Survive! Skills, Tips, Tricks and How to's

Riz!

Riz!

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May 5, 2014
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I figured we could use a thread that was like a library of survival/bushcraft/camping skills, tips, trick, hacks, how to's or whatever you want to call them. It would be nice have one place to share knowledge. So whatever you got, post it here. Photos or videos always make it better.
 
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Here is a fire starting trick...

Take a cotton ball or wads of dryer lint and drip candle wax on them. Only about 20 drops of wax is needed. Let it cool, press flat with a spoon. These are like little survival wicks. A cotton ball will burn up in about ten seconds. A waxed one will burn for a significant amount of time, like a candle. Fluff up the non waxed side and it will light with minimal sparks from a ferro rod. The wax will melt and wick up and burn like a candle long enough to afford plenty of time to get your tinder nest, feather sticks and kindling ignited. You can also twist the balls up like a rope before adding the candle wax. Only wax one half. Then you can fluff the other half to catch sparks. They weigh nothing and can be packed into a fire kit easily.













 
I timed the burn for a plain cotton ball at 51 seconds. A twisted and waxed one burned for 4:59. A flattened one burned for 3:00 but had a significantly larger flame. Fluff the end of the twists so they look like a dart and the edges of the flat ones so they look like a nest.







 
Really cool idea :thumbup:
I plan on learning a lot here.

Maybe Brian could talk about feathersticks some more and Standard can get in depth with try stick technique for the different cuts???
 
Silver Needle said:
Really cool idea :thumbup:
I plan on learning a lot here.

Maybe Brian could talk about feathersticks some more and Standard can get in depth with try stick technique for the different cuts???
Click to expand...

That would be awesome!
 
This is a great Thread Idea. I for one would love to see hwo everyone sharpens via video....BUT I do like making fire starters as well, and will try and get some pictures put together. teaser they start as a roll of bags for picking up dog sh*t...
 
Great tip & excellent suggestion Riz!

Here's one from Guy from almost 2 years ago.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZPx8PhgEOg

It's more of a product suggestion....but my only tip is to feather stick fatsticks, put the shavings in a tin and keep a few fatsticks in a zip lock. It'll light in the rain and fatsticks burn for a while. I've stared massive camp fires with a single match and fatstick shavings. You can harvest fatsticks when camping from pine stumps, logs and limbs.
 
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Great thread idea Riz and those waxed cotton balls are awesome! Those will be a must have in the fire kit.
 
Silver Needle said:
Really cool idea :thumbup:
I plan on learning a lot here.

Maybe Brian could talk about feathersticks some more and Standard can get in depth with try stick technique for the different cuts???
Click to expand...

This will give me a reason to get off my butt and get to work. My friend Josh wants to start a web channel doing bushcraft stuff so I'll have to run this idea past him.
 
It is a great idea for a thread. Thanks. I have been working on a try stick. And showing my son's how to make notches. If only I had my 4.5! I will post pics of my progress sometime...
 
Good thread!! It will be fun to see what's shared here :thumbup:

Here's a very simple tip that can aid firestarting with fatwood when you're using a firesteel. Use the spine of your blade to scrape a pile of dust off the fatwood first. It doesn't take much, but needs to be big enough to catch a spark. Then produce your curls/shavings as normal. The dust will accept a spark very readily, almost as good as a petroleum jelly cottonball, and much better than curls or shavings alone.
 
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Ok this weekend, inspired by this thread, I finally got around to making my own fire starters. I collect "Scrap" throughout the year and try and make them once a yr or so. The first style is very similar to what Riz made, but is meant more as a traditional fire starter. In other words you will likely need a match or lighter...

They are pretty simple, you just get old cardboard egg cartons, fill each slot with a cotton ball and then pour over wax. Cut as needed. (alternatively you could make a wax/sawdust slury, but i have no sawdust). I am sure you guys have seen this method or used it before. I think we did this in scouts as a kid and it just sorta stuck with me...




The more complicated ones use my dogs poop bag cores, they are like extra sturdy-tiny-paper towel rolls. I put a string through them to create a fuse of sorts, and them ram rod either cotton balls or toilet paper in them. Once done, I soak them in wax wile the wax is still very hot and in liquid form so it will absorb into the filler material. Then I scoop them out and let them dry. I call them fire crackers...someone else thought they looked like tampons. The wife was gracious enough to help, and today I finished a few more batches of egg crate ones with beeswax to see if there is any performance difference.



















 
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