Re: Week 2/Tinder
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:29 pm
I lit my first fire using a ferro rod last night!
I don't have pictures, but I tried the following:
Dry Paper towel
Paper towel w/ Canola Oil
Paper towel spritzed with Olive Oil
Dryer Lint
Cedar strips
Paper Towel variations: The dry paper towel was the easiest of the 3 paper towels to light, but still took a bit of trying. I know Canola oil has a super-high flashpoint but I wanted to try something different. The Olive Oil spritz required a good deal of magnesium shavings and didn't burn any better than regular paper towel
Dryer Lint: Lit almost immediately with no magnesium shavings. Burned for a good 45 seconds or so (it was a big piece).
Cedar strips: I took a really big handful of cedar strips, smashed them into a ball and continued smashing and pulling, working it into a fluffy, fibrous, breathable bird's nest that caught without using any magnesium. I used it to light a log-cabin fire last night! It was very humid out here in the woods, so it took a LOT of blowing to catch the kindling, but I had 2-3 handfuls of small and medium-sized kindling already cut to size and ready to go. Once the small kindling caught, I was able to use the larger pieces and it took off! I was super proud, as that's the first time I've lit a fire without a lighter or liquid fuel.
I don't have pictures, but I tried the following:
Dry Paper towel
Paper towel w/ Canola Oil
Paper towel spritzed with Olive Oil
Dryer Lint
Cedar strips
Paper Towel variations: The dry paper towel was the easiest of the 3 paper towels to light, but still took a bit of trying. I know Canola oil has a super-high flashpoint but I wanted to try something different. The Olive Oil spritz required a good deal of magnesium shavings and didn't burn any better than regular paper towel
Dryer Lint: Lit almost immediately with no magnesium shavings. Burned for a good 45 seconds or so (it was a big piece).
Cedar strips: I took a really big handful of cedar strips, smashed them into a ball and continued smashing and pulling, working it into a fluffy, fibrous, breathable bird's nest that caught without using any magnesium. I used it to light a log-cabin fire last night! It was very humid out here in the woods, so it took a LOT of blowing to catch the kindling, but I had 2-3 handfuls of small and medium-sized kindling already cut to size and ready to go. Once the small kindling caught, I was able to use the larger pieces and it took off! I was super proud, as that's the first time I've lit a fire without a lighter or liquid fuel.