Survival Skills: Make fire by hand

It is very easy to criticize a prepper's efforts. He's taken the time to show a practical skill.

Here's a thought. Go outside and collect some small twigs and start a fire with a lighter. Can you coax it into a teepee fire? Can you then make it into a logcabin fire to build coals? Did you create a suitable fire for warmth or cooking, or just create something quick that wouldn't warm anyone or would burn meals?

How long did it take? Did you do it and it caught immediately? Or did you fiddle around a long time because the wind blew it out? Did you starve the fire by not enough spaces between the twigs and produce lots of smoke?

Were you proud of the speed of making it? If someone watched you, would they be impressed?

I'll bet that 99% of the people who are critical can't build a fire quickly, for it's been my experience camping over many decades (yes I'm an old fart), that most people can't do the very basic survival skill to a high level of proficiency.

If you can't do this, how will you fare when stranded or lost or simply without power and need warmth and heat for cooking? There's no shame, just keep trying and honing your ability.

If you know how, then progress a litle and learn how to use flint (chert probably) and steel, for that's how your ancestors did it. Teach young people too.

I myself have done survival techniques since I was 6 and still do today I'm now 22 I still say I'm not an expert but I know if its needed I am competent that I could survive of the land with pretty much nothing to start with......

my dad was ex forces and drummed into me how to survive and not be found either he is still adamant that something will happen so I'm glad I'm prepared if anything does.

Anyone got more good survival tips and info, links or videos?

I agree that many people who are critical lack even the proper foundation to criticize... My only "criticism" was that he used a lighter to start the fire.

I grew up in a family of Gold Miners... I spent my childhood summers "Catching dinner" "Picking the salad" and starting the campfires. I was taught at a very young age how to make a "1 match fire" (As my Dad used to call it) which meant precisely that. I got ONE match to start the dinner fire. It took me a while to learn how to properly build the fires so that they fed themselves and grew to a nice warmth, and subsequently fell inward to create the coal bed for cooking.

This is a skill I have passed on to my kids. But with them, I have stressed that they can never use paper as kindling and often times I have them start the fire with magnesium, or a strike/flint or even use chemicals (The old brake fluid /pool shock trick works well as a survival fire starter). I have taught them to use batteries with steel wool as well as other methods. The fires they build require little or no effort once the flame is started. Hell, just the other night my son told me he was having trouble lighting a back-yard firepit fire because the wood was soaked. I took ten minutes of time and showed him how to properly peel some layers off the wet wood, so they would dry faster as the heat was applied and started a nice fire with that "wet wood"

I gave credit to this poster's technique and only added that I would have built it up more.

I would just like to see a few different techniques used, rather than using a lighter.

I completely agree to the above, well said!

Its amazing how many people don't have any wilderness experience. I guess its a sign of the times. When I was a kid only the rich kids had video games. The rest of us played outside. Sports, fishing, hiking, camping etc was pretty much a way of life. All of my friends knew how to build a fire, make a temporary shelter & read and use a map and compass by the time we were 10. Things have really changed.

You can say THAT again...

Orange peel is great for making a fire. An orange... not so much.

Yh I coulda been clearer on that point admittedly but the skin can certainly be used

what do you wanna know

"Make sure you get the landowners PERMISSION"

Right O English slave. Your royalty fetish/ weakness really sucks, you guys are still nothing more than chattel slaves to your pedo scum ruling class
In the USA, public lands are available to all citizens, we don't need " permission" because WE are the "landowner"

Attn all white English! Abandon the island to the savage turd worlders your owners imported, the island is LOST! Come to America and help us defeat your masters!

Also, I thought this had something to do with "skill" this taffy bahstad just used a lighter, who can't start a fire with a lighter?

If you can't, you fucking deserve to freeze/die

Sure...lighter is in hand, yeah that counts.

thats why I leant over techniques in case there isn't a lighter to hand

Let me know what other techniques you have?

Thanks will check it out

I will make sure to bring my lighter as long I got one around though.

well now you know to use a lighter when making a fire
duh

The most cool method of starting a fire is an Indonesian method called a fire piston.

Most people could make these.

Here's one in operation.


It's a unique and clever means of using the compression of air molecules to ignite a tinder. It saves you from chipping away a piece of steel from striking it with chert. Flint is not that commonly found in the USA, but chert or similar rock is commonly found.

It would make an excellent Christmas gift.

wow thats awesome stuff thanks for sharing!

You're welcome. That's what being a prepper and knowing bushcraft is all about. Now, I challenge you to spend the minimal amount of money to buy the supplies and make one for yourself FIRST. Then try to start a tinder fire. Get good at it. The SECOND is to teach people. Then THIRD make them for your friends. I know that most guys would love to be able to make fire from scratch, it's just that they're embarrassed that they never learned how. Facilitating life skills like fire-making is a very healthy life affirming thing to pass along.

We've become shadows of who were are meant to be...true being of power. We bought into a lie of being a slave to a master, usually a corporation. Become a free person instead.

Great tips, I am looking into different ideas right now, and building up knowledeg and experience that can come in handy ! :)

LOL - anybody can create fire with tender and a lighter or a fire steel and dry tender.

Try it primitive style with flint and steel or ore, or better yet with a bow drill.

Hand drill is impossible for me but I have not found the correct wood and conditions have to be extremely arid and dry.

Bow drill is a lot more tolerant and I finally got it mastered.

Its definitely not something where you can just watch a video and go out get lost then expect to build a fire with sticks. It takes practice in gathering the right materials and proper technique.

If you can master the bow drill you will never be without fire no matter what. All you need is a piece of string, bought, shoelace, made or fabricated, sinew etc.

Ummm, have you ever made a bowdrill with a shoelace? It'll probably break under the pressure of twisting it around the spindle.

While a bowdrill is beautiful to make and use, it's not very practical at all. Most fire in history was made with a chert/steel combination. Not with charcloth at all for the folks who use that. That's something that was made for rich people. No regular person on the frontier would waste an expensive piece of cloth by heating it up into charcloth.

You might try the mouth drill method if you'd like trying some novel firemaking, but the vibrations you get unless the shaft of the spindle is perfect will set your teeth on edge. That's a lot of trouble versus flint/steel or a fire pistol.

Depends on what sort of shoe laces your use.

I disagree with not practical although it is a lot easier to just carry a lighter or matches. I always carry 5 ways to start a fire when out.

If the conditions are fairly dry I can get a coal probably 80-90% of the time in about 2 minutes if I can find the right wood. I do consider it a last resort, but if outdoors a lot I think it s a good idea to practice it occasionally. Good for kids too as long as they are old enough.

You certainly would not want to carry a drill set around to light a cigarette. Some African plains hunters still use hand drills.

From what I understand Back in the old days one common setup was a tinder rope setup in a brass tinder tube with a flint and steel. I have made one of those and it works. Just draw the cord back into the tube and it snuffs it out, then the end is charred for the next spark.

I will pass on the mouth drill method, thank you.

A fire piston is something I would like to build, but have not as of yet.

Opinion - What percentage of GLP tards have actually built a fire ?? - LOL.

I would give it a solid 10%.

At the survival school I attended, there was a mix of mountain men, military personnel, survivalists, a very wealthy rich couple who had read a book and had been inspired to come see what it was all about. Most of them brought these enormous Rambo knives since they'd seen the movie. You wouldn't believe how ridiculous they looked trying to use their brand new knives and all of the blisters in the first two days.

I actually brought a small lockblade that I used every day, and was the first or second to get my bow drill inspected, made a coal right away, placed it into a tinder bundle and blew it into flame. It's the closest thing to real magic left on the Earth. Would believe that a lot of people didn't get a flame going for the next couple of days, even being mentored, and some never completed the assignment at all?

Most people can't start a fire with matches, much less make a bow drill fire.