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Author Topic: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks  (Read 12872 times)

Offline gaddy

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #30 on: June 14, 2017, 01:32:00 PM »
I carry a little zip lock with cotton balls with petroleum jelly. I add to them a bit of magnesium dust, slivers and small chunks.
I have never been able to get fire from sticks. I have tried several times.
Once you get the cotton going it will fire the dust, then slivers, then chunks of magnesium. Now you have a hot enough fire to dry small wet twigs and go from there.
I should practice more with the sticks. You never know when you will loose your kit.

Offline Okanagan

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #31 on: June 14, 2017, 02:04:25 PM »
Carry 2 Bic lighters.  Problem solved.

I've had two Bic lighters come part in my pocket and leave me with tiny useless parts.  I carry a lighter but don't trust it.  A ferro rod and steel plus some homemade firestarter wafers and some thin slats of pitchwood are with me always.


Offline j_h_nimrod

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #32 on: June 16, 2017, 10:54:03 PM »
Still remember my survival instructor telling me that in a true survival situation to have the least competent or most shocked person work on the fire while you do something useful. Fire is typically a comfort, not a survival necessity.


That being the case I still carry multiple lighters even though I rarely use them.

Offline Seahawk12

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #33 on: June 17, 2017, 12:03:03 AM »
These are cool deals to keep in the bottom of the pack:
"I make up my opinions from facts and reasoning, and not to suit any body but myself. If people don't like my opinions, it makes little difference as I don't solicit their opinions or votes."
William Tecumseh Sherman

Offline Threewolves

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #34 on: June 17, 2017, 07:41:31 AM »
I used to never have an interest in friction fire. I watched a show a while back and thought maybe I'll give it a try. My grandson (16) came over the other day and I asked him what he wanted to do, he said he didn't know. I told him I wanted to make FIRE with a bow drill.

To speed up the learning curve we watched two you tube videos. One was some lady it looked like she was making kits, she had been to some week long school learning, it took her a while, but she got a fire going. The second video was a about tips, not getting in a hurry, cutting the notch at an angle and such.

So, went out in the garage and got some materials together. It was way easier than I thought it was going to be. We started with an oak drill and cedar board. To add a level of coolness to it we used a slightly curved beaver chew stick for the bow. 5-50 cord for the string. Oh, the Grandson seemed kind of interested became really interested when it started smoking. The cedar was less than a 1/2 inch thick and the oak drill went through that pretty fast. We basically burned three holes through the cedar and moved on to a pine board. Like the guy said in the video don't get in a hurry. Also, the coal forms in the dust.

We really didn't have good birds nest material. It was it was raining hard and steady outside. I had him go around the garage and pick up the spider webs with the leaves and pine needles. Unfortunately I had cleaned out the garage so pickings were slim.   We got a coal, put it in the birds nest and couldn't get it going. We got another coal in the birds nest and got it going a little it was smoldering didn't seem like it was going to go so I put it down. Jacob was going to start working on another coal and I thought don't get in a hurry I picked it up and a little light breath and FIRE.

When I think about the ancients getting fire way back in the day, no bic, no matches, no scout masters juice I think how cool and now we can do it too. In a related story, I was talking to a buddy of mine about this and he told me in his youth he was trying to make fire. His dad offered to help, he thought his dad didn't know anything. His dad took his bow drill set up and poof instantly made fire. Apparently his dad grew up in WW2 Norway and sometimes they didn't have matches or money to get matches and that's how they started the fire to heat there house and cook. 
« Last Edit: June 17, 2017, 08:23:16 AM by Threewolves »
There are only so many sunrises left.

Offline Gearhead1940

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Re: Making Fire...Rubbing sticks
« Reply #35 on: October 26, 2017, 02:10:50 PM »
Three Wolves, that's exactly where I have gotten to. The ember. Very frustrating. I'm going to keep at it till I can make it happen.

 


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