HOW TO START A FIRE

Fire is one of the basics for the continuity of humanity. Since the day our primitive ancestors discovered fire, it became something indispensable for living, to fight cold weather, to cook, to light, and to defend.

In survival times you will need fire more than ever before! It could be your only way to stay alive, so knowing how to start it using old methods is a must!

At harsh times you a lighter or matches might won’t be at reach, so to start a fire you can use one of the following techniques instead:

1- The Hand Drill Method

This is by far the most primitive and the most difficult method that was used by our ancestors.

No doubt you have seen it in documentaries, and even in cartoons. Some guy using a stick to make fire out from a piece of wood.

This technique requires a lot of patience and effort, so its not as easy as it seemed on TV.

The first thing you need to do is making sure that the stick and board you are using are both dry, otherwise you are waisting your time and effort for nothing!

Here is how to start this kind of fire:

1) Create a nest from dry straws and leaves. You will use it as a fire starter later.

2) Create a notch into your wood board with a knife or any sharp tool you have. Just next to this notch create a depression on the edge of the board, make it in the form of “V”. This depression will be used to guide the embers formed after drilling in the notch.

3) Place a big leaf under the board so it will be an embers collector.

4) Look for some dry rigid two to three inches long stick and use it as a spindle. Using this spindle start spinning as fast as you can, and as long as you can into the notch, so it keeps heating up till the first embers are created.

As soon the embers are formed, they will fall through the “V” section right on the leaf underneath the wooden board.

6) Gently take the leaf with the embers and place them into the nest you created previously, and blow over it gently so it turns into flame.

7) Now you can start adding dry sticks and leaves to the flaming nest so you get a good stable fire.

You can create a bow made from a simple strong stick and a rope to use it to spin the spindle instead of using your bare hands.

This will preserve too much of your energy that you might need later.

2- Fire Plough Method

This is a simple method based on rubbing a hard stick on a fire-board till few embers are made.

1) Cut a groove in the fireboard to be the track for the hard stick. It would be better to have a fireboard made of tender wood.

2) Start rubbing the hard wood back and forward in the groove.

3) Place a big leaf to collect the embers formed from the rubbing, then take them to a nest you already created.

Alternatively you can use the nest directly instead of the big leaf as a collector of embers.

Once you’ve collected a few embers in the nest, blow over it gently to get a flame.

Then add few dry sticks, leaves and wood on to the flaming nest so you get a bigger fire.

3- Flint and Steel Method

This is the easiest way to start a fire and one of the oldest methods discovered by humans, so it’s a good idea to always carry a flint and steel fire starter kit with you.

You can get one from my store for a very cheap price.

The great thing about this set is that, it’s unlike the matches; it doesn’t get useless because of water.

In case you don’t have a flint and steel kit with you, you can create fire using your knife blade and a quartzite.

Simply strike the quartzite/flint with the knife’s blade/steel and direct the sparkles toward some dry straws or grass.

However char cloth would be a wiser choice as it catches the sparkles better and turns into flame easily.

Gently place the burning straws/char cloth into a nest and blow on it till it catches fire.

4- Lens Method

This is one of the easiest methods to start a fire.
All you need any sort of lens (broken medical glasses, bottle bottom, magnifiying glass,…)

Angle the lens towards the sun in order to focus the beam into as small area. Put the fire nest under this spot and you’ll start seeing flames coming out.

The only drawback of this method is that it only works in sunny days. If it’s nighttime or cloudy, this method will be a big fail!

5- Batteries Method

In case you were carrying a mobile device that runs on a battery and is no longer functional, don’t throw it away!

Actually you can use its battery as a source to start fire! To do so follow these steps:

1) Take off the battery out of the device.

2) Using a metal wire or your knife blade, create a short-circuit connecting the two terminals of the battery.

3) Hold the short-circuit for a while until you feel the battery is getting warm.

4) Using a knife or any sharp tool, perforate the battery’s body. This immediately will lead to the creation of flames in the battery.

5) Act fast and place the flaming battery in a nest of straws and dry grass so they will catch fire.

Do you totally agree with what i mentioned above ?

If you have something to add, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas in the comment below…