Prefered fire lighting method

[Toadflax]

I prefer flint, steel and charcloth, as that seems to me to be the most authentic method for the UK.

But all (well, maybe not the ICBM!) methods presented here are valid - you have to judge yourself why you are lighting a fire and how you want to light it. I personally like the idea of trying to imitate my ancestors, but in practise, I think that most people at a given time will use the most advanced /affordable /available technology that is around - unless you're a weirdo bushcrafter like me.

If, let us say, the Vikings had access to matches, would they have continued to use flint and steel? I think not, unless there were stone age re-enactors among the Vikings (OK, by definition stone age people would not have had steel)...


Geoff

 

[lofthouse31]

i think my least favourite way of lighting a fire would be my own instantaneous ( im sure i spelt that wrong) combustion.
Sure you have the advantage of instant heat but i think that would be outweighed by the whole searing pain and imminant death.
Overwise i voted for the hand drill if uneducated and less evolved beings could manage it then modern man should have no probs lol.
The drill is an artform but i think like peeing when drunk once it has been mastered it will be a life long benifit

 

[arbre de bouleau]

flint and steel on verious types of fungus . getting a big warm fire from a tiny dull red spark is satisfiying .

 

[Greg]

I'm beginning to like the use of potassium permanganate and engine coolant.
Although I still prefer my Ultimate Survival Ferocium rod & striker kit with WetFire.

 

[Yonderer]

I prefer to use a firesteel. I always carry a lighter and matches with me, but seem to always reach for the firesteel.
I can get a coal with some consitency using a bow drill but have never had any success with a hand drill.
I like using a flint and steel for the historical aspect but the firesteel is more convenient for me.

 

[Cephas]

Well, i voted matches, and it is the method i use the most for my fire lighting needs, and i also use my trusty zippo lighter. I don't like gas lighters, and i love the sound of the zippo opening. But, i have to be honest, my bushcraft fire lighting methods are, some what, very bad. Need practice. And i never used flint and steel or fire steel or fire piston... Shame on me...

 

[combatblade1]

Firesteel for me never used bow drill will have to learn. My matches always seem to get wet!!

 

[Porcupine]

flint and steel , the best combo of traditional and fast in my opinion.

i never leave home without my ferrorod and opinel though,less traditional but guaranteed to work.

 

[jdlenton]

it's hand drill for me too there is just something so good about getting a coal that way, i've not had much chance to practcice recently so my hands wont be up to much hand drilling this summer. but i'll still be having a go.

J*

 

[mgr_scout]

For me first of all is flint and steel, second firesteel - they are always reliable

 

[w00dsmoke]

My favourite method is to use a mini flare. Great if you NEED to light a fire in wet conditions !

I'd like to see this! Doesn't the mini flares just shoot out and reck your fire bundle?

My mini flares have an expiry date of 12/07 so this is gonna be interesting!

 

[Nightwalker]

I'd like to see this! Doesn't the mini flares just shoot out and reck your fire bundle?

My mini flares have an expiry date of 12/07 so this is gonna be interesting!

I've got a couple of hand-flaires, myself & a friend joked about using it to light a fire one wet day. I was just wondering the expiry date on mine are a couple of years out but they have been very well looked after (mostly in a draw all their life), should I dispose of them do you think? or do you think they'd be alright to use? volatile maybe? lol.

 

[Sleepy Weasel]

Firesteel, haven't lit a fire with matches or lighter for years now, and that includes an occasion with 9 nurses, a bus driver, a few rabbits and the biggest hailstorm I've seen for years, did cheat on that one with some cotton wool balls covered in vaseline(emergency use only)

Do have a fire bow when I feel energetic
Lost eyebrows with potassium permanganate and glycerin, lots of fun tho'
Flint and steel is particularly satisfying
Would love to try fire piston
Fire by distress flare is scary, fun, but scary

 

[Chusney]

Well i prefer the lighter but i was taught by a very good fire maker in scouts and he taught me how to use Flint and Steel but i still like to use the old tradition but i like to use my dads bow drill some times as its a bit of fun

Regards,

Chusney

 

[Shewie]

Firestell for speed and convenience ........

If I`ve got plenty of time to gather materials and the weather is dry you can`t beat the satisfaction of creating that little glowing ember with a bow and drill.

Never managed to get an ember with a hand drill although I`ve tried often enough. It might be due to the fact that I`ve got arms like a lady, don`t you know !

 

[weekender]

Voted firesteel because of the satisfaction gained but havnt yet mastered the bowdrill or hand drill

 

[Martyn]

Firesteel as the most reliable, I find it easier to start a fire with a firesteel than with a match or lighter - I suppose it's just habbit really. Bit of birch bark and a ferro rod seems to do the trick every time, though I do carry a 35mm film cannister of cotton balls soaked in vaseline as a backup, though again, easily lit with a firesteel. I also find firesteels the easiest and safest thing to use for lighting stoves, petrol, meths or gas. I would pick a firesteel over a lighter or box of matches any day. I keep one firesteel in the pocket of every coat and jacket I own.

For pleasure, next would have to be flint and steel. I have about half a dozen different steels and love em. They are easy enough to carry along with the necessary tinder, but the need for charcloth makes em unreliable as a first choice. Shame that, cos I do love to use the flint and steel. It seems to have the right combination of effort over result to make the most satisfying. The kit, when assembled into a pouch with some tinder and flint, makes a compact, traditional set that is a pleasure to handle in itself. So flint & steel gets the "satisfactioin" award from me. I do carry a tinder tube as well, which makes the need for charcloth less crucial. Good for lighting ciggies.

I really struggle with a firebow, I get knackered and have only got a coal once which I didnt manage to blow into flame due to lack of preparation. But I am putting together another, better firebow set to practice at home with. Hopefully, I'll get the hang of it, but I think it will always be an "emergency" solution, because of the huge effort involved when comparted to other methods.

 

[mazeman]

I voted for a fire steel - but am empassioned by a bowdrill, sets me on fire too!

 

[Ogri the trog]

I haven't voted in the poll,
Primarily because I'll use whatever method presents itself at the time. I can use all but the hand-drill from the list (and thanks to Rich59, I got an ember at the summer moot - so it won't be too long until I have a hand-drill fire) and regularly use most methods, as well as some that arent listed.
If the expectaion is results, I'll use the fastest method in my arsenal, but if the expectation is a primative method, then I'll use one of those.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[scottishwolf]

My favourite method is to use a mini flare. Great if you NEED to light a fire in wet conditions !

Here here, i'll agree with that one, see Mojofilters post here http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32226&highlight=mojo+lights

But I personally prefer the firesteel struck from the back of a mora, or matches