# How easily could people start a fire before matches and lighters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606 "2011-12-28T05:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/81 "2016-02-09T23:31:06Z")
I read about some physicist working in the Nevada desert found himself with no way to light his cigarette. He found an empty beer can, lined it up in the sand/dirt with the tip of an unlit cigarette also set up in the sand, got in the trench, waited for the flash and shockwave of the test device to pass over him, then got out of the trench, retrieved and smoked his cigarette. Personally, I feel packing a nuclear device in your camping gear or go-bag to light a cigarette or start a campfire is a bit, well, much. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/82 "2016-02-10T00:13:38Z")
OK, I simply must see a cite for that one. Not because I doubt it, but because it’s so awesome. ---
**Author:** ![westhou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f1d935/32.png) [@westhou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/westhou)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/83 "2016-02-10T01:50:21Z")
Howz about a regular Zippo with no wick or lighter fluid packed with charcloth? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/84 "2016-02-10T02:40:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, I simply must see a cite for that one. Not because I doubt it, but because it’s so awesome. Is [this](http://modernnotion.com/man-lit-a-cigarette-with-a-nuclear-bomb/) a good enough citation? Okay, I got some of the info wrong. It’s been a while since I read that. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/85 "2016-02-10T03:08:19Z")
My daughter took a primitive living skills class. Actually, she took many of them. One day she called me, and was very excited. She told me she just started a fire. Using only material available in the forest. She said it only took her four hours. She mentioned, it would have taken longer, but she had a pocket knife to assist her. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/86 "2016-02-10T03:24:58Z")
Ishi came in contact with the white man in 1911. The story of his life is a great read. > **[Ishi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi)** > > Ishi (c. 1861 – March 25, 1916) was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were killed in the California genocide in the 19th century. Ishi, who was widely acclaimed as the "last wild Indian" in the United States, lived most of his life isolated from modern North American culture. In 1911, aged 50, he emerged at a barn and corral, 2 mi (... When he was asked what is the greatest achievement of the white man, Ishi replied, “Matches”. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/87 "2016-05-29T21:26:48Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’ve gotten char cloth to catch easily with artificial flint (which sparks much hotter) but never with sparks struck off steel. I think I must be doing something wrong. So I finally decided to order a ready-made flint and steel kit to see if either my steel, my flint, or my char cloth was why I was having so much trouble. Turned out to be my char cloth. The cloth that came with the kit wasn’t even woven, it was a sort of cotton felt, that takes sparks struck off steel instantly. Apparently tightly-woven canvas which I got from an old carry bag wasn’t the best choice to make char cloth from. :o ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/88 "2016-05-29T22:51:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Indeed, much of today’s society is devoted to _preventing_ a fire. Indeed, indeed. I was a Boy Scout and know as many ways to start a fire as to put one out. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Matches are cheap and pretty much universally available. We’re on a planet where most of the world is less than a mile away from a bottle of Coke. Very few places are going to be out of reach of a match. In the First World we forget that. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/89 "2016-05-29T22:59:49Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > A couple of things to note: > > Someone asked about various methods of lighting fire. Among them are the fire piston, the fire bow, the hand drill, the fire plow, **the fire thong** … My bold. EEE-_ **YOW** _!! Today must be Zombie Revival Day. In honor of Memorial Day, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/90 "2016-05-29T23:01:26Z")
No, we just like thongs. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/91 "2016-05-29T23:57:13Z")
Because a few of the earlier links have died, I’m adding a link to the [Primitive Technology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI) YouTube vid where he makes fire three ways. I find his videos soothing. He doesn’t explain anything so the only sounds are ambient ones. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/92 "2016-05-30T00:32:54Z")
“How to start a fire” didn’t strike me as something one needs to do in the best possible way. There are lots of ways that are good enough. I start fires ask the time. I light candles for birthdays and holidays. I light my charcoal grill. When we lose electricity, i light my gas stove. I use matches. They are cheap, they keep for more than a decade in a dry place, and they are very reliable. Rarely, the first match didn’t work. It gets blown out or something. There are 200 more in the box. Did i mention they are cheap? Lighters work, too, although i doubt they keep as long as matches. They stay lit longer, though. I’ve never used one of those magnesium blocks, but they look neat. Less convenient than a match, which comes with a convenient handle, but i bet they are good even when wet. I’ve tried to start a fire with a bow, and gave up. The guy who lent me the bow could do it, so the problem was me, not it. It’s cool that you can do it, but that’s not a practical method unless you have time and resources to learn how. Oh, and don’t forget that you can use a magnifying glass on a sunny day. That’s pretty easy and stores well. Of course, you need the weather to cooperate. As for keeping and transporting fire, that’s dead easy. One winter my family rented a ski house with a nice fire place. Just for kicks, i decided to see if i could keep the fire going the whole week. With no prior training, i succeeded. Every night, before bed, i knocked the fire apart so the burning logs didn’t touch and would stay cooler. Then i covered them with ashes. Early the next evening, i poked around until i found some live coals. I always did. I used newspaper as both tinder and kindling. (I used fluffed up crumpled paper first, then “logs” of tightly rolled up paper.) With just newspaper and dried split oak logs, i was able to restart the fire from the coals. I’m sure you could carry fire from one house to another just by putting some ashes and smoldering coals into any fire proof container (a metal pot or ceramic bowl) and just carrying it for up to an hour or two to your next fireplace. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/93 "2016-05-30T00:37:11Z")
Um, yes, maybe I’m a bit of a pyromaniac… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/94 "2016-05-30T01:10:40Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ve tried to start a fire with a bow, and gave up. The guy who lent me the bow could do it, so the problem was me, not it. It’s cool that you can do it, but that’s not a practical method unless you have time and resources to learn how. I’m still working on that one. Out of several attempts one has worked so far. Really what you’re doing is grinding out wood dust and then (hopefully) getting it hot enough to start smoldering. What all those how-to videos and manuals ought to tell you is that until you’ve actually done it yourself, you don’t know how. :dubious: > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Um, yes, maybe I’m a bit of a pyromaniac… Same here. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/95 "2016-05-30T01:50:59Z")
Yeah, fire-by-friction is _hard_. My scout troop once had a competition between the two patrols to see who could do it quickest. My patrol won… but not until after we had broken the thong that came with the kit, tied it, broke it again, then broke the spare thong and two shoelaces, and finally resorted to rolling it between the palms of our hands. It’s a really good thing that it’s so easy to keep a fire once started. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/96 "2016-06-04T01:45:37Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > So I finally decided to order a ready-made flint and steel kit to see if either my steel, my flint, or my char cloth was why I was having so much trouble. Turned out to be my char cloth. The cloth that came with the kit wasn’t even woven, it was a sort of cotton felt, that takes sparks struck off steel instantly. Apparently tightly-woven canvas which I got from an old carry bag wasn’t the best choice to make char cloth from. :o P.S. also, the steel in the kit I bought works much better than the old steel file I was using; so well in fact that I’m suspicious that they cheated and added some cerium into their steel. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/97 "2016-06-12T03:44:49Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > Spill planes were special kind of plane designed to make spills, a coiled sliver of wood great for lighting your pipe or whatever. Lots of these would be kept in a spill vase near the fireplace. See Paul Sellers on youtube for a demo. > > FWIW, > Rob Dayum, I gotta find me one of those! ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/98 "2016-06-12T04:35:37Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’m still working on that one. Out of several attempts one has worked so far. Really what you’re doing is grinding out wood dust and then (hopefully) getting it hot enough to start smoldering. > > What all those how-to videos and manuals ought to tell you is that until you’ve actually done it yourself, you don’t know how. This is exactly correct. Unless one has practiced, I suspect the odds of success in a true survival situation to approach Zero. Cold, tired, lost, wet, hungry - really doubtful. The wood selection in a bow drill is critical, the board has to be cut just so, and without a cord for the bow, that won’t work either. Shoelaces are OK. It’s also exhausting. What it does do, is hammer home the idea to NEVER be without the sure means to (safely) start a campfire should it be required. As such, I usually carry three or four. Matches, lighter, magnesium bar, sparklight etc. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/99 "2016-06-12T05:01:59Z")
If you’re a Jack London fan but haven’t read it yet, [his short story _To Build a Fire_ is available on-line](https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf). The man had only matches, no flint-steel. > [@](#): > > He made a flame by touching a match to a small piece of tree bark that he took from his pocket. This burned even better than paper. Placing it on the foundation, he fed the young flame with pieces of dry grass and with the smallest dry sticks. > > He worked slowly and carefully, realizing his danger. Gradually, as the flame grew stronger, he increased the size of the sticks with which he fed it. He sat in the snow, pulling the sticks from the bushes under the trees and feeding them directly to the flame. He knew he must not fail. When it is 75 below zero, a man must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire. This is especially true if his feet are wet. If his feet are dry, and he fails, he can run along the trail for half a mile to keep his blood moving. But the blood in wet and freezing feet cannot be kept moving by running when it is 75 degrees below. No matter how fast he runs, the wet feet will freeze even harder. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606/100 "2016-06-12T05:58:27Z")
All of those Hipster Stoner types are gonna die with vapes futility clutched in their cold, dead fingers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easily-could-people-start-a-fire-before-matches-and-lighters/607606.md?page=6)