Flaming frustrated!

[Deleted member 4605]

So I've got my firesteel and I even bought some Maya Dust to help me but my attempts to make fire have all failed miserably.

I've managed to get a flame using the toilet paper technique, but getting an actual fire...

I know it's just down to patience and practice, and I don't expect to learn anything new from any replies I get - I just wanted to vent my frustration. :aargh4:

It's just a mite embarrassing when I'm trying to light the fire (for practice) and my wife is shaking a box of matches behind me!

 

[Bushcraft4life]

Hi Mate. What are you using to to strike the firesteel. DON'T use the metal scraper it comes with if you don't have to. Use the back of a carbon steel knife. Also take a pinch in your hand and rub your fingers together hard to split the small fibres of wood. It really is down to technique and it should not be to long because maya dust has very high resin content. Try to keep the item you are using to strike it fixed in one place and pull the firesteel away instead. And only work with the middle to the bottom of the firesteel.

Good luck

 

[rich59]

OK. I will offer no advice, just a listening ear. There are indeed many frustrations along the way to learning new skills. Maybe in a few months there will be a fire that matches can't light but you can with your developing skills.

 

[maverix]

Depending on how purist you want to be there are two options that spring to mind for me.

Assuming that you are creating sparks ok;
Cotton wool balls with a good dose of Vaseline is favoured by a fair few people on here. However my favourite when I'm demonstrating and teaching is to use a piece of Cramp ball (King Alfred's Cake.) break off a piece and strike the spark into the fibrous centre. You only need the tiniest spark to take, then nurture it with gentle blowing (tho it doesn't have to be too gentle, the hard part is putting it out) Be warned it burns incredibly hot I have the scars to prove it

To turn that into a flame you need to stick it in a nest of dry grass or similar and give it a few good long blows.

Have fun with it

 

[C_Claycomb]

You don't need to worry about whether your knife is carbon steel or not. This has been dealt with thoroughly elsewhere. Stainless or carbon will work provided they are hard enough and have a sharp enough spine. Also, full flat grinds will work better than scandi type grinds.

With a properly sharp knife spine it is possible to throw sparks to hit the ground from a steel held at waist height. If you can do that, then getting sparks hot enough to ignite tinder at contact distance shouldn't be a problem.

Maya dust as sold in the tins seems to get a lot of bad press. I have tried it and while I can get it to work I feel it is a far inferior material when compared to making your own shavings (think scrapping rather than whittling) direct from maya sticks or other resin impregnated pine (aka fat wood).

As an alternative, have you tried it like this?
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2918

 

[andyn]

I remember those frustrations too. It took a while to get that firesteel working. I had loads of problems with Maya dust too - came to the conclusion it was horrid stuff. Useful tin though

Best of luck with it. Stick at it matey!

P.S anyone that watched Saturday Kitchen (the cooking show) and saw Ray Mears on it this weekend, would have seen James Martin suggested that a Brulee blow torch was a much better solution to rubbing two sticks together

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Actually, you dont even need a knife. Here is making fire with wood shavings and a sharp stone. My 2 cents worth is to hold the steel stationary ( I like to rest the tip against something ) and make short scratches as opposed to long scrapes.

http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/FirePiston/?action=view&current=FireSteel.flv

 

[Squidders]

Loads of preperation... make sure you have what at first seems like way too much kindling.

For practice, I would buy a bag of straw from a pet shop or something, then work up in size/thickness gradually and always more than you initially think.

For the firesteel, I always use the metal striker that comes with it and as said before, press the firesteel in to the tinder and using my thumb to push the striker slowly and with loads of pressure.

I take large chunks of firesteel off but it works every time.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Schwuk,
I'm another one that doesn't have any success with Maya dust - though the tins are useful
Find yourself some Birch bark - a good handfull for practicing. There'll be some long strips and some thicker pieces. Take a thick piece and scrape the innner surface with your knife blade till you have a small pile of dust, arrange some of the smaller strips around this and maybe some thicker bits around that.
Now for the sparks. I'll copy a post I made a while ago...
The secret in using sparks, is not to disturb the material that you are trying to light.
Arrange everything to suit the task, have your left palm facing forward with thumb to the left - it feels unnatural to begin with but I've found it works most times.
Hold the firesteel in your left hand, top of the steel grasped in little finger. The back of your index finger lightly holds the tinder in place and braces the tip of the firesteel. Then your thumb is the digit that pushes the striker down the steel, with the right hand controling the force that the two are being pushed together. With a slow, controlled action you get big fat sparks that fizzle and crackle for several seconds as oposed to one bright flash and its all over.
The situation that you want to avoid is;-
1, scattering your tinder as you strike the spark, and,
2, worse - smothering the sparks that you've just made by covering them with a large cold piece of iron!
.... you are trying to throw the sparks into the middle of the dust pile where they can ignite the smallest particles of shaved wood.
Once you get that mastered, try making some feather sticks, it won't be long until you're helping someone else out.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Goose]

Couple of tips to add, scrape the firesteel lightly, without sparking, to put some metal "dust" on your birch bark, then throw a spark on the metal shavings. This will give a more sustained spark and tends to work pretty well.
The way of cheating a little is to use cigarrette papers, they work well or go to B&Q(or wherever) and get some plumbers hemp this takes a spark really well. If you have some natural cordage(brown hairy string) take it apart and use the fibres.
The most spectacular results I have had is with bullrush(its what I call them, the long cigar like bit on the top of some reeds) seeds, they are like dandelion seeds but a lot more compact until you dry and break them up. Unfortunately they go up far too quick to pass the flame to anything else .

 

[martin]

Resin soaked pine or maya or fatwood or what ever else you want to call is easily found in this country. You have to find a Scots Pine that has come down and is rotting. This species of tree rots from the outside so all the resin collects in the center of the trunk especially round the base of the branches. Just hack em out with your axe.
For fire lighting make small feather sticks and then scrape up some dust off the remaining wood. The trick is to hold the firesteel still and push the tip of back of knife down it with your thumb. You can vary how much pressure you put on, start off light and scrape off bits of firesteel into your little pile of dust then apply more pressure to get your spark. Once you have the dust burning you light the feather sticks with it.
I've pulled rotting logs out of water and managed to get the resin soaked wood from the center to burn straight off.

 

[Neanderthal]

The most spectacular results I have had is with bullrush(its what I call them, the long cigar like bit on the top of some reeds) seeds, they are like dandelion seeds but a lot more compact until you dry and break them up. Unfortunately they go up far too quick to pass the flame to anything else .

I've found the same thing with catstail fluff. Spark-Flash of Flame-Go Out
Anyone managed to light a fire with this stuff?

 

[C_Claycomb]

The other problem with down type tinder is that it can pick up moisture fairly readily. The best downs I have used was thistle and cottonwood (black poplar), they burned just a bit longer.

 

[Goose]

I have used thisle too, I forgot about that one. It sustains better than the reed head and, with care, you can get a useful flame.

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

I know that a few of the guys have already said it on this thread but Silver Birch bark is amazing and is now my tinder of choice! Just a few minutes preparing a 100mm x 100mm square of bark, by carefully scraping the outer surface of the bark with a sharp knife so that you create a pile of dust and shavings, and the first spark from your steel with have fire. The bark seems to burn hot and oily and is just wonderful stuff.

I have found a fallen birch that is being consumed by the birch polypore I have skinned the accessible bark. Next time I visit the tree I'd be happy to get some bark and post some of it to you schwuk. Drop me a PM.

Best of luck and keeping on trying

Phil.

 

[pothunter]

Hi Schwuk

Its already been said but preparation is the key.

If you have flame from toilet paper then I guess that it’s the preparation of your kindling, bone dry, fine and lots of it.

Cant say much more only that once you get a technique that suits you nothing will be safe, another pyromaniac in the making.

Nice demo Jeff, Schwuk observe the fine shavings.

Persevere, Pothunter.

 

[Deleted member 4605]

I have found a fallen birch that is being consumed by the birch polypore I have skinned the accessible bark. Next time I visit the tree I'd be happy to get some bark and post some of it to you schwuk. Drop me a PM.

Much appreciated - have a rep point.

However I have a couple of birch trees in garden so I may 'borrow' some bark from them - being careful not to girdle the tree of course!

 

[maverix]

Hey schwuk If its materials you need i can send a cramp ball and some plant down to get you started. Another good alternative to hay is the dried goose grass that's lying about at the moment there's stacks of it at the moment

 

[Deleted member 4605]

Hey schwuk If its materials you need i can send a cramp ball and some plant down to get you started.

Seeing as I don't either to hand at the moment, I'll take you up on that offer.

 

[copper_head]

Heh Shwuk. I agree Maya dust sucks big time. I reckon the the best commercial tinder is Hammaro Wax paper (try www.bearclawbushcraft.co.uk). Also I find easier to hold the knife still and pull the steel along it, but as you say you dont want advice. just keep at it dude! Also cramp balls are great.