Fire starter

[kashaw]

Hi, I'm Kath and this is my first post. I am new to prepping. I only started reading about prepping last night and was awake until 3.30A.M reading everything I could. I thought I would go back to basics and tried to light a fire using 2 sticks...4 hours later and blistered hands, not even a puff of smoke. so...Looks like I will be stocking up on matches and lighters. Has anyone tried lighting a fire with sticks and how hard was it

[preppingsu]

Hi Kath,
Good to have you. Would you mind popping over to the new members bit and posting an intro.
Cheers
Preppingsu

[preppingsu]

Re starting a fire. I am stocking matches and lighters but on my list to buy is a fire steel.

[Chef]

Hi, I'm Kath and this is my first post. I am new to prepping. I only started reading about prepping last night and was awake until 3.30A.M reading everything I could. I thought I would go back to basics and tried to light a fire using 2 sticks...4 hours later and blistered hands, not even a puff of smoke. so...Looks like I will be stocking up on matches and lighters. Has anyone tried lighting a fire with sticks and how hard was it

Hi Kath, welcome to UKP

I'm pretty new to prepping myself but I have made fire with sticks, it's not easy, but not that hard with the right technique which in my humble opinion is the bow-drill method. Here's a couple of videos which explain it alot better than I could.





I reckon if you try this method you'll have success pretty quickly, and it's a great feeling when that little ember comes to life in your tinder.

C

[nickdutch]

Charred cloth can ignite from the sparks of two quartz stones being struck together or one quartz stone and one iron or steel object (nail, blade etc).

Some high alcohol hand gels make excellent fire lighters as they are highly flamable (I reccomend "Culticura" and "Carex" for this) as well as being useful to keep your hands clean (if they are unscented) before a meal out in the bush.

[the-gnole]

Ferro rod and cotton wool soaked in Vaseline will work well, and will burn for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on how big the ball you start of with is.

Try not to use tumble drier lint, it is really quite nasty stuff as it isn't just cotton fluff, but all sorts of lint, nylon, hair, to name a couple

[TwoDo]

It might be a good idea to have some magnifying glasses around. Of course they only work on sunny days - but they are always there and dead easy to start a fire with.

IMHO, Its all about giving yourself options.

[scoobie]

A magnifying glass is such a great idea, I can't believe its missing from my preps! I was always lighting camp fires with a magnifying glass as a kid! So easy too

[the-gnole]

I wonder if those little credit card flexible lenses will do the job? And if I can remember where I stashed it

Although, as already mentioned they aren't that good when the sun doesn't shine which is often the time when making a fire is good to get warm and dry

More options the better chances you have, Potassium permanganate and sugar and a drop of glycerine is also meant to be good, as is linseed oil and a bit of compression.

Market stalls do lighters 5 for a quid, so you can go mad and buy a tenners worth a couple of times a year and have dozens in store before any big crisis comes along

[silverfox]

I used to be a lab tech at my old school, only 16 at the time and covered some sick leave. Had access to potassium permanganate ( and the more interesting potassium nitrate )and I think I used 1 part sugar to 8 for a gunpowder type mix. Also used for purifying water.