Sarge's matchless fire thread got me thinking. I don't use matches, but the cheapo China lighters ain't what they used to be. Seems every time I get one the flint pops out or all the fluid leaks out. Besides, unless kept warm in the cold of winter they are very hard to get lit.
So, in an attempt to get away from the tried and true and experiment with something a little more primitive, and hopefully more reliable, I got me one of them there fancy ferrocerium rods I been hearin so much about and gave it a go.
Here's the results!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8zNGmBhtY4
There is a part one also which shows my failed attempts. And, a part three where I put the fire to use and attempt to boil water in a plastic bottle among other things.
If you can't view the vid here's a summary:
Except for the fire steel, I wanted to use all natural materials and gather them as I hiked, as much as possible. My goal was to take a nice long hike, gather tinder and "some" food, start a fire, cook some food, boil some water, make some tea, and relax, and then hike back of course. :) I wanted to try different fire starting materials too, and see which took a spark the best.
So, I used cedar bark crushed up fine, oak leaves done the same, and cattail fluff. None took a spark to flame as I've seen in vids. But, all were somewhat damp from a heavy morning dew and an all day rain a few days prior. The thing that ended up gettin er done was a piece of Chaga/ tinder fungus that I harvested in the upper lower penninsula of Michigan while hunting morels two years back.
I then put that into a nest made of the above materials and blew it to flame. My kindling was birch bark, cedar bark, and tiny pencil lead and pencil sized branches of oak and cherry. My main fire was all dead oak branches and Big toothed aspen.
I had a real hard time getting the birch bark to take a flame which amazed me. It was a learning experience!
I found it much easier doing similar stuff at waist height over my picnic table in the comfort of my yard or at the park. But, after hiking in 3-4 miles in somewhat hot and humid weather, with a pack weighing 20-25 lbs., up and down rolling oak hills and ridges, around swamps and ponds, camera in hand, dressed in a hot bug suit that doesn't breathe to well, well, it was a real challenge, for me anyhoo. Trying to do it kneeled over while the skeeters were gnawing at my ears and flying in my mouth every time I took a deep breath with sweat dripping off the end of my nose made it even more of a challenge.
I think Sarge and others are right. It pays to practice!
Bottom line:
First attempt at making fire this way took me 15 minutes start to finish, but, I learned a whole lot in those 15 minutes, much more than I have by reading books, watching survival shows, and viewing youtube videos for the past year. The you tube vids helped, but nothing beats hands on experience. Up until this point I only thought I could, now I know I can and the next time around it should, knock on dry wood, go much easier.
Tinders that didn't fail me last fall and winter failed me this summer, that was a real learning experience and something I'll remember.
BTW, I still have my eyebrows! LOL!
