Building a fire - fundamentals

[Hmac]

Shavings off of paraffin blocks, or cotton balls soaked in Vaseline.

[taliv]

cool. well it is lightweight and cheap. it just doesn't burn long or hot enough

[lunchbox]

I keep a snack bag full of it, and can probably get 3 fires out of that 1 bag if needed. I rarely use that stuff, it's more of an emergency situation supply. Almost every fire I start when camping involves a few ounces of camping fuel and matches.

I'm sure there are some cool alternatives on the market, but dryer lint is free and a seemingly never ending supply. I also have one of those magnesium blocks with the striker in the same pack.

The only problem that I have come across with dryer lint is, good fire lint needs to from laundry load of natural fabrics vs. synthetics/blends and animal hair also will hinder. Wanna say read this in book, but have been using idea for while. I like idea of using as much natural occurring woods items. If its in a Zip-lock, it will probably run out eventually.

[underwoodbitsandspurs]

Tampons work great for starting a fire too, plus they are already in a waterproof bag. Just fluff the middle up like a birds nest.

[Arctic1]

What knife is that? Kinda looks like a Randall but the spacers make me think it's not.

It's a SOG Super Bowie.

I bought it mainly for aesthetic reasons, as I have a thing for knives, but had to try it out.

[Arctic1]

The key when building a fire is preparation. If you rush the initial phase, you will either not get it started at all, or you will use up valuable time getting your smaller sticks to light on fire. This can be dangerous in a real survival situation.

With regards to tinder, there are many different types available; homemade/improvised, store bought and found in nature.

The type of tinder used or brought with you on a trip should reflect the type of environment/terrain you are in as well as the weather. In some areas good tinder will be hard to come by. In wet weather dry tinder can be difficult to find.

I like to use what I find in nature, and my favorites are witch's hair or birch bark. You can also cut slivers from sticks, preferably from dead wood.

A good tip for having usable tinder on you, is to pull off strips of bark from birch trees or balls of witch's hair if available, when you come across these during your hike, and place them in a jacket or pant pocket. Bring a plastic bag to store them in if you want. This can also be done before going on a trip. By doing this, you can dry out the tinder during your hike, before you arrive at your camp site.

For me at least, it is more satisfying getting a fire going by using nature's own resources, rather than using a flammable liquid or other artificial fuel.

[taliv]

just wanted to update my 'first impressions' post about utilityflame. my first impression was a mistake. i've taken it out 4 times now, with a couple people. we could only get it to light from sparks once. it's pretty disappointing, but it does burn hot once you get it started.

[ra2bach]

One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do was start a fire using only items I found in the woods. A trick I learned a while back was to keep dryer lint in a zip lock bag to catch a spark.

make sure that dryer lint is cotton, not synthetic, or it'll never do anything more than smolder...

[VooDoo6Actual]

Bag Balm (applied/saturated on cotton for tinder in ANY climate)

http://www.bagbalm.com

There are a plethora of viable reasons & one of it's attributes is not even listed for a use.

8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (antiseptic) in a petroleum jelly USP and lanolin base

[peruna]

Dryer lint works okay, but I like to keep an Altoids tin of char cloth in my pack.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make it (but you need to make it before you venture out into the woods ):

http://www.practicalsurvivor.com/charcloth