DIY fire-starting tinder?
- Thread starter Garnett
- Start date
To be quite honest, since doing them with a rasp and decanting into the vial, apart from burning them at the time, they’ve just sat in my pouch and I’ve never used them- just there for ‘in case’. Maybe I should check, the last time I got them out, they still looked shiny but…..
Maybe a drop or two of some mineral oil in with some new shards, and a good agitation might protect them?
ah yeh, when it said nva i thought was north vietnamese army from the nam conflict, xThis is a link to a picture of one but not a great image. Not at home until Tuesday, but will take a better picture when I’m back. It’s just a perfect size for a couple of hook knives, couple of sloyyds, a Puukko or two, a leather thigh protector pad rolled up, and a mini Casstrom double sided strop, and Fallkniven CC4 stone. It’s just the perfect height for all the cutting tools. Actually, there’s enough room for a basic fire kit as well.
East German NVA 4-Cell Ammo Magazine Pouch | #3896675037
East German NVA 4-Cell Ammo Magazine Pouch.www.worthpoint.com
If want a really simple firestarter, grate a bar of cheap soap, put it in a squeezable bottle of some kind and add a flammable liquid and shake.
As demonstrated by Des Cattys.
Around 25 mins in, if link does't take you directly to it.
As demonstrated by Des Cattys.
Around 25 mins in, if link does't take you directly to it.
Last edited:
Thanks for so many excellent ideas and suggestions everyone.
Yes, I've been reading around the subject and reached the same conclusion myself - I'm surprised places sell these magnesium flakes because they must become fairly useless fairly quick.
It's a bit different to how you're using yours, but I'm thinking of mixing some into a mix of bio-ethanol and paraffin wax.
Thanks. That's brilliant. I've not seen that chap before - he's quite watchable! I was already thinking along those lines a bit, and that has given me the push to try out something similar.
If like me you have time to 'Potter' you may like to give this process a try. Just block your ears to cries of Cheap Skate. 
The inner cardboard tube of toilet rolls cut to 25 mm ish lengths...
Other ingredients are..Kitchen paper towel, candle wax, white spirit and wood wool packaging material (or any fine wood shavings)
Lay the cardboard rings on paper towel, stuff wood wool into ring. Drip a few drips of White spirit onto wool, allow to soak in.
Melt wax over low heat and pour wax onto wood wool. When semi hardened, compress wood wool and pour in more wax.
Place a kitchen paper disc on top before the wax hardens as a lid
The result should be a cardboard 'Tablet' about 25mm or so thick filled with wax impregnated compressed wood wool, sealed both sides by a paper 'lid'
Tea light for comparison.
Sources of wood wool...recycling skips behind shops, in my case
Or if you want to be cheeky... ...https://woodwooluk.com/products/wood-wool-packs/
I put a little white Spirit in the mix because I had an idea that wood wool packaging may have been treated with anti fire gloop (Elf and safety?) but it seems not.
My fire starters burn for about 5 minutes or so and more importantly keep the 'ol boy amused by the making process..
The inner cardboard tube of toilet rolls cut to 25 mm ish lengths...
Other ingredients are..Kitchen paper towel, candle wax, white spirit and wood wool packaging material (or any fine wood shavings)
Lay the cardboard rings on paper towel, stuff wood wool into ring. Drip a few drips of White spirit onto wool, allow to soak in.
Melt wax over low heat and pour wax onto wood wool. When semi hardened, compress wood wool and pour in more wax.
Place a kitchen paper disc on top before the wax hardens as a lid
The result should be a cardboard 'Tablet' about 25mm or so thick filled with wax impregnated compressed wood wool, sealed both sides by a paper 'lid'
Tea light for comparison.
Sources of wood wool...recycling skips behind shops, in my case
Or if you want to be cheeky... ...https://woodwooluk.com/products/wood-wool-packs/
I put a little white Spirit in the mix because I had an idea that wood wool packaging may have been treated with anti fire gloop (Elf and safety?) but it seems not.
My fire starters burn for about 5 minutes or so and more importantly keep the 'ol boy amused by the making process..
The other thing that's really good is pieces of bicycle inner tube. Quite handy to use rounds like elastic bands around tinder too.
My emergency firelighting kit is a square of innertube (sliced vertically to open it into a flat square) wrapped around a Clipper lighter. It's all then held together with a small circle of inner tube used as an elastic band - that stuff catches even when it's soaking outdoors.
I open it out into a square just because then it's easier to slice strips off with a knife in the event I have frozen hands.
Easy way... Buy wood wool style fire starters, carry 2 or 3 in a small tin
Cheap way ...... If you have one, planer or even better electric planer, take boards off a pallet (source of kiln dried wood), set planer to 1mm and plain edge of board(s) to hearts content.
Cheap way ...... If you have one, planer or even better electric planer, take boards off a pallet (source of kiln dried wood), set planer to 1mm and plain edge of board(s) to hearts content.
Small shoe polish tin, polish removed, half fill with Vaseline, top up with the circular cotton wool makeup remover pads. Packable, small, doesn’t leak.
Anything that works as an excuse to allow Yours Truly to Play with Molten Wax...
At work we use fire starters if lazy (a lot of the time) birchbark (if anybody has bothered to pick up) or those Warbutons waxed paper bread wrappers. (very good, and a good excuse to patronise this company)
At work we use fire starters if lazy (a lot of the time) birchbark (if anybody has bothered to pick up) or those Warbutons waxed paper bread wrappers. (very good, and a good excuse to patronise this company)
That’s complicated!
I’ve just been making a batch of bush candles. Some wax melted onto the tray. Since I had cotton wool face pads there anyway, I wiped up the melted wax with a few of them but there was no wax where I held the pad.
This is exactly the same as using Vaseline on face pads but a lot less messy. The unwaxed portion takes a spark, the rest burns for just over a minute.
I didn’t intend to make these and they aren’t anything like as useful as the bush candles but they do a job, they are cheap, quick and easy.
I’ve just been making a batch of bush candles. Some wax melted onto the tray. Since I had cotton wool face pads there anyway, I wiped up the melted wax with a few of them but there was no wax where I held the pad.
This is exactly the same as using Vaseline on face pads but a lot less messy. The unwaxed portion takes a spark, the rest burns for just over a minute.
I didn’t intend to make these and they aren’t anything like as useful as the bush candles but they do a job, they are cheap, quick and easy.
I've tried a few diy methods and the best, for me, and most versatile is jute rope.
Also dead cheap and natural (ish) and uses up old candle ends.
Melt the candle ends (any old sort) in an old tin cup/can over the stove of your choice. You'll end up with a little pile of wicks in the tin, but so what. For safety a hot water bath is best of course, but I live on the edge (with a fire extinguisher).
Dip lengths of rope into the molten wax. I cut the rope to whatever will easily fit and lift out of the pot. Give it a good dunk and let the wax soak in, try and squeeze any air out. Lift out and cool on cardboard/newspaper. I use an old bicycle spoke to lift out as it has a handy hook end, but a bit of wire would do the trick.
When cool, cut to size and bundle with inner tube bands (emergency tinder). I go for about 2in lengths as they fit into my fire kit pouch.
The beauty of the rope is it separates into 5-6 strands, then those strands separate again. The thin ones you can then fluff up and they catch a spark easy peasy. If you need to, you can use the larger strands as longer burning tinder.
It's very moisture resistant (don't know if it's waterproof, I haven't tested it), light and cheap. Most hardware stores sell the rope, just make sure it's twisted not braided.
For extra welly you can add a splash of paraffin to the wax (don't use an alcohol stove unless you don't like your eyebrows). It makes the rope a bit softer but lights and burns really really well (that's the natural ish bit. Don't burn plastic, it's just wrong).
Also dead cheap and natural (ish) and uses up old candle ends.
Melt the candle ends (any old sort) in an old tin cup/can over the stove of your choice. You'll end up with a little pile of wicks in the tin, but so what. For safety a hot water bath is best of course, but I live on the edge (with a fire extinguisher).
Dip lengths of rope into the molten wax. I cut the rope to whatever will easily fit and lift out of the pot. Give it a good dunk and let the wax soak in, try and squeeze any air out. Lift out and cool on cardboard/newspaper. I use an old bicycle spoke to lift out as it has a handy hook end, but a bit of wire would do the trick.
When cool, cut to size and bundle with inner tube bands (emergency tinder). I go for about 2in lengths as they fit into my fire kit pouch.
The beauty of the rope is it separates into 5-6 strands, then those strands separate again. The thin ones you can then fluff up and they catch a spark easy peasy. If you need to, you can use the larger strands as longer burning tinder.
It's very moisture resistant (don't know if it's waterproof, I haven't tested it), light and cheap. Most hardware stores sell the rope, just make sure it's twisted not braided.
For extra welly you can add a splash of paraffin to the wax (don't use an alcohol stove unless you don't like your eyebrows). It makes the rope a bit softer but lights and burns really really well (that's the natural ish bit. Don't burn plastic, it's just wrong).
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