Fire Building in the Wilderness

[yiolas]

'The Dakota Fire Hole'
I love to learn about different fire techniques in the wilderness. With all these earthquakes lately, we might have to start one in our own back yard for cooking.
Check out this technique called 'The Dakota Fire Hole'. It looks like it can come in handy to make in very windy weather. Just dig a hole 12" x 12" and an ajoining vent tunnel and there you go. You have a self venting fire pit.

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/the-dakota-fire-hole/

[Lost Soul]

Goggle fire piston. Easier than flint 'n steel.

[Baelsfire]

good stuff! nw i need to find out how to hunt and prepare pigeons for food

[Strat]

I have a little fresnel lens I bought from amazon (under $10) and it catch a 1x2 piece of lumber on fire in about 5 seconds. Leaves/twigs will go up in flames instantly. A fresnel lens is basically a massive magnifying glass. These things are fun to play around with but make sure you have really good sunglasses because the little spot is extremely bright, and never put your and under the beam of light!

[morguana]

i think it is essential to learn as many different ways of starting fire as poss,
in my hand bag i carry a blast match

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wInyRONc8tI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wInyRONc8tI

but have also a very traditional tinder box, with a flint that i found and a steel, very similar to this.....
http://www.woodland-ways.co.uk/images/products/medium/image_464.JPG

also a couple of lenses and the usual mag block......
http://www.great4camping.co.uk/images/sized/details/product_96_Flint-and-steel.jpg

my fav is a streel made with an antler casing that hangs around the neck.
however its time to teach the kids how to use a bow drill, as they are pretty good at all of the above ways.
once the fire is lit however the trick is to keep it going, especially in areas of lots of dampness such as the uk!
also its important to make sure that the fuel you are using is near by and stacked out of the wet as much as poss, and that tinder and kindling is kept in the shelter.
one activity i particult enjoy doing is making feathered fire sticks whilst sitting near a camp fire and haveing a brew :)

[rosie]

http://i50.tinypic.com/2v82t8g.jpg
The False Tinder Fungus is the stripy one on the left, and there's a small one underneath it, and some more small ones to the rear. The Tinder Funguses are the red-brown chunks with black on one side.
Both of these funguses are fairly aromatic when burning, and are said to have medicinal properties. Tinder Fungus smells nicer that False Tinder Fungus. They could be used as incense!

"True" Tinder Fungus (usually called simply "Tinder Fungus") grows on live birch trees and looks like a blotch of blackened wood. It is rather hard. It resembles black bark that has peeled away slightly from the tree and thickened. The part that you use is inside the blackened outer layer, the red-brown material. It crumbles readily, so you can use it as part of tinder when making fire (or in a fire piston), or keep it in a whole piece for carrying a coal.

link to a good survival site and more info:
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/tinder/tinderfungus/true.html

in love & light :love:

[Ammit]

M
Do you use char cloth?
it is far easier to collect a spark and is easy to make. In my fire kit ( a baccy tin ) I have : Light my fire steel, 8" x 8" char cloth, an old lighter flint holder ( the thumb wheel bit of a refillable swan lighter), a pack of army waterproof matches and sandpaper stricker, a length of old bike inner tube, assorted twigs that line the bottom of the tin and a 3" x 3" self sealing bag with cotton wool dipped in vaseline.

Rain or shine, always have a fire.

Ammit

[Ammit]

I found a nice tutorial on how to make char cloth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7uLVGrAt1M

Have fun.....
Ammit

[Lost Soul]

Goggle fire piston. No magnesium, no flint 'n steel, no bows required. They're the easiest method to start fires.

[Lost Soul]

good stuff! nw i need to find out how to hunt and prepare pigeons for food

Do it the easy way, Russian peasant or West Virginia style. Gut the bird, but don't remove the feathers. Coat it with mud (at least 1/2"). Bury beneath coals. In one hour's time, unearth. When you peel the mud off, it'll take the feathers with it.

[Simonm]

Goggle fire piston. No magnesium, no flint 'n steel, no bows required. They're the easiest method to start fires.

They are ok, providing the seal is tight. Trouble with fire pistons is that they tend to loosen up after quite a few uses. Flint and steel is always the best as it will work even if submerged for a long time. Fire pistons, traditionally wood will fail if submerged for any period.

[Ria]

the fire pit looks like it could work indoors as well, with the right ventilation.

[Ammit]

If you keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in your bag for when you cant wash your hands you can use this to start a fire too. The alcohol burns a blue flame and can be started with a spark.

[Ron Mauer Sr]

If it is not too much "high technology" an easy tinder is a cotton ball coated with a small amount of Vaseline petroleum jelly.

One good spark from a magnesium fire starter ($6.71 at Walmart) is all you need.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcmkdE-no3Q&feature=player_embedded#!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8RrmHxTA3o&feature=player_embedded#!