Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Kit, Clothing, Tools, etc
Mad Medic
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Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Mad Medic »

Afternoon all I am in the process of putting together a couple of fire starting kits, a little one to go into my Go Bag and a much more serious one to go in BOB. I have the following items currently:-
1. Turbo flame butane lighter
2. Glycerin.....got to buy some Potassium Permanganate
3. Ferrocromium Rods which I'm just about to fit with Fat Wood handles.
4. Fine wire wool and a 9v battery.
5. Fat wood tinder.
6. Vaseline soaked cotton balls.
7. Live Fire original.

So two questions:-
A. Am I missing anything obvious?
B. I have read about "Punky Wood" and having done some Web research and thinking back to when I've seen dry rotted wood like that I
Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional........and a much overated concept in my opinion!
Yorkshire Andy
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Yorkshire Andy »

BIC lighter BIC lighter BIC lighter and more BIC lighters

Turbo flames are good but they gobble gas. If you can't start a fire with a BIC lighter get better tinder....

Few of them kids birthday candles that relight when blown out..

Magnifying glass



Do not store fire lighting chemicals together

Few hexi blocks

And burns gell ;)
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong ;)

Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Mortblanc
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Location: Kentucky Mountains, USA

Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Mortblanc »

I have got to agree with Andy on this.

For the average person the Bic lighter in multiple doses should be your primary fire source with the ferro rod as backup. Yes I know that is backward or the ferro rod is considered the primary by most instructors but actually they are just showing off. A fresh Bic lighter will do nicely in our temperate climates. If you have a ferro rod on your keychain so much the better.

A true Bic brand lighter will give you 3,000 lights. I know because I called the company and asked. The customer service girl had the number instantly as if that were a common question. So a single Bic lighter will give you 2 fires a day for 4 years. You should have your situation sorted out by then or you are dead and someone else is using your Bic lighter.

A few dozen Bic lighters would be some of the best trade goods you would ever encounter. And book matches, don't forget the box of 100 pack book matches. Put them in zip lock bags for protection.

For tinder dump everything on the list but the cotton balls covered with PJ. A single cotton ball in PJ will burn for 10 minutes, it will catch a spark from almost any source and the Bic lighter will fire it up instantly even if the lighter is out of fuel.

If you are an urban dweller and do not want the bulk of carrying cotton balls soaked in PJ then get a couple of alcahol wipes in the little packages to carry in your wallet. They also catch a spark or flame and burn long enough to get a good fire started.

All those layers of fire starting gear are backup knowledge for the time when you are without your primary fire source. They are not intended for one to carry the whole lot along as a "fire kit".
pseudonym
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by pseudonym »

All to the above and add some bike inner tube as tinder. It will light off your BIC when wet:

Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
Mad Medic
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Mad Medic »

Thanks guys, slight problem with the post as I did put on.....or I thought I did that two things I intend to get are..........Bic lighters and yes you guessed it kids birthday candles. Guess what I was at the Garden Centre early with the LHG and saw a packet of the joke candles that automatically relight going cheap so couple of packs got "sneaked" into the trolley. :lol:
Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional........and a much overated concept in my opinion!
Mad Medic
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Mad Medic »

Also seems to have dropped off the bit about Punky Wood but from the replies so far don't bother and invest in an industrial jar of Vaseline!.........Oh err Vicar! :shock:
Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional........and a much overated concept in my opinion!
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Jamesey1981
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Jamesey1981 »

pseudonym wrote:All to the above and add some bike inner tube as tinder. It will light off your BIC when wet:

I had a Bushcrafter telling me that inner tube was cheating once, so I directed him to a video of ray Mears going through his fire kit. :)

I'm all for knowing how to use natural materials and stuff you can find lying around, but making life intentionally difficult is daft, practice with primitive firelighting techniques for sure, but if you really NEED a fire now then you're going to wish you had more than a hand drill set on you!

Another option in the vein of cotton wool and Vaseline is cotton pads dipped in wax, coat them well and they're waterproof, but don't soak them right through if you plan to use a ferro rod to light them, you need some internal fluffiness to take the spark, if you're going to use a lighter it doesn't matter.

With punkwood, it can be useful, but it's only any use if it's dry, it's spongy and soaks up a lot of water. Ideally you want to cook it like charcloth, so it can be a good resource but it isn't often an immediate one.
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sniper 55
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by sniper 55 »

Lifeboat matches? I like to have a pack of these for back-up.
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sniper 55
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by sniper 55 »

Jamesey1981 wrote:
pseudonym wrote:All to the above and add some bike inner tube as tinder. It will light off your BIC when wet:

I had a Bushcrafter telling me that inner tube was cheating once, so I directed him to a video of ray Mears going through his fire kit. :)

I'm all for knowing how to use natural materials and stuff you can find lying around, but making life intentionally difficult is daft, practice with primitive firelighting techniques for sure, but if you really NEED a fire now then you're going to wish you had more than a hand drill set on you!

Another option in the vein of cotton wool and Vaseline is cotton pads dipped in wax, coat them well and they're waterproof, but don't soak them right through if you plan to use a ferro rod to light them, you need some internal fluffiness to take the spark, if you're going to use a lighter it doesn't matter.

With punkwood, it can be useful, but it's only any use if it's dry, it's spongy and soaks up a lot of water. Ideally you want to cook it like charcloth, so it can be a good resource but it isn't often an immediate one.
The innertube one was a popular one some years back, even taught in the combat survival courses at the time.
Mad Medic
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Re: Fire Starting Kit and "Punky Wood."

Post by Mad Medic »

Thanks guys and about the bicycle inner tube excellent idea, cheap version of Ranger bands. Jamesy totally agree about using the easiest and most efficient method, I consider myself a Preper not some backwoods survivalist. So whilst being aware of Bow Drills and such like way too much damn hard work for my tastes!

Oh and the only reason I have a turbo flame is because I used to be a Pyrotechnican and that was one of my back ups in case my Rothy gas torch gave up when hand firing. Bic would not stay alight enough to light pyro' and haven't got time to faff part way through a display.
Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional........and a much overated concept in my opinion!