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Seven Ways To Light a Fire Without a Match
Seven Ways To Light a Fire Without a Match
Friction-Based Fire Making
Rubbing two sticks together is likely the oldest of all -fire-starting techniques, and also the most difficult. Besides proper technique, you have to choose the right wood for the fireboard and spindle. Sets made from dry softwoods, including aspen, willow, cottonwood, and juniper, are preferred, although a spindle made from a slightly harder wood, combined with a softer fireboard, can also work. The friction of the spindle against an indentation in the fireboard grinds particles from both surfaces, which must heat to 800 degrees?F before a glowing coal forms. This must then be transferred to tinder and -gently blown to life.
Hand Drill
Using a hand drill is one of the simplest friction methods, but high speed can be difficult to maintain because only the hands are used to rotate the spindle. It works best in dry climates.
Step One Cut a V-shaped notch in the fireboard, then start a small depression adjacent to it with a rock or knife tip. Set a piece of bark underneath the notch to catch the ember.
Step Two Place the spindle, which should be 2 feet long, in the depression and, maintaining pressure, roll it between the palms of your hands, running them quickly down the spindle in a burst of speed. Repeat until the spindle tip glows red and an ember is formed.
Step Three Tap the fireboard to deposit the ember onto the bark, then transfer it to a tinder bundle (see "Tinder Bundle-¿ on page 56) and blow it to flame.
Rubbing two sticks together is likely the oldest of all -fire-starting techniques, and also the most difficult. Besides proper technique, you have to choose the right wood for the fireboard and spindle. Sets made from dry softwoods, including aspen, willow, cottonwood, and juniper, are preferred, although a spindle made from a slightly harder wood, combined with a softer fireboard, can also work. The friction of the spindle against an indentation in the fireboard grinds particles from both surfaces, which must heat to 800 degrees?F before a glowing coal forms. This must then be transferred to tinder and -gently blown to life.
Hand Drill
Using a hand drill is one of the simplest friction methods, but high speed can be difficult to maintain because only the hands are used to rotate the spindle. It works best in dry climates.
Step One Cut a V-shaped notch in the fireboard, then start a small depression adjacent to it with a rock or knife tip. Set a piece of bark underneath the notch to catch the ember.
Step Two Place the spindle, which should be 2 feet long, in the depression and, maintaining pressure, roll it between the palms of your hands, running them quickly down the spindle in a burst of speed. Repeat until the spindle tip glows red and an ember is formed.
Step Three Tap the fireboard to deposit the ember onto the bark, then transfer it to a tinder bundle (see "Tinder Bundle-¿ on page 56) and blow it to flame.
Photo by Steve Sanford
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Photo Gallery Comments (16)
I carry a small jar of Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly which is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes. As some of you know Vaseline® has more uses that WD40. After cleaning the wound, use a small amount to coat the wound then cover the area. This keeps out and lets out the bad stuff also to keep the wound moist.
Vaseline® and magnesium stick is my primary fire starter rather than water proof matches. A 2x2 cotton patch saturated will burn 6 to 10 minutes.
Some of the info here is fantastic but the Fire plow is not a realistic method for us in North America. It is extremely difficult and more suited for tropical climates. The hand drill and bow drill are my favorite two and you can use a variety of materials whether you line back East, in the Southwest or in the great Northwest like I do.
im still dont know if i could start a fire with out mathces iv tryed a few times and have never been able to succeed
Thanks, The Pump Drill works great! It took me like half an hour to make from scrap materials!
Looking for something that really works and works even after being wet for a long long time! Well by’golly get’ya a small jar of good old fashion Vaseline from and a magnesium fire starter stick from your local Wal-Mart. Take a 2x2 inch piece of cloth and saturate it with Vaseline and scrape a little magnesium on it and hit it with the flint side and now you have instant fire 6 to 10 minutes of flame, now compare that with any other lighter and remember you haven’t really used your fire starting resources at all.
Wow I watch a lot of survival shows and read quite a bit but have never heard of this vaseline trick. I will certainly test it out first thing in the morning. Sounds reasonable. Thanks for the tip.
The Vaseline trick sounds pretty reasonable...the biggest problem with the magnesium fire starters is that the magnesium flakes scatter and blow away very easily. The Vaseline will hold them to the cloth and make it heavy enough that it probably won't blow away. I'll have to try it in the back yard tomorrow (when my wife is at work and won't see her idiot husband trying to light the yard on fire).
I guess if you didn't have a magnesium fire starter, these would be excellant ways to start a fire. They all seem time consuming though and it seems you would have to start the process well before dark if you were going to be in the woods over night.
I read of a scoutmaster who had hollowed out a small section of his highly decorated walking stick and secreted away a 9 volt battery with wires hidden all the way down to the ground end where used a crutch rubber on the end. He would hide a small amount of steel wool in the tinder at the bottom of his teepee fire setup,pull off the crutch rubber, insert the walking stick, mumble some "magic indian words" and....just amaze the living sh*t out of his scouts.
While watching Survivorman on TV, I was informed that yer basic corn chip will work to hold a flame for 30-45 seconds. This would be long enough to get the small twigs ignited in wet weather when dry grass is at a premium. I also have a couple of alcohol wipes in my first aid kit that will do the job nicely!
I have made a fire with the bowdrill method, but it takes a whole lot of air (heavy breathing) and sweat to make it happen, and I learned to rub the top of the drill on my forehead or beside my nose to get a slight amount of oil from my skin on it as a lubricant, this really helped, and to keep my head off to the side of the baseboard,so I didn't inadvertently drip sweat on the coal! ;)Whats the use of making mistakes if you don't learn from them, right?
Bottom line is to practice your primitive methods when you are not in an emergency situation.
i have gotten good at the bow drill method over the years and ok at the hand drill. for first timers i would try the bow drill first. read alot of different web sites like, www.wildwoodsurvival.com, then practice, alot. if you live in the southeast like me, try red ceder for drill and fireboard. pump drill is great but hard to make in survival situation.
I love starting primitive fires. Learning to start one teaches you the basics of how to "build" a fire correctly.
fire bilding is definently an art and it would be very smart to learn it. You never know!
yea its a good way to start a fire but you really only need one person if your good enough
I find that the bow drill is the easiest way to start a fire by yourself when relying on friction.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this other aspect of the Vaseline trick but most river guides up north in Canada/Alaska use cotton balls soaked in the petroleum jelly. They take a spark very quickly and are about the most reliable tinder you can get when it's wet out.
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I carry a small jar of Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly which is a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes. As some of you know Vaseline® has more uses that WD40. After cleaning the wound, use a small amount to coat the wound then cover the area. This keeps out and lets out the bad stuff also to keep the wound moist.
Vaseline® and magnesium stick is my primary fire starter rather than water proof matches. A 2x2 cotton patch saturated will burn 6 to 10 minutes.
Looking for something that really works and works even after being wet for a long long time! Well by’golly get’ya a small jar of good old fashion Vaseline from and a magnesium fire starter stick from your local Wal-Mart. Take a 2x2 inch piece of cloth and saturate it with Vaseline and scrape a little magnesium on it and hit it with the flint side and now you have instant fire 6 to 10 minutes of flame, now compare that with any other lighter and remember you haven’t really used your fire starting resources at all.
Some of the info here is fantastic but the Fire plow is not a realistic method for us in North America. It is extremely difficult and more suited for tropical climates. The hand drill and bow drill are my favorite two and you can use a variety of materials whether you line back East, in the Southwest or in the great Northwest like I do.
The Vaseline trick sounds pretty reasonable...the biggest problem with the magnesium fire starters is that the magnesium flakes scatter and blow away very easily. The Vaseline will hold them to the cloth and make it heavy enough that it probably won't blow away. I'll have to try it in the back yard tomorrow (when my wife is at work and won't see her idiot husband trying to light the yard on fire).
I read of a scoutmaster who had hollowed out a small section of his highly decorated walking stick and secreted away a 9 volt battery with wires hidden all the way down to the ground end where used a crutch rubber on the end. He would hide a small amount of steel wool in the tinder at the bottom of his teepee fire setup,pull off the crutch rubber, insert the walking stick, mumble some "magic indian words" and....just amaze the living sh*t out of his scouts.
While watching Survivorman on TV, I was informed that yer basic corn chip will work to hold a flame for 30-45 seconds. This would be long enough to get the small twigs ignited in wet weather when dry grass is at a premium. I also have a couple of alcohol wipes in my first aid kit that will do the job nicely!
I have made a fire with the bowdrill method, but it takes a whole lot of air (heavy breathing) and sweat to make it happen, and I learned to rub the top of the drill on my forehead or beside my nose to get a slight amount of oil from my skin on it as a lubricant, this really helped, and to keep my head off to the side of the baseboard,so I didn't inadvertently drip sweat on the coal! ;)Whats the use of making mistakes if you don't learn from them, right?
Bottom line is to practice your primitive methods when you are not in an emergency situation.
I love starting primitive fires. Learning to start one teaches you the basics of how to "build" a fire correctly.
fire bilding is definently an art and it would be very smart to learn it. You never know!
I find that the bow drill is the easiest way to start a fire by yourself when relying on friction.
im still dont know if i could start a fire with out mathces iv tryed a few times and have never been able to succeed
Thanks, The Pump Drill works great! It took me like half an hour to make from scrap materials!
Wow I watch a lot of survival shows and read quite a bit but have never heard of this vaseline trick. I will certainly test it out first thing in the morning. Sounds reasonable. Thanks for the tip.
I guess if you didn't have a magnesium fire starter, these would be excellant ways to start a fire. They all seem time consuming though and it seems you would have to start the process well before dark if you were going to be in the woods over night.
i have gotten good at the bow drill method over the years and ok at the hand drill. for first timers i would try the bow drill first. read alot of different web sites like, www.wildwoodsurvival.com, then practice, alot. if you live in the southeast like me, try red ceder for drill and fireboard. pump drill is great but hard to make in survival situation.
yea its a good way to start a fire but you really only need one person if your good enough
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this other aspect of the Vaseline trick but most river guides up north in Canada/Alaska use cotton balls soaked in the petroleum jelly. They take a spark very quickly and are about the most reliable tinder you can get when it's wet out.
Post a Comment