As an aside, I'm told that those fruit juice tetrapacks are effectively unrecyclable due to the plastic lamination on the inside. Bit of a pity, really - although they *are* good if you want to grow tempeh.
Artificial Tinders
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I make it by getting some cheap muslin, rapping it tight in tin foil and shoving it on the top of my gas ring (I had my BBQ half inched ;-) with all the window open. I stop cooking it when I can see it again through the smoke ;-) Adds a nice smoke taste to my homemade jerky even if the kitchen does stink for the rest of the day.
Well for what its worth... as a secondary tinder, or as a tinder to be lit by a flame source (matches, lighter etc) I've had very good results with crumbled Druaflame Logs. These are a "log" of wax and sawdust which are avaliable at many supermarkets. I also use them as fuel in my Kelly Kettle, about £1.85 for 1.45Kg which works out pretty cheap as you can get about 20, 1cm slices from each "log" and 1/3 of a slice will boil a full (small, 1 pt ) Kelly Kettle. When used as a secondary tinder crumbled around a cotton wool/vasaline ball they preform very well giving you an easily stored, and waterproof Primary/Secondary source to get your larger twigs or split wood spills alight. 
Cheers
Shaun
Cheers
Shaun
Although not really tinder. I found something useful by accident to slow the rate the tinder burns. I was trying to soften tea light wax with light oil. It was not a success as it went soft and at the same time brittle. But it did crumble to a powder a bit like that candle sand people put wine glasses as candles.
I was doing some back garden spark and char-cloth lighting but my tinder ball burn to fast(it was probably to small) before enough of my small stick caught and I had to start again.
That was when I remembered wax powder I had kept just in case and sprinkled some in to my next tinder ball. When it caught the wax melted and created hundreds of little candles and the tinder ball burned for ages allowing me to start off much larger sticks.
Since then I have used the same powder to light single match fires, you know the one where you dig a hole and put a candle in it and light it with your sticks on top, I have always thought it was a wast to use a whole candle but with this power and a improved wick stuck in it you can use 'just enough'.
You can obviously us it to make 'sand candles' to light your campsite.
Christopher
I was doing some back garden spark and char-cloth lighting but my tinder ball burn to fast(it was probably to small) before enough of my small stick caught and I had to start again.
That was when I remembered wax powder I had kept just in case and sprinkled some in to my next tinder ball. When it caught the wax melted and created hundreds of little candles and the tinder ball burned for ages allowing me to start off much larger sticks.
Since then I have used the same powder to light single match fires, you know the one where you dig a hole and put a candle in it and light it with your sticks on top, I have always thought it was a wast to use a whole candle but with this power and a improved wick stuck in it you can use 'just enough'.
You can obviously us it to make 'sand candles' to light your campsite.
Christopher
good one chistopher, i've had some unfortunate mishaps trying to soak cotton wool balls in molten tealight! :shock:
i've seen it stated that you can use an ordinary candle to light a fire, the demonstrations i've seen involve laying the candle on it's side under the pile of twigs, by the time the fire is self supporting half the candle is gone.
a slightly more economical way to get more fires out of one candle, cut the candle into shorter lengths with the saw on your swiss army knife! just use the small candle stood up in the normal way.
cheers, and.
i've seen it stated that you can use an ordinary candle to light a fire, the demonstrations i've seen involve laying the candle on it's side under the pile of twigs, by the time the fire is self supporting half the candle is gone.
a slightly more economical way to get more fires out of one candle, cut the candle into shorter lengths with the saw on your swiss army knife! just use the small candle stood up in the normal way.
cheers, and.
Leon,
Great one, just tyred those cotton wool petroleum jelly straws. They work great. They are quite messy to make but I quickly got the hand, nipping the melted end with my leatherman, unrolling the cotton wool balls, twisting them much thick than when I am making candle wicks and working in the vaseline at the same time.
They work really well.
Christopher
Great one, just tyred those cotton wool petroleum jelly straws. They work great. They are quite messy to make but I quickly got the hand, nipping the melted end with my leatherman, unrolling the cotton wool balls, twisting them much thick than when I am making candle wicks and working in the vaseline at the same time.
They work really well.
Christopher
sargey said:
Birthday cake candles are great for this job. Small, light and easily packed. If you really want to be clever about it, use the ones available from joke shops that will not blow out.
bagman said:
Because I am usually demonstrating ancient technology and trying to be "authentic" about it, I am faced with the problem that the Vikings, Saxons or Romans did not have access to cotton.
As a result I use linen char cloth exclusively with very good results.
Interestingly I have discovered that the ember produced burns hotter than cotton or linen / cotton mix.
To convert my ember into a flame I use a small bundle of raw linen fibre or "tow". The linen char cloth ignites it easily but cotton or mixed fibre char cloth does not reach the same flash point.
More Info.
I use hemp char simply cos that's what most of my clothes are made from - again it seems to burn much hotter than cotton.
sargey said:
You can also collect candle remains (thumb size left overs) after diners / christmas time from family - gives you enough candles to light your fires for a year
And it doesn't cost a penny 
Wayland said:
What about using Clematatis (sp?)?
I got a few of those so called magic birthday candles, that can't be blown out in my possibles pouch ... Firts time I saw them they were standing on MY birthday cake ... Yeah very funny ...
You could also take a box with normal standard matches and one massive pile of suitable sticks and practice your featherstick making skills
Allowing yourself only to use 1 match for 1 fire (4-6 feathersticks). By the time you emptied your match case, you'll be a master in making fire with only 1 match ... and you got the skills to make feathersticks almost into perfection But this isn't with any artificial tinder at all ...
It will also light from a 9v battery, and a D-Cell torch battery at a pushbigjackbrass said:
Cheers
Pete
I have had success using Rizla papers(cigarette papers), tear a few slits in the end and use a firesteel! I always have them with me and dry and if I dont I will be on my way to the nearest garage/late shop no matter where I was!
Something I heard about from (I think) Martyn was to have the paper actually inbetween the blade and steel. The paper tears through and then it catches all of the sparks. Thinking about it, I wonder if that would work with cotton wool as well?Goose said:
I tried that too but it broke the paper too much. You get a flame but it is on tiny pieces that dont stay lit, it might work better with a little more practice though.
ChrisKavanaugh
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Dryer lint consisting of artificial fibers not only makes poor tinder but gives off noxious fumes, a bad idea when your holding close and breathing life into the fire www.ragweedforge.com has an excellent review of charcloth and the preparation of amadou and the use of fungi for tinder. Click on his section of firesteels for the links. I carry my neckknives on lampwicking. It's safer and provides an emergency tinder source.
www.ragweedforge.com has an excellent review of charcloth and the preparation of amadou and the use of fungi for tinder. Click on his section of firesteels for the links. I carry my neckknives on lampwicking. It's safer and provides an emergency tinder source.
I find that the lint from the filter of my tumble dryer works great. If you dry only cotton, (sheets , jeans etc) for a few cycles there's nothing nasty in there. 
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