Among my tribe the ability to start a fire is held in the highest esteem. You can be a turd burgling dog robbing tosspot - but if you can get a blaze going fast, all your other sins are forgiven. And we aren't talking about doing it with a match and newspapers either - that's kids stuff.
This is a PC (Period Correct) flint n steel. It is the lowest tech
method of fire starting I will sink to personally...
but the black powder geeks I used to run with would take this right on
down to bow drills and fireplugs.
Starting fires with that shite is black magic.
I ratched my knuckles to rat chit on that stupid flint and steel. I even wrote a scathing letter to the elite black powder geeks on OyTube and accused them of black magic, lying and editing their vids to make it seem possible to light a fire with junk like that. But those old liars just doubled down on their sins and a fight broke out among them on whether they could get wet tinder going with their obsolete fire starters. Seriously, the old pros make it look easy - a couple of quick strikes of the stone against the steel - and in seconds they have a roaring blaze going. A-holes - I wish I could start a blaze like them! Serious black powder geeks are certainly eccentric but they have elevated bushcraft to a fine art.
For me... I have to puss out and go with a fire starter kit. I found just the ticket from the turkeys at Track Of The Wolf. I just love that website because you can get everything you need to step back into the 17th century and succeed.
This is a high end fire starting kit ya might find near the hearth
in any settlers home back in the day.
The black powder geeks would have a field day at my expense
if they caught that Bic lighter amidst all my plunder.
I've kinda drifted away from the snobbery of the black powder geeks. I surely admire their skills with the old world tools but nowadays - the convenience and functionality of a ten pack of cheap Bic lighters is too much for me to ignore. If they die I have modern ferro-rod fire steels to fall back on.
These are infinitely easier to use than the traditional flint and steel
So my plan is this: I've heard that cotton balls, coated with Vaseline - makes for excellent fire starter. I am going to have a few of those, and some layers of birch bark in that brass container so that all I need to do is spark off my dry kindling and build up my blaze from there. I am going to make a few extra of these kits for the various duffels and stuff sacks in my camp gear so that I don't have to carry round a bunch of newspapers and other bulky materials to get my blaze going. I will try out the cotton balls and keep you posted.
Tradition and nostalgia have their place but as I get older I find myself tending to favour functionality and convenience more often than not.
Yea Bic lighters are OK .....for rank amateurs. Real pros don't mess around...
ReplyDeletePersonally my go to choice is the Bernzomatic TS 8000
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ahs17rWyoY8/maxresdefault.jpg
I can start a fire in a rainstorm with that sucker....
I use my empty prescription medicine bottles to hold Vaseline-soaked cotton balls. You can stuff enough of them for a long weekend of camping into one pill container.
ReplyDeleteHell! Screw the Bic!!! MAP gas torch!! One those things will start steamin' wet buffalo chips!!!
ReplyDelete