Fire starters you didn't know you already have!

[eagle_lake]

been a regular on some of the other forums. first post here though.
i just did some experimenting on things i may have in my car or in my pack that i'd never taken a spark to before...
seems simple and a little too easy, but i hadn't tried it before, had you???
i am a tea drinking in the woods, and don't always carry these, but always have them around the house and sometimes pack some in. they are tea bags, for loose leaf tea. virtually weightless and burnt with one little spark.

then there are handwarmers. i have had some surgeries on my hand, the cold can get to it real fast. especially when wet (ie ice fishing and such) so i carry these often in the canadian winter. once emptied of its contents the fabric pouch lit up like a charm too.

 

[eagle_lake]

tried a couple kinds of wipes as well. here are the results.

and last but not least, the cotton fluff in bandaids!, picture doesn't show it, but once i tore it up a little it made a nice little flame

maybe none of this is news. and it may not be practically on a daily basis, but in a pinch, i now have some new reliable options, no matter where i am and in what conditions. all it takes it a spark!

 

[komondor]

I've been saving my dryer lint for several months now. I have a puffy plastic ziplock bag (sandwich size) stuffed full now. It's great stuff. Throw it right in your pack.

 

[jeverettk]

I'm curious if you've ever tried dry coffee creamer. I once saw a friend light some with a lighter and it went up like flash powder. I don't have a flint handy, or I'd try it myself.

 

[program_57]

Fuzzed up jute twine. I'm sure lots of people on here knew that one, but I didn't. I piece of it came on a tag attached to a pair of new shoes I got this week. I looked at the fuzzy ends and figured they'd burn. Stuff goes up fast once you fluff it up

 

[eagle_lake]

all good stuff! i love the dryer lint one, i use it often...
the creamer thing i am willing to try too haha it's certainly interesting, though i don't drink coffee and would never have it on me... these were just things i tend to have laying around, or even in my pack in the bush, so i thought i would start playing around.
certainly most ppl carry a few bandaids. so, for me, it was great to find out they could be depended upon.
i wanted to test things i always have...
the thing i use FAR TOO OFTEN to start fires, is scraping a ball of lint off of my jeans haha. i always wear jeans in the woods. well 90% of the time atleast. so it's always been a regular. keep the other options coming, i am always up for trying some new tests! this one worked perfectly!
though, to be fair, i did try a couple things that did not work. like the dark powder inside the handwarmers for instance.

 

[eagle_lake]

i must say though, those alcohol antiseptic wipes work amazingly well. i know some companies produce fantastic gel caps and things of that nature. but in a pinch (assuming they all work as this one did.... and i will be testing that theory) i can't imagine paying the extra money for something else.... they take up zero space, and can be had for free many places. and they IGNITE. i had zero problem lighten damp bark with it.
follow up testing may be my next post haha.

 

[TheZenful1]

I'm curious if you've ever tried dry coffee creamer. I once saw a friend light some with a lighter and it went up like flash powder. I don't have a flint handy, or I'd try it myself.

Warning: This one can be dangerous. Any powdery substance disbursed in the air burns like a dragon's breath. In fact, coffee creamer (aka Cremora) was used quite extensively for that exact purpose, flash powder/flash pots for magicians & illusionists.

 

[eagle_lake]

Warning: This one can be dangerous. Any powdery substance disbursed in the air burns like a dragon's breath. In fact, coffee creamer (aka Cremora) was used quite extensively for that exact purpose, flash powder/flash pots for magicians & illusionists.

thank you, i appreciate that response. perhaps i could put together a safe video that describes best that effect!
this is why i am on here! i truly do appreciate the knowledge.

 

[LMT66]

Liquid Hand Sanitizer will take a spark and get your fire going.

 

[chocky99]

The cheapest bestist tinders are tampons.They come sealed and one tmpon will let you start 10 fires with ease

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Eagle_lake

....I am a tea drinking in the woods, and don't always carry these, but always have them around the house and sometimes pack some in. they are tea bags, for loose leaf tea. virtually weightless and burnt with one little spark.

Tea bag rockets make great Science experiments to demonstrate convection currents to students (only sit them on their ends an watch the final cinders float upwards).:thumbup:

tried a couple kinds of wipes as well. here are the results.

Alcohol swabs work best when they are well inside their expiry date (that way the alcohol won't have evaporated):thumbup:

The swab show in this video is old & therefore short lived :thumbup:

[youtube]WhsPb5E4AW4[/youtube]


And don't forget that if you have a ini belly button, it will collect fibres when you wear cotton singlets that can be used to take a spark. :thumbup:




Kind regards
Mick

 

[kgd]

Concentrated deet works great, but smells bad when burning.

Slightly off topic, but IAWoodsman had a challenge awhile back to strike common 5 synthetics to flame. This was my vid for that challenge. There were a tonne of original ideas by the folks who participated in that challenge.

[youtube]OMV2HXGrt5E[/youtube]

 

[mtwarden]

good stuff! add chap stick, triple antibiotic, bandage gauze

 

[eomeo]

Chap stick burns? Look out ladies.

 

[Wildewinds]

Great thread. It's obvious now, but I don't know how long I would have taken to think about using alcohol swabs as tinder in an emergency situation. I have a bunch of 'em in my first aid kit. Now the question is which first aid item will catch a spark the easiest.

 

[gruntmedik]

At the company I work for, we have survival training every year. Among others, one of the classes I teach is fire starting. You would be amazed at the stuff a medical helicopter carries that is easily ignited with a ferro rod spark or 2. As mentioned, alcohol pads work well, as does hand sanitizer. A roll of 2" gauze will be enough for several fires. 2x2 and 4x4 gauze pads, vinyl gloves. Just be sure to fluff the gauze. Not to mention all the Jet A fuel we have on board.

It is quite fun to pass around the ferro rod and striker, and watch as some as some of our employees that have never started a fire, create one.

 

[Rob Thomas]

before you go into the woods dont clean out your ears for a week. earwax works real well if you use a cotton ball or q-tip to get it out. spark the cotton and watch the wax burn.

 

[eagle_lake]

before you go into the woods dont clean out your ears for a week. earwax works real well if you use a cotton ball or q-tip to get it out. spark the cotton and watch the wax burn.

first off i am loving this thread. i had never bothered to expand my mind on fire tinder outside the natural world.
i would feel badly not to add, however, that i lived with two audiologists for a year and had it DRILLED into me, that using q-tips on your ears is a terrible idea and should never be done haha... as a result i wouldn't have any of what you are describing... next time they yell at me for it, i will tell them that it is a matter of survival...

 

[Rob Thomas]

Nice!