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Thread: Fire Starter Info.

  1. #381
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    What a thread!

    Started in 2007 and added too steadily until 2014, then it took on a two year reresection cycle in 2015/2017/2019/2021.

    It's like no one ever discovered that Bic made lighters!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?


  2. #382
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    Well, I don't know how many times I've had to dig through the console on my truck looking for a bic lighter and only find one ferrocerium rod fire starter or Magnesium Fire Starter after another. Nearly froze to death once looking for a bic to flick...

    Alan

  3. #383
    Senior Member Michael aka Mac's Avatar
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    This is a Topic that will be Hot long after I die.

    Sadly, there are times that even the most skilled outdoorsman will not be able to get a fire going due to extreme weather conditions and what is on hand. I personally believe that one should know how to make a fire using all of the fire starting gadgets and techniques out there.

    Being a freelance outdoor gear reviewer, I have come across numerous gadgets that were either subpar, or down right useless. Lately it has been the latter as I have seen places like Amazon flooded with Asian knockoffs of survival equipment. Magnesium bar shavings that can't even be lit with a blow torch, Ferro rods that wont spark or come with a striker that is of the wrong material, fake waterproof matches that wont lit dry let alone wet.

    A majority of the time people buy this gear and do not test it out prior to their outdoor adventures only to find that in the field that they are not going to function properly.

    For those that are having no luck creating a fire using a Magnifying glass here are some possibly reasons: Let's start with the obvious reasons, there are too many clouds, too much foliage, blocking the sun. You need to have the sun rays focused into the magnifying glass, and the clouds are defusing these rays preventing you from doing this.

    Another major reason why you cannot start a fire on a sunny day is the magnification of your magnifying glass. This is most common with cheap $ Dollar Store magnifying glasses, and low quality gadgets (usually multi function survival tools). The $$ store magnifying glasses are typically 1.5 times magnification. This means that it is only magnifying 1.5X (times/multiplied) the magnification of what the human eye can see.

    A a 5X magnifying glass will focus a significantly hotter and more narrow beam of light focusing it to a single point which allows the tinder to combust, while a 10X even more so. SO in short, the greater the magnification of the magnifying glass equates to a more narrow and much hotter outcome. These are also more expensive, and the real trick is finding a magnifying glass with high magnification but a small form factor (fits in your hand)

    There are some gadgets that I just always have on me such as the Permanent match, that can create a total of 15,000 fires.

    Many of you are familiar with the Magnesium bar ( I should note that these should always be tested prior to your adventure as many of these out there are either fake or duds. Also WARNING these shavings form this bar burn at 4000 degree F and will literally melt through your pots and pans, glass jars, and even your driveway. They cannot be extinguished with water, but can be put out using table salt or baking soda but NOT baking powder. You simply need to deprive it of Oxygen so even an upside down pot over it will eventually put the flames out) , the Flint and steel, the Ferro Rod, and Bow and drill method.

    But you may not have heard of what is known as a Fire Piston which utilizes the Ideal Gas Law PV=NRT to combust a material using pressure. You simply put a piece of charred cloth into the receptacle and push the rod straight down once into the holder and then pull it out with the charred cloth now lit (ember).

    Another device using the same concept as the magnifying glass is a Solar Reflector Disc Lighter.

    Oh and since this is a Survival Website, I am going to mention a tinder source that so far none of you has mentioned.. Here is a Shout Out to all of you Hairy men out there, you're the Tinder source. Yep our beards, arm & chest hair, and the hair on top and below can be used as tinder.

    Although a majority of outdoorsman and women and survivalists are wearing layers of clothing not made from cotton, most of us always neglect to have our tighty whities to be made out of synthetics, and are instead wearing cotton undies. With pieces of your cotton underwear, you now have a means to make more charred cloth.

    Knowing all of the numerous fire making gadgets and techniques out there will probably one day save your life, or at least prevent you form losing your fingers or toes from frostbite. I remember this one trip i had at a hunter's log cabin where we arrived after dark and in freezing temperatures. I falsely assumed that the log cabin, since it had a fireplace and cast iron stove/heater, also had matches and or lighters, and my fire starting bag was in the truck about a mile out. I searched through the kitchen until I found some steel wool, and then took down the battery operated smoke/CO2 detector, took out the 9 Volt battery, tore a piece of the steel wool off, and used the battery to start a fire both in the fireplace and cast iron wood burning stove/heater.

    A survivalist utilizes all that is around him or her to survive situations. It is not just what one brings with them that helps them to survive but also what is available all around them in the environment.
    Last edited by Rick; 02-06-2022 at 03:44 PM. Reason: Removed Link

  4. #384
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Sorry, but IMHO, the permanent match, fire piston and the solar reflector and pieces of junk. That's why God invented the BIC lighter. To each his own.

  5. #385
    Senior Member Michael aka Mac's Avatar
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    The sad truth is more than 350 million disposable lighters end up in landfills every year, and some are even eaten by animals.
    That means our food, land, and water can easily be contaminated by hazardous waste. - google search

    Well Rick, everyone has their own opinion, its our God given right, and one of our freedoms here in the USA.

    I am a freelance gear reviewer, and depending on who makes the fire piston, the permanent match or the solar disc reflector lighter will determine if they work or not. The permanent matches that I own are now going on 22 years old. How long has that Bic lighter lasted you?

    The whole point of a survivalist is to find self sustainable methods and innovations to keep us alive. If god forbid you ended up marooned on a deserted island Rick, that Bic lighter in the long run is going to be useless. When the fuel runs out so does your fire making source. A fire piston on the other hand, could possibly last 10 years or more, before the rubber seal fails and you lose compression.

  6. #386
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    You really don't have a clue, do you?
    Can't Means Won't

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  7. #387
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    About as long as that permanent match. But my BIC won't leak fuel everywhere. If you like them, good on ya. I don't.

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