10 Ways to Start a Fire Without a Single Match!
Seeking the comfort of a fire is a primitive instinct that has been ingrained in us for centuries, a natural instinct that can sustain life, provide heat and keep predators at bay. With all of the modern amenities that we have these days, we take for granted being able to pick up a lighter and get a camp fire going in mere minutes. In fact a lighter would have really come in handy when Tom was stranded in Cast Away for all of those years but luckily for him there was enough wood on that tiny island to find another way to light a fire.
Did you know that there were a half a dozen other ways that he could have accomplished lighting that fire even faster, and without injury? I am sure none of us will be stranded on a deserted island somewhere in the middle of the ocean any time soon but if we’re stranded anywhere without a lighter and need some flames, here are 10 ways to you can start a fire without a single match!
- Empty Lighter: If you have a lighter but it happens to be out of lighter fluid. Simply remove the hood and spark it over some tinder. If you happen to have wool socks on, grab some lint from them; it makes excellent tinder! It will cause a spark and if your tinder is dry and flammable enough it will catch!
- Steel Wool and a Battery: A 9 volt battery and steel wool can come in handy in a pinch, putting these two together causes a current to rush through the steel wool heating it up to 700 degrees! With some nice dry tinder handy you have instant warmth!
- Magnifying Glass: On a nice sunny day this one comes in handy, simply position your magnifying glass so that the sun creates a beam that shines off the glass and directly onto your tinder, then wait and watch the magic happen and it heats up.
- Flashlight: Much like the magnifying glass, the casing for the bulb within a flashlight can be taken out and used to direct the sunlight and create a fire, all you have to do is take that housing out of the flashlight and remove the bulb then simply place your tinder where that bulb was …direct your sunlight and your off and running.
- Friction: The good ole rub two sticks together.
- Chemicals: If u packed a small bottle of hand sanitizer this will light on fire quite nicely.
- Bow Drill: Bow drill uses friction but in a steady stream that does not stop and cause you to loose momentum.
- Flint and Steel: Touching flint or steel wool to a 9volt battery quickly causes a spark, all you need is a tinder bundle.
- ICE!: Just like the magnifying glass, but in the case that you don’t have one and it happens to be winter, you can fashion ice into a magnifying glass.
- Fire Plough: The ultimate life saver in Cast Away; This one is rubbing sticks together but the easy way, with a flat piece of wood on the bottom and one on the top that rib over the bottom one in a continuous motion, no loss of momentum for fast fire starter.
How about a hands on lesson? Book a show with New England Survival Shows to learn how with a hands on instructor.
