Knife, lighter, fire.

[jmjkd]

This is good weather to practice your fire skills, cold & wet. Collect natural material in the woods and try to get a fire started only using your knife and lighter. Make a list of the material you used then do it 5 more times using different material each time. This should give you options and build confidence for when itcounts..

 

[P-14]

This is good weather to practice your fire skills, cold & wet. Collect natural material in the woods and try to get a fire started only using your knife and lighter. Make a list of the material you used then do it 5 more times using different material each time. This should give you options and build confidence for when it counts.

I carry a Bic-type lighter, handkerchief, and chapstick in each winter coat - and I don't smoke. The knife is always in my back pocket. It would be easy to use the chapstick and handkerchief to assist in lighting a fire. YMMV.

 

[jmjkd]

Yo P-14 what's up man? ... Yup a lot of folks carry Vaseline& cotton balls, wetfire, etc. This is just a fun way to educate yourself with your surroundings and then pass it on to others. Always have your kit when you can, this is for fun.

 

[coastie]

I keep 5 or 6 1/2 in pieces of bike inner tube around all my lighters to use as firestarter. They will burn for about 45-60 seconds each. You could probably use lobster bands as well.

 

[193rdsoldier]

Spent about an hour last week trying to start a fire. Found a split log and grabbed some dry wood from the center and split it up into different size pieces.
I could not get it going though. I didn't make a good tinder bundle and I'm pretty sure that was my downfall. Even though it was drizzling, I was under a tree and had some dry wood. Definitely need lots of practice.

 

[BattleSnail]

lighter? If you can't light a fire with a lighter in nearly any conditions you don't deserve to live.

 

[193rdsoldier]

Shit, I had magnesium, strike and dry wood Lol

 

[ixia]

I will do this tonight when I get home, always good to practice more

 

[Chris]

Carry a folding saw and windmill lighter everyday in my pack. I can easily make fire and probably not even need the tinder I also have. If lighter fails, then I can use the spark-lite. If you have one, practice using it. I found it needs to be broken in before it really starts sparking well.

Want a challenge, boil a quart of water with no pot. (^_^)

Telepathically uploaded via Google implants.

 

[jmjkd]

View attachment 92642

Spent about an hour last week trying to start a fire. Found a split log and grabbed some dry wood from the center and split it up into different size pieces.
I could not get it going though. I didn't make a good tinder bundle and I'm pretty sure that was my downfall. Even though it was drizzling, I was under a tree and had some dry wood. Definitely need lots of practice.

In your pic the wood looked a bit green, had that whitish fresh split kind of color. Also what might help is your small pile of kindling was way to small you want a big pile like thin spaghetti size. You want that initial burst to be big and hot.. but I think your wood was just green. That pine tree you were under might have some hanging dead and pitch that might be a better starter.

- - - Updated - - -

Carry a folding saw and windmill lighter everyday in my pack. I can easily make fire and probably not even need the tinder I also have. If lighter fails, then I can use the spark-lite. If you have one, practice using it. I found it needs to be broken in before it really starts sparking well.

Want a challenge, boil a quart of water with no pot. (^_^)

Telepathically uploaded via Google implants.

White hot rocks in a coal burnt log. Did that for Cantenbury in his advanced class bout 6 yrs ago. Fun task.

 

[Archilochus]

This is good weather to practice your fire skills, cold & wet. Collect natural material in the woods and try to get a fire started only using your knife and lighter. Make a list of the material you used then do it 5 more times using different material each time. This should give you options and build confidence for when itcounts..

Dang - I do that every day all winter long - lighting the wood stove. Don't even need the knife.

 

[P-14]

lighter? If you can't light a fire with a lighter in nearly any conditions you don't deserve to live.

Try it if the disposable lighter is wet! It won't work. However, if you can keep it from staying wet (by sheltering it from the rain, etc.), you can get it lit again. Shake it out and blow into the flint area about 10 times and it'll light. YMMV (again).

Figure this out now before you need it!

 

[jmjkd]

Those bic's are priceless rain or shine, beat them up, even out of fluid you can still get fire...amazing little prep tool.
The get home kit. Gun, knife, lighter....Never leave home without it....

 

[dennism]

Supposedly cotton balls + Vaseline are ideal. I have those and a magnesium firestarter in the kit I am working on

 

[ASHDUMP]

Supposedly cotton balls + Vaseline are ideal. I have those and a magnesium firestarter in the kit I am working on

I tested one of the cotton balls + vaseline the other day. I was surprised how long that thing stayed lit.... I would make some before going camping for sure....

 

[jmjkd]

Anyone try the task. Fire using only knife and lighter, no accelerants.

 

[dennism]

Anyone try the task. Fire using only knife and lighter, no accelerants.

Nope. Its too cold and wet out there.

 

[squatch413]

Anyone try the task. Fire using only knife and lighter, no accelerants.

I've done it before with a fire steel and knife. Birch bark and feather sticks make it pretty feasible.

 

[je25ff]

Toss your bic lighter in the snow, make sure it's good and wet and the tiny nozzle is nice and clogged. Then try to light a fire. Good luck.

 

[jmjkd]

Toss your bic lighter in the snow, make sure it's good and wet and the tiny nozzle is nice and clogged. Then try to light a fire. Good luck.

That's why we make char cloth. When the bic is dead broken what ever, all we need is the flint to get spark to hit the cloth for fire.

 

[je25ff]

What I really need to learn, and have no clue about really, is starting a fire with just a piece of wood and some dry tinder (like dry moss, bark, or something like that) Once I can do that, a lighter, flint, magnesium is just icing on the cake.

 

[MisterHappy]

"Naur an edraith ammen! " worked for Gandalf.