Jute twine

dbltap45acp

dbltap45acp

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Dec 19, 2008
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I always hear people talking about jute twine, and what a great fire starter it is. Where can I buy some, I want to throw some in my pack. Its cold as hell and wet here in Wyoming, any great fire starter should be added to my pack if I can help it. Thanks

BTW, do I need to unwind the threads to help it burn once I buy it, or will they start up the way it is?
 
You can try a Lowe's , Home Depot or True Value stores ... it's commonly found.

Yeah breaking it up makes it catch a spark much easier.
 
Sweet, thanks. I have friends that work at home depot, I will have them bring me some from work. I appreciate the quick response.
 
I personally seperate the individual strands and make a nest out of it. Or you can leave it as twine and soak it in wax and they make great firestarters.
 
Unravel it as loose as possible when ready to start the fire. They carry it at ANY hardware store, and at Wal-Mart as well. If you're at some store and can't find it, look where they sell flowers and crap for flower beds. Evidently women use it for tying rosebushes to stakes.
 
You can also put some canning wax in an old soup can, fire up your barbeque grill, melt the wax, then dip a bundle of jute twine in it 2 or 3 times, letting it dry in between dips. Homemade candle that you can still start with a firesteel. Just pound one end of the twine between 2 rocks to expose the jute. Works great!
 
Everyone's answers are right on here. Jute can be found at just about any hardware store or garden center. It will light up just the way it is, but not nearly as well as if it is untwisted and pulled apart into it's individual fibers- to fuzz it or make a nest. When fuzzed up it will light with very littel effort.

Here is a pic of my little fire kit. This shows the jute untwisted into it's fibers.
DSC03637-1.jpg


Here is a pic of some extra jute and two bundles which are just some lengths cut into about 2 1/2" long pieces and tied together with another piece of jute, these I dip in beeswax. You can use any wax, as sodax stated using canning wax, you can even use candle wax and just drip it onto the bundle.
DSC03639-1.jpg
 
Make sure its the 100% natural variety, also easy way to get sheds, place your knife edge on the twine and pull the twine, repeat as necessary.
 
I picked up a couple rolls from the local dollar store and it works great. My question is why not just cotton balls w/wo petroleum jelly? They work perfectly with any sparking device and seem to pack smaller (meaning you can carry more). I find the jute to be somewhat messy and a nuisance to separate into fibers. No question it works brilliantly though.
 
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CSG,

One thing that I can think of is Jute twine is cordage, Cotton balls can't act as cordage. So it is a multi use item. That's all I can think of.

Paul
 
one of the things i like about jute twine is that it is twine that doubles as a firestarter...

so it serves two functions. i use cotton mason's twine the same way.

soaked in wax it creates something like a handle with a very large wick, that will burn pretty hot for a while, and allow you to get damp kindling started pretty easily. you can cut however much you need from a length. i usually dip about 6 feet at a time and roll it up and stick it in my firepouch, ready for action.
 
I got a roll in the hardware area of Walmart. I have found that if I shave or scrape a piece with a knife, it will become fluffy enough for tinder. I have also experiented with smearing vaseline on it with decent results (although it is messier that way).
 
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