Firestarting Help!

I learned a couple of things on a recent primitive overnight camping trip. The first was that I need help making fires. I've mastered the art of one match fires and I'm ready to move on to more primitive methods. I bought a ferro rod on ebay, I was excited to use it, and decided that this would be a good opportunity to do so. I bird-nested some jute twine, wiped some pine sap into the wad of fluff, and used the back of my knife to spark the ferro rod. I got a shower of sparks into the bundle, but it didn't go. I tried, and tried, and tried. Nothing. Does anybody have anybody advice?

Another thing I need help with is natural tinder selection. I think I found some fatwood, but I'm not sure. Does anybody have ant advice for finding it, as well as other natural tinder?

Take a look through the videos listed in this thread. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...rs-And-Tinders

Mmmm.... Zack... I share your pain.

I tried for 2 hours to get a fire started in a light rain... to all fail. I was running a spark rod and no brought from home tinder.

Spark a dry cotton ball, it goes up right away and burns just long enough to get small kindling started.

Remember the rule of wood:


Kindling:
Thick as pencil lead
Thick as pencil
Thick as thumb

Firewood:
Thick as your wrist
Thick as your calve

If you get it going strong, thick as your quad


If you can find fatwood, great! Take a decent knife and SHAVE it into a big bundle, spark it a few times, it "should" catch. Ive done it at home, Im sure Ill fail in the field! HA HA!


I had planned on doing a video on this subject. (kindling, etc... etc...)

Ive been in the military for almost 2 decades, Infantry... Been outdoors a LOT. Nothing humbles an ego than to fail at getting a fire started, most people have no idea it is an art not just a skill!

Practice your art at home, so when you get in the woods you have the skills.

And, as an emergency backup friend, it would be foolish to not have a modern tool (Bic lighter) as a backup in the event your art & skills fail you but you are in a true to life emergency situation, but you didnt bring any... because your ego got in the way of common sense (Think borderline hypotherm).

Hell, Ill admit... tucked in the bottom of my ruck is a road flare... because no matter what (wet, rain, wind), when you MUST have fire, ROAD FLARE. :-)

EB

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Originally Posted by ElevenBravo

Mmmm.... Zack... I share your pain.

I tried for 2 hours to get a fire started in a light rain... to all fail. I was running a spark rod and no brought from home tinder.

Spark a dry cotton ball, it goes up right away and burns just long enough to get small kindling started.

Remember the rule of wood:


Kindling:
Thick as pencil lead
Thick as pencil
Thick as thumb

Firewood:
Thick as your wrist
Thick as your calve

If you get it going strong, thick as your quad


If you can find fatwood, great! Take a decent knife and SHAVE it into a big bundle, spark it a few times, it "should" catch. Ive done it at home, Im sure Ill fail in the field! HA HA!


I had planned on doing a video on this subject. (kindling, etc... etc...)

Ive been in the military for almost 2 decades, Infantry... Been outdoors a LOT. Nothing humbles an ego than to fail at getting a fire started, most people have no idea it is an art not just a skill!

Practice your art at home, so when you get in the woods you have the skills.

And, as an emergency backup friend, it would be foolish to not have a modern tool (Bic lighter) as a backup in the event your art & skills fail you but you are in a true to life emergency situation, but you didnt bring any... because your ego got in the way of common sense (Think borderline hypotherm).

Hell, Ill admit... tucked in the bottom of my ruck is a road flare... because no matter what (wet, rain, wind), when you MUST have fire, ROAD FLARE. :-)

EB

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In my daypack, I keep the ferro rod as an experimental tool (experimental tool sounds better than toy, but you get the picture). Also, I like to keep matches and lighters in my kit. I also keep some tinder (wetfire, dryer lint, jute twine, etc.). I appreciate the fatwood idea, I didn't quite know how to use it. I received a box of Duraflame fatwood for Christmas, I'll be sure to toss some in my kits. Never wanted to have to use a flare for fire-starting, I guess nobody should.

Dryer lint?....You don't have any dogs do you?
Around here dryer lint smells like burning dog hair........and survival use was invented by Maytag.......cotton balls are cheap and work well.

Never underestimate the benefits of road flares.....I take them serious.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...3/DSCF1072.jpg

Hunter..u're cheating...hahahah...ok EB and Zack, this is what I would do, in light rain. I have tried this and it works.
Firstly, get a bark or create a dry base for your tinder. I use a tree bark that has some resins.
For tinder, its the cotton ball in petroleum jelly.
I have also my home made para kindling, which helps to get the kindling dry.. and then catches fire (as I am in the rain forest, and all is wet..I mean the sticks and wood.).
The para kindling is jute rope (about 6"...dipped in liquid wax and left to dry).
Get your kindling ready. In the rain, pick twigs form branches that are covered with leaves from above, or pick twigs from dead trees. These twigs must never be or in contact with the wet ground.
If none, split fuel wood into small sizes. Make sure you have lots of kindling...my measurement is when you put both hands, index finger meeting each hand's thumbs...that is the amount.
My first try was with out a fire shelter..it worked, but then heavy rain came and put the fire out..I was testing how heavy a rain would you need to shield the fire.
My second try was with a fire shelter. I made a tripod, tied some cross members and uses tall grasses as the roofing. It worked!
Oh yes, I used the Swedish army fire steel.
I hope you can imagine...or..see my picture in the post where I stated Tokwan is writing a book. You can see the fire shelter.
The most important thing when starting fire in the rain is the tinder, para kindling and the kindling..make sure you have lots of kindling. Fuel wood should be from kindling sizes , gradually increased to as big as you want, but the increment should be gradual.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...Writing-A-Book

I have never failed making fire in the rain after this. You can also use the hexamine solid fuel as a para kindling or fire accelerator. Any other thing that will burn for a long time helps. Just use your imagination!

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Dryer lint?....You don't have any dogs do you?
Around here dryer lint smells like burning dog hair........and survival use was invented by Maytag.......cotton balls are cheap and work well.

Never underestimate the benefits of road flares.....I take them serious.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...3/DSCF1072.jpg

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I've got a Black Lab/Australian Sheepdog mix. I don't notice any smell.

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Originally Posted by Zack

I learned a couple of things on a recent primitive overnight camping trip. The first was that I need help making fires. I've mastered the art of one match fires and I'm ready to move on to more primitive methods. I bought a ferro rod on ebay, I was excited to use it, and decided that this would be a good opportunity to do so. I bird-nested some jute twine, wiped some pine sap into the wad of fluff, and used the back of my knife to spark the ferro rod. I got a shower of sparks into the bundle, but it didn't go. I tried, and tried, and tried. Nothing. Does anybody have anybody advice?

Another thing I need help with is natural tinder selection. I think I found some fatwood, but I'm not sure. Does anybody have ant advice for finding it, as well as other natural tinder?

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The jute twine should be fluffed and also protected from high humidity. Leave the pine resin out of you tinder bundle. You want thin fibers because being thin they heat up to combustion temps quicker. The pine resin is a fuel that takes some heating to get to combust.

The fatwood is a pine that is heavily impregnated with pine resin. It is very dense. It can be differentiated from other wood once you learn by kicking or tapping it. If you still can't tell pick it up or if it is a stump in the ground take an edged tool and shave the outer coating off. You'll see the resin and if you smell it you'll really smell the pine resin inside.

To further what batch just said, the fat wood is found in pine trees in the stump (bottom foot of the trunk before entering the ground) and smaller bits can be found in the larger limbs where smaller limbs come out. Think "knots" in the limbs. For those, I have stuck the point of my knife in and wiggled it back and forth making very fine shavings, almost powder like. This will go up in flames fast, so have larger shavings and all your small kindling at the ready. I hope this helps.

Fatwood is abundant in my area. I've never failed to make a fire when using it. If it smells like turpentine, you know it is the real deal.

Zack, I worry about you dude. You ask for advice on everything from BOBs, to shopping at Wal-Mart and everything in between. So here's some top-notch advice. Take your gift card to Wally World, go to the camping, sporting goods aisle, and buy a magnesium block and some "Wet Fire Tinder." The tinder blocks will light in any weather condition and the mag block works so well that the US Air Force puts them in their pilots survival kits on their planes. You simply shave some of the magnesium off the back of the block with the blade of your knie untill you have a "quarter-sized" pile of shavings. then turn it around and strike the ferro rod that's embedded in it with the back of your knife blade into the pile. You can also use the wet fire to start a blaze....:cowboy:

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Originally Posted by Sarge47

Zack, I worry about you dude. You ask for advice on everything from BOBs, to shopping at Wal-Mart and everything in between. So here's some top-notch advice. Take your gift card to Wally World, go to the camping, sporting goods aisle, and buy a magnesium block and some "Wet Fire Tinder." The tinder blocks will light in any weather condition and the mag block works so well that the US Air Force puts them in their pilots survival kits on their planes. You simply shave some of the magnesium off the back of the block with the blade of your knie untill you have a "quarter-sized" pile of shavings. then turn it around and strike the ferro rod that's embedded in it with the back of your knife blade into the pile. You can also use the wet fire to start a blaze....:cowboy:

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There's nothing to worry about over here, I'm just curious. There are a lot of smart people on this forum! I received a package of wetfire as a birthday gift, but I was hoping to use a natural tinder. I have been carrying two cubes in my pocket lately, though. It's always nice to have a plan B. Thanks for the advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sarge47

Zack, I worry about you dude. You ask for advice on everything from BOBs, to shopping at Wal-Mart and everything in between. So here's some top-notch advice. Take your gift card to Wally World, go to the camping, sporting goods aisle, and buy a magnesium block and some "Wet Fire Tinder." The tinder blocks will light in any weather condition and the mag block works so well that the US Air Force puts them in their pilots survival kits on their planes. You simply shave some of the magnesium off the back of the block with the blade of your knie untill you have a "quarter-sized" pile of shavings. then turn it around and strike the ferro rod that's embedded in it with the back of your knife blade into the pile. You can also use the wet fire to start a blaze....:cowboy:

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We all worry about him Sarge, but at least he is polite and uses good grammar.

We need a newbie asking good questions about once each year just to keep us on our toes.

And Zack, when you get home from Wallyworld go out in the back yard and practice. Don't wait until you are in the field to find out if your fire starter and sleeping gear works.

And Hunter is not kidding about those road flares! You can get those over in the automotive department.

Zack,
I get you. There's a satisfaction that comes with mastering the skill. And a self-assuredness, too. I always use char-cloth. If you aren't familiar with how to produce it, look it up on Youtube. I also will quite often use cedar bark. Just scrape the outer bark of a cedar tree with your knife blade held perpendicular to the tree. the resulting fluff is fantastic for the inner part of your tinder-bundle. From there I've used dead leaves, pine needles, dead/dry golden rod blossoms/tassels, milkweed fluff, almost anything dead, dry and loaded with surface area.

To start if all off, I like to use a little char-cloth in my fire piston. Once I have the glowing ember, I drop it onto my small piece of char-cloth in my bundle and start gently blowing it into a flame. Good luck, man.

Here ya go, Zack! Give this a try...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuutDZzNxjA

I think I understand. There's a lot of information on this page to digest, but once it dries out over here (it's been raining off and on since Christmas Eve), I'm going to start experimenting. I doubt that they'll be as extraordinary as tjwillhelm's, but I have a feeling that I'll figure something out. Thanks for all of the responses, I really appreciate the advice.

Being able to create fire in the rain is a vital skill to have. Now sounds like the perfect time for you to practice.

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Being able to create fire in the rain is a vital skill to have. Now sounds like the perfect time for you to practice.

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Right on the money Crash! Survival situations are not always under optimal conditions....:sailor:

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Originally Posted by Zack

I think I understand. There's a lot of information on this page to digest, but once it dries out over here (it's been raining off and on since Christmas Eve), I'm going to start experimenting. I doubt that they'll be as extraordinary as tjwillhelm's, but I have a feeling that I'll figure something out. Thanks for all of the responses, I really appreciate the advice.

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Now is when you need to practice.......

I suppose I will then.

Screw the rain, best time to play with fatwood, it doesnt mind being a little wet!

The stronger the smell, the better it is! If the smell is faint, its not real strong, probably wont light well.

EB

I have a 21 year old student who comes over every two weeks and I think he is as inquisitive as Zack, can't say who is more, but at this moment, almost ....heheh..I wish I have more students like him and Zack and a few others are always welcomed over here. These are the kind of people I love to teach. The more you ask, the more you learn. When I teach, I love to adopt the Socratic Method, teaching by asking them students. It helps to trigger the mind. It makes you innovative. When I teach, I learn too...that is why I love to teach..its the best way to learn!
Yep, Zack is polite enough and uses good English. Keep it up Zack, learn and practice. You will make a great survivalist.

Just one word, try and practice by going somewhere nearby, and just use the what is in that area to survive. Have your back plan in case it doesn't work. I learn it that way!

And TJWilhelm, I love your video work! Its awesome. You have that charisma of that guy who is able to teach via video, with your words and actions easily understandable. Great job Dude! I really mean this!

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Originally Posted by Tokwan

I have a 21 year old student who comes over every two weeks and I think he is as inquisitive as Zack, can't say who is more, but at this moment, almost ....heheh..I wish I have more students like him and Zack and a few others are always welcomed over here. These are the kind of people I love to teach. The more you ask, the more you learn. When I teach, I love to adopt the Socratic Method, teaching by asking them students. It helps to trigger the mind. It makes you innovative. When I teach, I learn too...that is why I love to teach..its the best way to learn!
Yep, Zack is polite enough and uses good English. Keep it up Zack, learn and practice. You will make a great survivalist.

Just one word, try and practice by going somewhere nearby, and just use the what is in that area to survive. Have your back plan in case it doesn't work. I learn it that way!

And TJWilhelm, I love your video work! Its awesome. You have that charisma of that guy who is able to teach via video, with your words and actions easily understandable. Great job Dude! I really mean this!

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I appreciate the compliments!

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Originally Posted by Zack

I suppose I will then.

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Think of different ways you can collect dry tinder and firewood. Low, small, dead branches on a fir tree if available.......splitting dead wood that is wet to get to the dry center.......tree fungi that you find......and on and on.

Zack, You are an inquisitive fellow, but as others have stated it keeps us sharp by allowing us to revisit things we have learned. I know I ask what seems to some like "rookie" or "noob" questions from time to time. I little while ago I was looking at some tent options and KyRat had to set me straight on that, (Thanks, KyRat, by the way). All in all, that is how we begin to learn. We hear/or see something, we ask and educate ourselves about it, we try and accomplish the task, and then we know we have mastered it when we can teach it to someone else. In short, keep asking and we will keep helping. Especially since you are polite and willing to learn. Seems to be a rarity amongst most of the new people lately.

Crash is spot on when it comes to gathering fire materials in wet conditions. Small and dry is key. Small dead limbs that are hanging in trees are usually pretty dry. Dead standing trees are a good source. Look under evergreen trees as well because they tend to "shelter" whatever is under them. You will also find old pine needles and pine cones are great to add to a flame and burn hot and quick. Because of that, be sure to have plenty of fuel to feed them as they do burn fast. Abandoned nests work pretty good to start a fire if you find one as well.

I appreciate the comment. I didn't think about gathering needles from under the pine trees on m trip, those went to my "mattress". I did try needles that were starting to dry, though. They weren't working. I even took a match to them. They caught the flame, then went out within three seconds. I had never thought about bird nests to start a fire. It seems like they would be too dense, doesn't it?

Last night, I tried my ferro rod on some jute twine fluffs. One too 10-15 tries it went up, the other just didn't. I'll keep trying. Also, does anybody have advice about a striker? The size of my knife makes it kind of hard to place the rod into the bundle. I was just aiming the sparks last night, but I don't think it was useful.

Zack - It's often a good idea to gather tinder along the way if you aren't carrying it or want to use a more primitive method of fire starting. If you do that you will have your tinder with you when you decide to make camp. You won't have to spend time looking for it. You'll have one job completed already. The other thing is if it starts to rain you will already have dry tinder making your job much easier.

Zack - your experience is why most of us carry tinder with us, and as Rick said - gather it along the way. Here are a few simple ones you can carry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jtYR3hlRIg

I got the opportunity to play around with my ferro rod today. I took some of the advice and changed my striking technique. I started 8/8 jute twine bundles, and about half of them were with one strike! I'm confident in my ferro rod skills now, I appreciate all of the advice!

Awesome! Practice is key!

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HUNTER63 - "Never underestimate the benefits of road flares.....I take them serious."

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H63, you ain't kidding!! So do I!!

When I used to ride horses to hunt elk I carried a couple of standard road flares in my saddle bags. I also carried ½ of a road flare in my day pack, which was always with me. I still keep ½ road flare in my day pack, although no longer hunt on horseback.

I have been in two situations where I really, really needed a fire RIGHT DAMN NOW!! Once in Colorado at about 11,000 feet altitude, and another time here in Idaho at about 7,000 feet. Both times, due to circumstances, time of day, and weather, "miserable conditions" was not an exaggeration.

In Colorado it was later in the afternoon when I shot a bull elk. The morning temperature was a toasty -17° F. and the afternoon wasn't much warmer, plus it had been snowing steadily. There were about 12 inches of snow on the ground. I was warmly dressed, layers, but had done some sweating to get to the dead bull. I was turning cold.

I knew I was going to be there awhile, at least after dark, cleaning the elk. My partner had heard the shot and arrived to help. He said, "What can I do to help?"

I said, "You go get the horses. I'm going to build a fire before I freeze, then we'll dress out this bull."

He left to get our two horses which were tied about a mile away. Although there were fallen pine trees around, the wood was wet. It was snowing harder. I gathered a bunch of squaw wood, plus larger stuff, laid it on a base of broken limbs, pulled out my ½ flare and fired it up. That squaw wood caught and the intense heat from that flare quickly caught the larger limbs on fire. By the time he returned, I had dried out my damp clothes, warmed my hands and was dressing the elk. He was more than happy that a nice warm fire awaited him, too.

We finished with the elk, by then using our flashlights to work. We took the loins and backstrap in our saddle bags, hoisted the elk using our ropes tied to our saddle horns to get it off the ground and headed for camp which was four or five miles away. By then it was really snowing. Fortunately, the horses knew more where we were and where camp was than we did, as we could not make out any landmarks because of the darkness and snow. Got back to a warm camp safe and sound but there were a few "hairy" moments.

The second time I used the road flare to build fire was somewhat under the same circumstances, in Idaho. Needless to say, when I need a fire RIGHT DAMN NOW!!, I do not play around or experiment with flint and steel, ferro rods and cotton balls, Bics, or strike-anywhere matches. At that moment it is my handy dandy road flare to the rescue! :thumbs_up:

Just my opinion based on a couple experiences.

S.M.

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Originally Posted by Seniorman

H63, you ain't kidding!! So do I!!

When I used to ride horses to hunt elk I carried a couple of standard road flares in my saddle bags. I also carried ½ of a road flare in my day pack, which was always with me. I still keep ½ road flare in my day pack, although no longer hunt on horseback.

I have been in two situations where I really, really needed a fire RIGHT DAMN NOW!! Once in Colorado at about 11,000 feet altitude, and another time here in Idaho at about 7,000 feet. Both times, due to circumstances, time of day, and weather, "miserable conditions" was not an exaggeration.

In Colorado it was later in the afternoon when I shot a bull elk. The morning temperature was a toasty -17° F. and the afternoon wasn't much warmer, plus it had been snowing steadily. There were about 12 inches of snow on the ground. I was warmly dressed, layers, but had done some sweating to get to the dead bull. I was turning cold.

I knew I was going to be there awhile, at least after dark, cleaning the elk. My partner had heard the shot and arrived to help. He said, "What can I do to help?"

I said, "You go get the horses. I'm going to build a fire before I freeze, then we'll dress out this bull."

He left to get our two horses which were tied about a mile away. Although there were fallen pine trees around, the wood was wet. It was snowing harder. I gathered a bunch of squaw wood, plus larger stuff, laid it on a base of broken limbs, pulled out my ½ flare and fired it up. That squaw wood caught and the intense heat from that flare quickly caught the larger limbs on fire. By the time he returned, I had dried out my damp clothes, warmed my hands and was dressing the elk. He was more than happy that a nice warm fire awaited him, too.

We finished with the elk, by then using our flashlights to work. We took the loins and backstrap in our saddle bags, hoisted the elk using our ropes tied to our saddle horns to get it off the ground and headed for camp which was four or five miles away. By then it was really snowing. Fortunately, the horses knew more where we were and where camp was than we did, as we could not make out any landmarks because of the darkness and snow. Got back to a warm camp safe and sound but there were a few "hairy" moments.

The second time I used the road flare to build fire was somewhat under the same circumstances, in Idaho. Needless to say, when I need a fire RIGHT DAMN NOW!!, I do not play around or experiment with flint and steel, ferro rods and cotton balls, Bics, or strike-anywhere matches. At that moment it is my handy dandy road flare to the rescue! :thumbs_up:

Just my opinion based on a couple experiences.

S.M.

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Are they safe? There'd have to be fumes, so could you cook with a fire you started with one?

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Originally Posted by Zack

Are they safe? There'd have to be fumes, so could you cook with a fire you started with one?

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Any fire has fumes........I guess I wouldn't cook a hot dog over a flare.....but the fire it started..... should be fine.

.....and If I had to use a flare....fumes would not be at the top of my list of stuff to worry about.

Great experience story, SM....have to be there to understand the "NEED RIGHT DAMN NOW" situation.

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Any fire has fumes........I guess I wouldn't cook a hot dog over a flare.....but the fire it started..... should be fine.

.....and If I had to use a flare....fumes would not be at the top of my list of stuff to worry about.

Great experience story, SM....have to be there to understand the "NEED RIGHT DAMN NOW" situation.

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Good points. Are there any brands you like over the others? Orion makes them, don't they?

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Originally Posted by hunter63

"...I guess I wouldn't cook a hot dog over a flare.....but the fire it started..... should be fine.

.....and If I had to use a flare....fumes would not be at the top of my list of stuff to worry about.

Great experience story, SM....have to be there to understand the "NEED RIGHT DAMN NOW" situation.

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Yep.

Zack, the road flare is to start a fire when conditions are wet, cold, and warmth is absolutely necessary immediately. My half a road flare burns intensely for seven or eight minutes and will most assuredly ignite damp or even wet wood, so long as you've done a bit of prep to the wood. I suppose if you put a flare under a bunch of wet logs it would not work... but if you've prepared your wood correctly -- small, medium, larger wood -- you'll have a good fire soon.

As for cooking over a flare, I don't see any need for that because by the time the flare has burned out, you'll have fire and coals to warm up your canteen cup or frying pan, or hotdog on a stick.

As for carrying a half flare which cuts down on a bit of weight in your pack, or jacket pocket, here is how to make one.

Take a standard size road flare, place on a solid surface and using a sharp, thinner blade knife, cut right through the flare at the half way point.

Then take some Elmer's Glue or Gorilla Glue and put a thin coating on the cut end. Let it dry completely and then apply another thin coating. When dry, put it in a Zip Lok bag, place it in your pack or jacket pocket and you're ready for emergency fire lighting in wet, cold conditions.

S.M.

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Originally Posted by Zack

Good points. Are there any brands you like over the others? Orion makes them, don't they?

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I think that Orion kinda has the biggest market share......at least I trust those....
Haven't really seen any other brands.....but I'll bet others are made in China.

Zach, just for fun and giggles... strike on a cotton ball... its an eye opening experience!

No need for pet. jelly or wax, just strike a plain ol' regular cotton ball.

EB

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Originally Posted by ElevenBravo

Zach, just for fun and giggles... strike on a cotton ball... its an eye opening experience!

No need for pet. jelly or wax, just strike a plain ol' regular cotton ball.

EB

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I'll try it for myself. I've seen Crash's video and he had good luck with it.

Seniorman that was a very good real life story of when a flare is important to have in your pack.

It reminded me of that "Somebody's Gotta Do It: The Real Survivor" Episode #4 where Mike Rowe is not afraid to air video of himself being taught and making several mistakes on how to use signal flares. I could not find the video of it online, it may be available if you have Video On Demand from your provider, look under CNN. But here is a link to the transcript:

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1410/29/se.01.html

Bottom line: as with all tools its a good idea to practice how to use them. Good way to start a signal fire or smoke very quickly when search aircraft are heard or seen coming or you need to get warm and dry quickly. Rubbing sticks deep under a forest canopy while a plane flies overhead would be discouraging, especially if that search pattern was not repeated for days. Or not being able to figure out how to light a flare or where you dropped the striker like Mike Rowe did. He covers serious issues in an entertaining way, and some silly things as well, but even then there is a real issue hidden under there.

I gonna just throw this out there.......Candle ends.
We use candle lanterns at rendezvous ........and use bees wax candles....I always save the ends about 1" to 1-1/4" long.
Tuck one in your pocket, and when it's damp wood or dark and flashlight is out light the candle.

Make you little tipi of small sticks set the candle on a piece of bark or something fairly level and light it up.

I gonna guess that every jacket, bag, tool box, tackle box has a few candle ends in it.

Bees wax also good for drossing off lead impurities when making bullets.

NOTE..... does not need to be bees wax...... any candle end, birthday candle.........I think that tea candles have been mentioned....brought it up as the ends usually get tossed in the fire.