Making Fire

We depend on it, or its similar generated effects, on a daily basis. So much so that our familiarity with it has dumbed us down to its importance … until the power goes out and our modern heat generators fail to work at the twist of a knob or flip of a switch.

Fire is far more than a convenience or comfort item. It is, in a very real way, a matter of life or death for us.

Fire ...

      Warms us when we are cold.

      Cooks our food.

      Boils water to make it safe to drink.

      Provides light so we can see.

      Deters wildlife from prowling our camp.

      Lends us a sense of comfort and well-being.

      Smoke from a fire deters insects.

      Can be used as a rescue signal.

This is not a complete list of what fire does for us. It is, however, a pretty good start to the list of its performances. At least where woodcraft is concerned.

Otzi lived over 5,000 years ago. His body was found in 1991 in the Italian Alps. His cause of death was an arrow in his back that severed an artery. He carried a few tools with him. These were also discovered with his remains. Among his earthly trail possessions were found ...

      Some tinder fungus.

      A flint flake.

      Some iron pyrite.

Iron pyrite, when struck with a piece of flint, showers sparks on the tinder fungus which begins to smolder. Added to a tinder bundle the smoldering ember is blown into a flame. FIRE is produced.

That is about as primitive as it gets. And produced with natural materials found in his immediate surroundings. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. It makes me wonder who taught Otzi and who taught that teacher.

I have yet to discover a fungus in our area that makes good tinder fungus. What we have here simply does not work for me. Not only have I not been able to get it to catch a spark and smolder, it is also infested with fungus beetles that reduce the fungus to a fine powder by the time it dries enough to consider applying a spark to. Adding to its lack of workability is the fact that iron pyrite and flint are not native to our coastal area.

So my own fire-making has to take on a less primitive nature if I am going to produce fire and do it effectively and efficiently in all conditions with the least amount of calorie burn.

Calorie burn. I think this issue insists upon our attention, especially in situations where replenishing those burned calories is critical. Burning some extra calories over the course of a weekend is not going to hurt any of us. Burning extra calories day after day over an extended period of time can be the literal death of us.

It may have been Dave Canterbury that coined the phrase. I am not sure. The phrase has grown into popularity in the survival-bushcraft-woodcraft arena.

“Three is one and one is none.”

It is a good phrase, whoever is responsible for coining it, especially where this business of fire making is concerned. The more ways you know and are practiced in … the better prepared you are and the better off you are when you need to produce a fire.

PRIMITIVE FLINT AND STEEL

This is my favorite means of producing a fire.

Doing historical reenactments is what really got me going on this one. In fact, it was doing historical reenactments that set me on a course of discovering a lot of other things related to times gone by.

History.

It contains a lot of how’s and why’s that have been left behind by most folks in these modern times. That is a real shame.

There we were. Canvas wall tents set up and all decked out in clothes and equipment associated with military life 150 years ago. Cast iron cookware, fire irons, grates. Mostly (but not entirely) period correct stuff. Some folks used “Lucifer’s” to light their fires. Most that I saw though pulled a Bic out of their pocket, squirted lighter fluid on their stack of wood, and touched it off.

It started the wheels turning in my head. What would folks have used 150, 200, or 400 years ago to get their fire going? It dang sure would not have been a Bic lighter and quart of lighter fluid.

So I did a little research. Studied up on the subject. And ordered a fire steel that came with a chunk of flint.

I beat the edges off that piece of flint before I figured out the rhythm required to “strike” that flint and steel. I used a musket cap tin to make a container to cook char cloth, built a fire, and went to work charring some cotton cloth. It was a bit of a trial and error process to get the cloth cooked to good usable perfection.

A few strikes with the flint and steel and a spot on the char began to glow with a pretty red glow.

Cotton material is not the only natural material that can be used as char. That is a good thing because in a long-term situation cloth is a commodity that you do not want to waste.

The woods are full of natural material that can be charred and used to catch a spark. Punk wood is abundant once you learn to recognize and process it. A nice piece of charred punk glows really hot and is not as apt to burn up as fast as a piece of charred cloth. 

I do not know how long it takes to wear out a fire steel. The one in my kit has made quite a few fires and given a lot of demonstrations. Judging by its wear I would say it has only just begun to live its life. As long as I do not lose it I can easily imagine it outliving me.

You do not have to have a “period correct” fire steel. A piece of file with a smooth side makes a fine fire steel.

MODERN FLINT AND STEEL

I like these a lot. Especially like the small ones that you can carry in your pocket. Shirli has a super nice ferro rod that fits in the sheath of her Mora. 

A good ferro rod with an attached striker will produce a lot of fires. Some come without an attached striker. This is not a problem. You can make a striker from a broken hacksaw blade or use the 90 degree spine of a knife.

The hot sparks from a ferro rod will easily ignite finely processed dry material to get a fire going.

The magnesium bar variety has a tiny ferro rod that wears out pretty fast. The nice thing about it is the magnesium bar. That dime or nickel sized pile of magnesium shavings burns really hot when hit with a spark. The bar and those shavings gives you a good edge when it comes to getting a fire going.

BURNING GLASS

Using a magnifying lens to magnify and focus sunlight onto a piece of charred material is an effective way to begin producing a fire. It is, however, not at all feasible on an overcast day or once the sun goes down.

MATCHES

I rate matches pretty low on my list of fire-making means. About the only time I use a match is to light the charcoal in our grill.

That is just me though.

I do have a few waterproof containers of matches just in case. A match will definitely get a fire going and it is better to get a fire going than to not.

The two major down sides of matches are that when they get wet they do not work and when the matches are used up they are gone for good.

BIC LIGHTER

Every kit ought to have at least one Bic lighter in it.

They work as long as they have fuel and a flint. They are not fool proof. They run out of fuel and their little flints wear out. In cold weather they get contrary and often fail to work.

The plus side is that they work when they work.

FRICTION

Creating a fire by rubbing two sticks together is something that is so simple that a caveman can do it while at the same time is a heck of a lot more complicated than it looks.

I have been working on this one. Though I have been several times successful at it, the lack of success far exceeds the number of successes.

It is a good skill to learn and know.

Friction fire, from my own experience and perspective, is at the bottom of my list of priorities.

Why?

Three reasons.

The first is that there are so many variables involved. If one of them is out of whack the whole process is out of whack and doomed to fail. The second is that you will burn a lot of calories in a short minute or two that you may not be able to replace. The third is that not everyone is physically fit enough to make it work.

Where friction fire is concerned … have a nice repertoire of fire making means in your kit that allows you to produce fire without having to resort to rubbing sticks together.