Article: Magic biscuits

[TurboGirl]

I'm making some wax dressing for cotton atm, might try the cardboard/ opened up tampons to wipe out the bowl and utensils afterwards to make life easy and get some firestarters while I'm on the job The dressing is 5:1 petroleum jelly to beeswax so I have no idea how well they'll work

Great outcome and polished the bowl up a treat without washing with a polish rag which has worked wonders on my oak spinning wheel... MOST excellent combination of projecting!

 

[Earthgirl]

Ooooohhhh... I just saw the title....

This is so not what I thought it was going to be....

 

[norfolkjohn]

A good idea, will certainly try it out. the ingredients needed are cheap and easy to source.
And once made easy to store.

 

[joewalton1989]

Wilko's is your best bet for the petroleum jelly 55p for 200 ml! It's a damn sight cheaper than tescos.

I did them without candle wax, 5 burned for about ten minutes (with 3 dry cotton wool balls to take the spark)

Only problem was the flame was quite large and unruly and left a layer of soot on the bottom of my pan, the flame also wasn't adequate enough to boil 1/2 litre of water but they are a great starting point for a fire rather than use as a single fuel, in my opinion.

Please note I did attempt to boil the water a month ago in a cold but sheltered area. I may have more luck in the warmer months

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

They are only supposed to be a fire lighting aid not a fuel source.
If you just coat them in Vaseline they remain sticky and are a pain to use. The wax stops this, to light you just open the fibers up and can be lit with a lighter or spark stick. Also the wax keeps them waterproof.

 

[joewalton1989]

I'll bear the wax in mind for my next batch. They're a much cheaper alternative to fire lighters for a BBQ, and the season is finally approaching

 

[Fallschirmwomble]

spark stick

I like that! A simple, effective and no-nonsense term.

I hate it when people mistakenly call them "firesteels", buying into retailer hype. Ferrocium isn't even steel. I've always understool a proper firesteel to be a specially tempered piece of steel used with flint and typically charcloth...

 

[Twodogs]

Made up a hundred today that will keep me going for a bit ,,





Twodogs

 

[Folcwigga]

As an idea to keep your pan clean, i use an old tin of beans in a little bit of water in a pan, and met the wax - or in this case wax/vaseline mix - in the tin. Afterwards there's nothing to clean and i can throw the tin away if i don't need it any more.

 

[Toddy]

Now that's practical I hate the mess of cleaning wax out of a pot, even if it's a designated wax pot

cheers,
Toddy

 

[woodstock]

Fire cakes, I got the idea from Decorum he puts some wood shavings into a cake case pours wax over it then sticks a lump of cotton wool on top.

 

[Nagura]

Great Idea, Paraffin wax also works really well and can be bought very cheaply from beautician wholesalers! I use it with the fluff from the tumble dryer