How easily could people start a fire before matches and lighters?

Factual Questions
81

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.

82

OK, I simply must see a cite for that one. Not because I doubt it, but because it’s so awesome.

83

Howz about a regular Zippo with no wick or lighter fluid packed with charcloth?

84

Is this a good enough citation?

Okay, I got some of the info wrong. It’s been a while since I read that.

85

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.

86

Ishi came in contact with the white man in 1911. The story of his life is a great read.

When he was asked what is the greatest achievement of the white man, Ishi replied, “Matches”.

87

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

88

Indeed, indeed. I was a Boy Scout and know as many ways to start a fire as to put one out.

In the First World we forget that.

89

My bold.

EEE-YOW!!
Today must be Zombie Revival Day. In honor of Memorial Day, I guess.

90

No, we just like thongs.

91

Because a few of the earlier links have died, I’m adding a link to the Primitive Technology 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.

92

“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.

93

Um, yes, maybe I’m a bit of a pyromaniac…

94

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:

Same here. :stuck_out_tongue:

95

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.

96

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.

97

Dayum, I gotta find me one of those!

98

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.

99

If you’re a Jack London fan but haven’t read it yet, his short story To Build a Fire is available on-line.

The man had only matches, no flint-steel.

100

All of those Hipster Stoner types are gonna die with vapes futility clutched in their cold, dead fingers.