easy fire making

[Ryleyboy]

For those who are having trouble making fires, mabye its because of the wood. For myself i have made many fires by simply taking the barq off a birch tree and making a little nest out of it. then strike your flint stone towards the middle and the birch should catch good. Then again the make paper out of this kind of wood so its just like starting a fire with paper. For anyother good woods please share them.

[Rick]

Ryleyboy, why don't you try reading through the posts. You'll find a lot of the information you have posted is already on here. So is the stuff you've been looking for.

[Jericho117]

Hardwoods are said to burn long with medium heat, but give off poor light. Meduim woods like willow give off poor light but hot fires, and any coniferous wood burns bright but not to hot. Pine wood is said to be toxic when burned. I find chunks of fully dried birch wood to be my favorite, but maple, spruce, and oak are good for me to.

[bulrush]

Pine wood is not toxic when burned, but if any food, like meat, is cooked directly over pine, the pine gives the meat a nasty taste. It is pretty much inedible. Been there, done that.

My son, in the Boy Scouts, says that dry paper towel is great for catching a spark. We tried it and he's right! So now he takes paper towel with him every time when camping.

[trax]

Ryleyboy, stick with that birchbark anytime you want to start a fire, you're doing fine. If you're out there, burn whatever's dry.

[Jericho117]

Then I guess Tom Brown was wrong........

[trax]

Then I guess Tom Brown was wrong........

Why do you guess Tom Brown was wrong?

[Rick]

We've been saying that for years. Everyone knows you can't cross a goat with a chicken. I don't know why he ever came up with that in the first place.

[trax]

We've been saying that for years. Everyone knows you can't cross a goat with a chicken. I don't know why he ever came up with that in the first place.

How often do I read Rick's posts and wind up saying to myself "I'm sorry I asked".

[Rick]

Most of the time would be my guess.

[Jericho117]

Because Tom Brown stated in one of his books that, " Do not burn pine unless absolutely necessary, it produces a resinous, toxic smoke that can be harmful if inhaled". You said it wasn't toxic, so im assuming he is wrong.

[tacmedic]

Pine does contain a relatively high amount of turpenin (the precursor to turpentine), but it is not in a high enough concentration to be toxic. Like bulrush said though, it does give food cooked directly over it a really nasty taste.

[Jay]

Ryleyboy, making fire with a hand drill or bow drill under ideal conditions is easy. I can make a fire in three minutes flat with either. but when it's raining or has been for the past week thing are different. only practice, over and over again will teach you how to make a fire in those conditions. Book knowledge is a good place to start......but it is no substitute for actual practice.
keep experimenting! Its the best way to learn.

[Gray Wolf]

Jay is right, starting a fire in those conditions is the real test of your capabilities. So much so that Ultimate Survival put so much R&D into creating WetFire.

[Rick]

making fire with a hand drill or bow drill under ideal conditions is easy

A regular wise guy! Now where's that article on fire bow so I can read through it ONE MORE TIME!

[Gray Wolf]

Here's how good Jay is!

[trax]

Ryleyboy, Jay and Gray Wolf are both right and I know the environment where you live and in those conditions, birchbark will be your best bet for tinder, period. So keep doing what you're doing, you might want to take matches in bad weather.

[Atomic]

Lightered pine is the best method of starting around these parts. (Southern Mississippi and Louisiana.) Of course you'll also want tender but it doesn't take much for that lighter to produce a good flame. I remember we were helping my foreman dig up this huge stump, most of which he took to his wifes family that lives in Virginia I think, and he used a chain saw to cut parts of it out of the ground. He could really sharpen a saw and had the slivers come out that were long so we piled up some and struck a lighter by them. It was an instant fire.

[RobertRogers]

But remember this about birch bark - DO NOT strip it from live trees!!!!!!!!!!

It kills them and makes them very unsightly.

If I had a nickel for every birch tree I have seen stripped of bark near campsites I could buy enough rock salt for application to the posteriors of those who did it.

Where birches grow you can nearly always find plenty of bark laying on the ground as birches naturally shed it due to wind and other natural factors. Also, dead birches keep viable bark for many years because it is rot resistant.

If you are very careful sometimes you can gather some shreds still clinging to the tree, but usually this is not necessary. During the course of the day simply keep an eye out for bark laying on the ground and gather it as needed for use when you want to make a fire.

Next time someone strips a birch tree, they need to look behind them - I may very well be taking aim.

I have spoken.

[Rick]

RR is right about that. You can pick stuff up as you walk along so you have it in your pocket when you need it. Pine cones can be a might pokey, though. Cargo pockets are better for them than front pockets.