. Plus, you can rub the cotton balls on your feet if you start to get blisters on a long hike.
I tend to save the magnesium for when I'm using wet wood. Sometimes you just can't find dry wood. Sucks. The magnesium is better at getting a fire going.
I generally don't carry matches. In the same space I can carry a dozen matches and have a dozen fires. I can carry a mini bic and get hundreds. Seal one up in an old capri sun mylar bag using a clothes iron and it'll stay dry and relatively good condition for a long time.
Sounds like you guys had a good time. Some of my best memories are of camping with my dad.
Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
Quote: So pretty much stuck with running a few loads of towels or wash clothes to get the lint.
Thanks, I'll try that and see how it works. I agree that the Vasaline cotton ball is a good 'go-to' but it would be nice to have a secondary as well. I'll give this a shot.
Good advice on the magnesium for wet wood. It isn't easy though scraping the magnesium off the block! Really takes some effort, at least on the block I got at Walmart.
Yeah, we had a great time which is what I was hoping for. Two thousand years ago wise men sought Christ, wise men still do.
Techniques are situational, principles are universal.
Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain.
He who gets there first with the most...wins!
Minimal force may not be minimum force!
We don't rise to the occasion...we sink to the level of our training.
Posted April 6th, 2012 04:22 AM IPGlad to hear you had a great time, looking foreward to getting together and going over our plans for a weekend wilderness primative camp, i will try to get some others to come along as well so we can trade some thoughts and ideas.Excuses are like armpits, everyone has a couple and they stink.
Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
Posted April 7th, 2012 08:30 AM IPI'd like to see this happen. It sounds like a lot of fun and good experience. Hillsborough River State Park has primitive camping as well. I don't know how it stacks up against Ocala, perhaps you know? Two thousand years ago wise men sought Christ, wise men still do.
Techniques are situational, principles are universal.
Fast as the wind, quiet as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain.
He who gets there first with the most...wins!
Minimal force may not be minimum force!
We don't rise to the occasion...we sink to the level of our training.
Posted April 8th, 2012 02:22 AM IPWell the reason i really enjoyed the Ocala trips is due to the fact your fourced to pack in everything you need 5 miles and can see what it would be like and how fast you can travel with all your gear besides the weapons and ammo you would have in a real bug out scituation. The first time usually sux as most pack too heavy and realize that comfortable packs need only to weigh 40-65 lbs depending on how strong and in shape you are. In Ocalas primative area you hardly see anyone else so the forest is pretty much yoursa for the trip.Excuses are like armpits, everyone has a couple and they stink.
Kong Soo Do
Kwan Jang
Posts: 1237
Registered: Mar 2011
