Fire Starting Trick

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TheViking

Native
Jun 3, 2004
1,864
4
35
.
Let's see if you know this trick. :wink: Maybe it's not so special, but an Indian with danish citizenship has taught it to another guy and then that guy wrote it on a forum. :wink:

You need a small axe or big knife. Get some dry birch or dry spruce sticks and chop them to pieces. VERY fine pieces... :shock: When you think you have enough, make ½ quantity more! Then scrape some hexitab, charcloth (don't break it) or Wetfire into the pile and ignite it with firesteel. When the tinder burns, add more and more wood. :D Now you will soon have a long-time burning pile of wood. :pack:

This may be an alternative to feathersticks, but it's always good to try out new things and get a skill more on ones mind. :biggthump

Your opinions please.
 

Carcajou Garou

On a new journey
Jun 7, 2004
551
5
Canada
I always carry some dryer lint from the lint trap and catail fluff to catch a spark a set the tinder bundle a-lite, and I am an aboriginal; could this be an old indians trick? :eek:): :rolmao:
 

Moine

Forager
Viking,

Good tip :biggthump

This works well. I'm using esbit fuel tabs just the same way to ignite the stuff. I either scrape a little off so they can catch a spark, or more often I use finer stuff to ignite them (they won't light as is with a fire steel, so I pick a few dry grass blades, cotton, magnesium... whatever is at hand).

Thin wood shavings are a lot easier to produce than plumed sticks, and they work much better. You can make a big pile out of them and as they are all bent a little, they let a lot of air through, thus burn hot and fast. Perfect for starting a fire, especially in wet conditions.

What I do, usually, is to start with a knife to make thin ones, and I make them gradually thicker. Then I finish with the axe/big chopper to make larger, thicker ones.

TheViking said:
A real native american indian... :wink: I know his name also.

Hey, I'm also a "real native american indian" (whatever that is), and that does not automatically qualify me as being good at bushcraft, tracking, survival or whatever. It's not in the genes... unfortunately ;)

Cheers :D

David
 

TheViking

Native
Jun 3, 2004
1,864
4
35
.
Moine said:
Hey, I'm also a "real native american indian" (whatever that is), and that does not automatically qualify me as being good at bushcraft, tracking, survival or whatever. It's not in the genes... unfortunately ;)
Sorry, but when I think of an Indian, I also think of bushcraft. :D This guy was a native indian and pretty good at survival skills, I think. That explains it. :biggthump

Cheers. :uu:
 

Hoodoo

Full Member
Nov 17, 2003
5,302
13
Michigan, USA
Great tip! Here's another although many of you may already have tried this. If you want to ignite fatwood with a firesteel, you can scrape it so that you get a pile of fine fatwood dust. This ignites pretty easily with a firesteel.
 

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