starting fires, natural tinder, wet wood - any tips?

[shutupthepunx]

hey, im just looking for some advice on starting fires, in any conditions i supposed but especially the wet. I was out last night for a night and i had no problem geting a fire going yesterday eveing and same this morning but i used methods id rather not - a lighter and a bit of rubber, then a just put shavings and spit bits of dead brances on top of that and off it went.

I'd like know how to start a fire with my fire steel and natural tinder (i usually get alcohol gel i use for hand sanitation goin with my fire steel and take it from there but yesterday i brought the wrong bottle of stuff with me and it wouldn't light). i brought a little bag of pretty dry grass with me, and i put some charcloth into the centre of it but even though the cloth held embers, the grass wouldn't take. There were no birch trees around, but would birch bark catch fire from simply a spark anyway?

even if i harvested tinder elsewhere and brough it with me, i think id feel much better and less 'defeated' if i could get a fire goin from natural materials. Then swap out my fire steel for flint and steel but gotta learn to crawl first, eh?

thanks alot.

 

[Bones]

In very wet conditions, I have found dead standing willow or pine and split it to reveal the dry dead wood inside. I then split it into the proper diameter sticks and then very finely slice a pile of shavings and sawdust for the fero rod to light. It takes time, and you need a good rain cover above you and a dry surface to work on.
Dry leaves, twigs and bark can often be found under logs, fallen trees etc.
All the best

 

[ammo]

If you want to start useing natural tinders, try to collect them, before you need them. I always pick bits up as i walk. I'm a bit of a firebug though.

 

[petrochemicals]

paper and lots and lots of fine kindling, as in a pile of it, when you think "thats enough now" keep going and gather 4 more piles. Branches etc onto that. I would not reccommend dead bark thats wet anyway. Pine does burn well and quickly pine needle branches also well. Paper is natural. As for flint to ember, dried (beefcake?) mushroom, reeds, grass, and what ever you can find .

Edit.

Easiest and best kindling is from under ebergreen trees, still attached to the trunk with pine needles so its dry, are dead branches, exellent easy to gather kindling, 20 branches of this and your away.

 

[SJStuart]

A good lump of Birch bark should be dry on the inside even when the exterior of the tree is wet (that's what makes Birch bark so good for making canoes). Rough up the interior surface of the bark with a knife as much as you can and throw some sparks at it... boom

If Birch bark isn't around, take the thickest and driest lumps of dead wood you can find and split it into quarters (or 8ths if it's sufficient in diameter). Make either a large pile of shavings, or a fine feather stick. Throw some sparks at it... with as much patience as you can muster... and it should eventually light up for you.

Also, splitting the largest, driest lumps of wood you can find should give you an adequate supply of dry material to burn (certainly enough to establish the fire as kindling, and for an initial bed of coals capable of drying out wetter lumps of wood).

As others have said, there's virtually always some dry tinder materials to be found without having to rely on a healthy Birch or splitting into core wood. Think of it a lot like the leaves being dry under your car when it rains, while all those around your car are soaked. You need to be imaginative when you're searching for the driest materials.
Evergreen trees, for example, will provide a great "natural umbrella" to harbour dry tinder, kindling... hell, even entire branches! Likewise, some of the larger pine trees (and heavier canopies) will shelter materials you can burn.
Woods heavy in flammable sap/tar (such as good pine [fatwood]) will still burn even when soaking wet... and if that sap/tar is on the surface, simply roughing it up a bit with your knife will allow it to catch a spark amazingly well (though you will have to wipe the sticky stuff off your knife afterward, but that's trivial).

There's no real reason why we (any of us) shouldn't be able to light a healthy fire in even the most soaking of conditions (floods not-withstanding, of course).

 

[Ogri the trog]

Your drive towards using natural materials is good to hear, but don't turn your back on the methods that you have proved to be worthy when the chips are down.

Scraped birch bark, finely cut feather-sticks, shredded fat wood etc. will all ignite from a ferro-rod spark, but I think most people would have difficulty lighting them with flint & steel!

My fire kit will often contain fungus, charred punk-wood, flint, quartz and steel, as well as a ferro-rod, matches and a lighter - it gives me options - when I have the time to practise primitive methods, I can do, but when I need it, I can make fire quickly with modern kit!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[shaggystu]

Some good info here on winter firelighting with natural tinders http://frontierbushcraft.com/2013/12/08/essential-winter-firelighting-techniques/

HTH

Stuart.

 

[rik_uk3]

Nothing as all wrong with using a strip of rubber...it works. At my age I like simple solutions to problems.

 

[Big Stu 12]

I am one of these that carries a leather tinder pouch around with me any dry stuff I like the look of I pick up and it goes in the pouch, that then is in my sack, then at night it goes in my sleeping bag ... keeps it dry and away from the damp all night ready for the next day,

I also keep a few bits of pre cut kindleing left over that I have dried out in front fire the night before, that also get put in my rucksack ready for the moring.

 

[ammo]

Exactly how I do it. I've got my kids trained now. They can spot tinder at 50 paces.

I am one of these that carries a leather tinder pouch around with me any dry stuff I like the look of I pick up and it goes in the pouch, that then is in my sack, then at night it goes in my sleeping bag ... keeps it dry and away from the damp all night ready for the next day.
I also keep a few bits of pre cut kindleing left over that I have dried out in front fire the night before, that also get put in my rucksack ready for the moring.

 

[ged]

Nothing as all wrong with using a strip of rubber...it works. At my age I like simple solutions to problems.

Can't fault that. I carry a little bottle of meths with me everywhere.

 

[SJStuart]

Jerrycan of unleaded and a self-igniting flare.... all the firestarter you'll need

(I'm joking, of course)

 

[spandit]

Plenty of plastic bottles/bags lying around, sadly. They'll burn hot in the wet

 

[Ruud]

I've used a lot of 'modern' tinders in the past, but when you have a birch tree in the neighbourhood, and you know how to apply the right techniques to harvest a nice slab of birchbark, you have everything you need to get the fire started. A good preperation is needed, as it is a big part of the fire-lighting skill. The preparation itself is a skill which must be learned.

[video=youtube;KsQh-Ir9_9g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQh-Ir9_9g[/video]

 

[Erro Telcontar]

I'm also a pouch stuffer at every opportunity which allows that initial flash from the fire steel the best chance of creating flame, especially when its wet out. If you’re looking at starting to use natural tinders, practice in the dry to start with and just have a play. I’ve found thistle heads to be very easy to light with a firesteel, though the flame is short lived. Cramp Balls are excellent. Birch bark is easiest when you pull a section from a fallen log and scrape the surface with a knife. Have a search for Paul Kirtley, he has a great video on this.
Having said that, I’ve found the very best way to guarantee a fire in the wet is to become well practiced in making feathersticks. As such, this is now my ‘standard’ method of fire lighting so that the skill is second nature when it comes to actually needing it. I’m also quite ‘economical with my efforts’ though some might say lazy! And collecting one dead branch to bring into camp, spilt and feather has a good low effort high satisfaction ratio also. Used as kindling they’ve never failed me yet. I’ve found sycamore the easiest to learn the skill with as its long grain makes it a dodle to split and shave, and it burns well. Once you’ve got the hang of it, hazel, willow and pine are then very good. When paired with the birch shavings (also reliable when wet) you should with practice be fire lighting in a down pour.
Obviously, general fire lighting methodology applies and is more important than ever when lighting in the wet.

 

[Oldwoodyrock]

In wet weather, and here in the Pacific Northwest of North America we have plenty of that, one can always get fire going with smashed up fatwood. Fatwood being the heart of pines etc. that is left from a down tree rotting away. Often all that is left is the old knot holes...they look like large canine teeth. They are so rich in pitch that even though wet will light, and burn very hot with little effort. sometimes you can find whole stumps with the heart all fatwood. A feww wee pieces of fatwood in your fire starting kit is a good thing to have with you. Find some, and play with it at home...outside of course.
Woody

 

[British Red]

If you are going to take a strip of rubber with you...why not just take a packet of Zip firelighters (the individually wrapped ones don't stink)

 

[Hibrion]

I have found a birch bark to be the best tinder and use it with a few feather sticks. it never fails to light. Try practice making feather sticks as much as you can as some people find it difficult. A small piece of fatwood in your tinder box is an excellent backup to bring along. Think of it as the natural equivalent to the rubber tube.

 

[shutupthepunx]

thanks everyone. i'll try and source myself some fatwood then. there's a pine plantation i was planning to take a walk in over christmas so hopefully i can find some there. and yeah ill get on it with adding stuff to my pouch as i come across it as it seems as a great idea and yet so simple.