Fire Starting/Survival Skills

[rklenseth]

I can give some lessons on survival on this forum if you want.


But there are a number of ways to build a fire without matches but you will need more than just kindling with all of them.

With the rubbing stick method, you want to have a pit dug. pile your kindling in a log cabin style with only two layers and then stuff dead, brittle grass, birch bark, and the really small, dead branches of pine trees around the two layers of kindling. Try to figure out which direction the wind is coming in and face that direction so that the wind will go down into the pit and feed the fire with oxygen. The pit has two purposes, keeps the wind from blowing out your fire when you have started it and allows you to have control of the fire. Now take two pieces of kindling and being rubbing them together pretty fast. The friction between the two pieces will being to burn and smoke. When it really begins to smoke, stop rubbing them together and put lay the two pieces, with the smoking/burnt sides up (you should see some sparks) then begin to pile the dead grass and dead pine branches on top but not too much to smother the fire. The heat or sparks should catch them on fire as soon as you have a flame, begin piling the kindling in the log cabin style. Do not just throw the kindling on, you will smother the fire. the log cabin style will make sure that the fire breaths and allows the wind to naturally feed the fire with oxygen. And at this point you should have a fire.

You can also start a fire with a piece of glass. This does work too.

Flint and steel always work. If you don't have the store bought versions, flint is actually pretty common in nature so you should be able to find a piece and replace the steel with a stone which works just as well. If you don't know if it is flint, strike the rock against another rock that you know isn't flint and you should see sparks flash. Flint is usually a pretty dark rock.

Matches or a butane lighter always works.

Two pieces of copper wiring, a nine volt or car battery, and steel wool works great. This is pretty cool and I recommend you try this method for shit and giggles.

These are the most common ways of starting a fire. I can further explain some of the others.

[sammigurl61190]

Mr. Outdoors. I have a feeling you like to go camping, am I right?

I think camping is when they don't put a chocolate on your pillow after they tuck back the bed. ^^;

[rklenseth]

Well, I do live in the middle of the wilderness. It's hard not to know this stuff as well as am (or use to be; don't have the time anymore) quite involved in the Boy Scouts. I work at a Boy Scout Camp during the summer for 8 weeks and yes I sleep in a tent for a full 8 weeks but it isn't as bad as you think.

[sammigurl61190]

*shudders* I went to a Girl Scout camp once. I found a spider in my bed/cot and called my mom and left on the first night. It wasn't a pretty sight.

[David]

Sure, I'm all ears. We are getting way off-topic now though. So that forum may be a better place to talk.

EDIT: Actually not really if we are still talking about starting fires, a good idea may come up for Cantr.

[rklenseth]

Split for Fire! and moved from Suggestions to Non-Cantr Related.


So what do you want to know about survival skills in the wilderness.

First tip is that you must be mentally prepared. This is the most important.

[David]

Keeping Warm in 7 degree weather with a wind chill below 0, I guess a fire, but other things too...

When you break a limb.

[rklenseth]

Alright this is your first lesson.

These are the list of which you do things when caught in the survival situation.

1. Attitude
2. Shelter
3. Water
4. Fire
5. Food
6. First Aid
7. Signal For Help

[rklenseth]

the only tiem you should diviate from that priority list is if a life threatening wound is involved and then and only then does first aid come after attitude and before shelter. A broken limb can be dealt with after the other priorities.

[David]

Ok, what about for longer stays... like say someone wants to go run off in the African Bush to live (or some place in America) for an extended period. Without bringing anything but the clothes on their back, and a few other things maybe, what would those things be?

[Meh]

E=MC2 Now that's a fire!

[kroner]

Yeah, why monkey around with chemical reactions? Just convert the wood directly into pure energy. That should keep you warm.

[rklenseth]

Ok, what about for longer stays... like say someone wants to go run off in the African Bush to live (or some place in America) for an extended period. Without bringing anything but the clothes on their back, and a few other things maybe, what would those things be?

Well, do the first priorities first and then build from there. Build a better shelter, find a source of food that won't run out or a way of getting food (ie. plants that are edible, animals that you could hunt with what you have, fish are fairly easy to catch).

I would bring a knife. Maybe some blankets. But nothing else.

[rklenseth]

Oh and if you are a vegitarian(sp?) you might want to commit suicide right away and save yourself the trouble. Protein is an essential of eating while in a survival situation. If you have any against eating animals or bug or insect or fish then you won't survive and furthermore you will most likely suffer alot. There aren't any protein shakes in the middle of the wilderness for you to drink and trying to survive soley from just eating plants and drinking water won't cut it. Protein gives you great abundance of energy more so than natural sugar from plants.

And a great source of protein are ants and believe it or not but they are acutally pretty tasty.

[Ash]

I know quite a lot about survival, the easy bit is making shelter and fire, and signalling..

If you have a tent making shelter is easey if not well your stuffed, no not really, lol. Just make sure you pack a big knife, not a kitchen knife though. Just chop down some twigs and some leaves, common knowledge really.

Making fire, easy, (but you should also pack some strike anywhere matched, or even a lighter) but if not get 2 sticks chop them down to a reasonable size, the you need to stip of a bit of bark

The you will lay that flat on the floor with the bit you stipped facing up you will then need to 'drill' a hole in the 1st stick with the second, just like as if you were trying to make a fire with it, you must onlyt drill half way, you will have a hole, then what you need to do is cut a chip out of the 1st stick

Then you put some grass (dried out) or someother matrial than rurns easy, the you put that under the stick where the chip is. You then put the 2nd stick in the hole you drilled, and start making fire, you should do it by twisting it, im sure you know what i mean. the embers from the wood should fall out of the chip, and end up on the materials you intend to start you fire with. Then just feed oxygen to the embers in the grass by blowing on it then walla!


To signal.

Just get lots of green leaves, and make a cage over your fire, then all white smoke will be pouring from the cage.