Post by Arlene on Aug 21, 2005 16:34:10 GMT -5
If you've ever been camping or in a situation where you needed a fire, but had no matches, then you will want to take note of the simple steps listed here for starting a fire without matches.
Frankly, the best solution is to always have an ample store of dry matches with you. But there may come a time when you cannot locate matches.
Granted, if you have to keep flint and steel with you, surely you can keep up with a few matches. However, this is a skill that has come in very handy for me over the years and I think that it will never be a skill that I will be sorry I learned or something I will never use.
Here are the things you need to gather up ahead of time. At the end of the article I will include a good resource for these items.
A piece of flint rock
A piece of steel
A Tin box that pastille candies come in
100% cotton cloth for making Char-cloth
Very dry grass, or hemp
Tender, such as small pieces of dry wood
A metal water-resistant Tender Box
Fuel wood
Here is the basic procedure for starting a fire with flint and steel...
First, you make a spark by striking the flint with the steel. Remember to strike the flint WITH the steel, not the other way around. With a little practice, you will even be able to direct the sparks!
Next, you catch the spark on a piece of char-cloth. Striking the flint and catching the spark is usually done in close quarters. Hunker down over the sparks and char-cloth, the sparks won't hurt you, they aren't that hot. And your body will protect the process from wind and weather. The spark will burn on the char-cloth and spread, but will not actually catch on fire.
Next, you carry the spark to some dry material such as grass, hemp, or twine. Place the char-cloth in a nest-like space you have made in the dry grass, and gently blow on it. This material will catch on fire quickly, so you must already have your tender and fuel wood ready for a fire.
Quickly place the burning grass in your fire area and add tender, starting with very small tender first and adding larger and larger tender until you have a good flame going.
When you have a strong flame you can begin adding the large pieces of fuel wood.
Let's discuss each component of the fire starting process.
Flint rock can be found throughout the United States. I usually go out and walk the cattle trails on our farm and kick up an arrowhead or two which are commonly made from flint.
If you are not familiar with what flint rock looks like, don't worry, just buy a piece or two and then you will have a good sample to compare it with when you go looking for it.
When you get your piece of steel, the biggest concern is that you really have steel and not some other type of metal. I have seen other metals make a spark, but not consistantly and not as well as steel. It's just not worth the time and bother NOT to have the proper equipment. A good place to have a "striker" made is a blacksmith shop. This noble profession has been making a wonderful comeback in the last 20 years or so. It shouldn't be too difficult to find one.
A striker is a thin piece of steel that has been shaped to fit around your fingers. It is in a "C" shape. Place all four of your fingers together and bend them back toward your palm. The striker is placed around your fingers with the opening of the "C" facing your palm. The striker fits between your first and second knuckles. Strikers are normally 1/2" across and about 1/2" thick. It is made this way so that you can grasp it firmly and strike the flint very hard to get some good bright sparks. This is not an investment that will ever wear out. I have had the same striker for 13 years and it will last another 100 years!
Now, you may have an ingenious idea for another type of striker. There are all kinds of ways to accomplish all kinds of tasks!
Just as long as it is steel, go for it!
Your next step is to make Char-cloth. You'll need a fire to make this, which makes us ask, "Which came first, the fire or the Char-cloth?" This little invention is very old indeed, and I have updated it's manufacture to make it easy on you.
Char-cloth is used to catch a spark from the steel as it strikes the flint. The cloth will carry the spark and keep it hot as you start the fire.
You need a tin box that pastille candies come in. Usually these little boxes are round and fit in the palm of your hand. The top comes completely off the bottom, there is no hinge.
Pierce a hole in the top center of the tin using a small finishing nail. Place the tin in the fire and burn off the painted label. This is important because the smoke that comes from the paint can interfere with making your cloth.
Next, take your 100% cotton cloth and cut it up into small squares about 1 inch by 1 inch. Put 10-15 of these little pieces of cloth in the tin. The object here is to burn the fabric to a charred state but not to the point that they are falling apart. I fashion a coat hanger around the tin so that I can move it around in the fire and take it out as I please.
Place the tin in the fire and watch it carefully. When smoke begins to come out of the hole in the top of the tin, pull the tin out of the fire a bit, shake it, and put it back in the fire. The shaking separates the pieces of cloth and exposes them to the heat of the fire. Repeat this process until when you put the tin in the fire, it no longer smokes.
When the tin cools, open it and examine the cloth. It should be completely black, not crumbly, and with no patches of un-burnt cloth present. If there is un-burnt cloth present, you need to re-burn it in the tin again. If it is crumbly, you can still use it but it will not last long in storage. Again, practice will make perfect.
Now it is time get your hemp or grass nests ready. I use plain old grass twine that can be bought at the hardware store in small spools. I use the thick twine, not the type used to tie packages. Un-roll about 5 inches of twine. Pull apart the fibers and fasion it into a little "nest". Use the same hand action as in making a Pinch Pot out of clay.
I make a lot of these, 10-15 at a time and have them on hand.
Your tender is as important as anything else in the firestarting process. Choose tender that is very dry, and ranges from very fine to small in size. I prefer to use dry, dead grass, dry leaves, dry wood shavings, and small pieces of dry wood. I simply go to the wood pile and pick up what I need and store it in a muslin bag until I need it. Don't be tempted to store tender in a plastic bag. There may be a bit of moisture in the tender and it will simply stay there. If you store it in a cloth the moisture will be able to evaporate.
Finally, there is the fuel wood. You need to remember to start with small pieces of wood and work your way, as each piece catches on fire, to a larger piece of wood. Use as dry of wood as you can find. At home, store your wood in a protected area for a year before using it to ensure that it is dry.
As with any worth-while skill, firestarting takes some practical experience. Use cook outs and fireplace fires to practice your newly found firestarting skills.
Don't give up on starting a fire without matches. It is not an easy task, but you can do it. Remember to gather your materials before starting, and to start with small tender, gradually working up to the larger pieces of wood, you'll do fine!
Frankly, the best solution is to always have an ample store of dry matches with you. But there may come a time when you cannot locate matches.
Granted, if you have to keep flint and steel with you, surely you can keep up with a few matches. However, this is a skill that has come in very handy for me over the years and I think that it will never be a skill that I will be sorry I learned or something I will never use.
Here are the things you need to gather up ahead of time. At the end of the article I will include a good resource for these items.
A piece of flint rock
A piece of steel
A Tin box that pastille candies come in
100% cotton cloth for making Char-cloth
Very dry grass, or hemp
Tender, such as small pieces of dry wood
A metal water-resistant Tender Box
Fuel wood
Here is the basic procedure for starting a fire with flint and steel...
First, you make a spark by striking the flint with the steel. Remember to strike the flint WITH the steel, not the other way around. With a little practice, you will even be able to direct the sparks!
Next, you catch the spark on a piece of char-cloth. Striking the flint and catching the spark is usually done in close quarters. Hunker down over the sparks and char-cloth, the sparks won't hurt you, they aren't that hot. And your body will protect the process from wind and weather. The spark will burn on the char-cloth and spread, but will not actually catch on fire.
Next, you carry the spark to some dry material such as grass, hemp, or twine. Place the char-cloth in a nest-like space you have made in the dry grass, and gently blow on it. This material will catch on fire quickly, so you must already have your tender and fuel wood ready for a fire.
Quickly place the burning grass in your fire area and add tender, starting with very small tender first and adding larger and larger tender until you have a good flame going.
When you have a strong flame you can begin adding the large pieces of fuel wood.
Let's discuss each component of the fire starting process.
Flint rock can be found throughout the United States. I usually go out and walk the cattle trails on our farm and kick up an arrowhead or two which are commonly made from flint.
If you are not familiar with what flint rock looks like, don't worry, just buy a piece or two and then you will have a good sample to compare it with when you go looking for it.
When you get your piece of steel, the biggest concern is that you really have steel and not some other type of metal. I have seen other metals make a spark, but not consistantly and not as well as steel. It's just not worth the time and bother NOT to have the proper equipment. A good place to have a "striker" made is a blacksmith shop. This noble profession has been making a wonderful comeback in the last 20 years or so. It shouldn't be too difficult to find one.
A striker is a thin piece of steel that has been shaped to fit around your fingers. It is in a "C" shape. Place all four of your fingers together and bend them back toward your palm. The striker is placed around your fingers with the opening of the "C" facing your palm. The striker fits between your first and second knuckles. Strikers are normally 1/2" across and about 1/2" thick. It is made this way so that you can grasp it firmly and strike the flint very hard to get some good bright sparks. This is not an investment that will ever wear out. I have had the same striker for 13 years and it will last another 100 years!
Now, you may have an ingenious idea for another type of striker. There are all kinds of ways to accomplish all kinds of tasks!
Just as long as it is steel, go for it!
Your next step is to make Char-cloth. You'll need a fire to make this, which makes us ask, "Which came first, the fire or the Char-cloth?" This little invention is very old indeed, and I have updated it's manufacture to make it easy on you.
Char-cloth is used to catch a spark from the steel as it strikes the flint. The cloth will carry the spark and keep it hot as you start the fire.
You need a tin box that pastille candies come in. Usually these little boxes are round and fit in the palm of your hand. The top comes completely off the bottom, there is no hinge.
Pierce a hole in the top center of the tin using a small finishing nail. Place the tin in the fire and burn off the painted label. This is important because the smoke that comes from the paint can interfere with making your cloth.
Next, take your 100% cotton cloth and cut it up into small squares about 1 inch by 1 inch. Put 10-15 of these little pieces of cloth in the tin. The object here is to burn the fabric to a charred state but not to the point that they are falling apart. I fashion a coat hanger around the tin so that I can move it around in the fire and take it out as I please.
Place the tin in the fire and watch it carefully. When smoke begins to come out of the hole in the top of the tin, pull the tin out of the fire a bit, shake it, and put it back in the fire. The shaking separates the pieces of cloth and exposes them to the heat of the fire. Repeat this process until when you put the tin in the fire, it no longer smokes.
When the tin cools, open it and examine the cloth. It should be completely black, not crumbly, and with no patches of un-burnt cloth present. If there is un-burnt cloth present, you need to re-burn it in the tin again. If it is crumbly, you can still use it but it will not last long in storage. Again, practice will make perfect.
Now it is time get your hemp or grass nests ready. I use plain old grass twine that can be bought at the hardware store in small spools. I use the thick twine, not the type used to tie packages. Un-roll about 5 inches of twine. Pull apart the fibers and fasion it into a little "nest". Use the same hand action as in making a Pinch Pot out of clay.
I make a lot of these, 10-15 at a time and have them on hand.
Your tender is as important as anything else in the firestarting process. Choose tender that is very dry, and ranges from very fine to small in size. I prefer to use dry, dead grass, dry leaves, dry wood shavings, and small pieces of dry wood. I simply go to the wood pile and pick up what I need and store it in a muslin bag until I need it. Don't be tempted to store tender in a plastic bag. There may be a bit of moisture in the tender and it will simply stay there. If you store it in a cloth the moisture will be able to evaporate.
Finally, there is the fuel wood. You need to remember to start with small pieces of wood and work your way, as each piece catches on fire, to a larger piece of wood. Use as dry of wood as you can find. At home, store your wood in a protected area for a year before using it to ensure that it is dry.
As with any worth-while skill, firestarting takes some practical experience. Use cook outs and fireplace fires to practice your newly found firestarting skills.
Don't give up on starting a fire without matches. It is not an easy task, but you can do it. Remember to gather your materials before starting, and to start with small tender, gradually working up to the larger pieces of wood, you'll do fine!
