How to Make a Fire Without Matches
Starting a fire may not be quite as easy as rubbing two sticks together, but if you have the patience to gather the proper tinder, and a knack for rock pounding, you can be cooking in no time, no matter where you are. Matches? You truly won’t need them when you’ve finished reading this.
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Instructions
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The Tinder
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Gather stalks of thistle, cattail, nettle, yucca, dogbane, dead leaves, dead grass, bark or birch, juniper or sagebrush, the under-bark of pine, willow or aspen or milkweed stems.
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Pound and shred the tinder material into a bundle.
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Rub the tinder into the shape of a loose nest.
The Spark
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Use any silica rock, such as flint or quartz, to strike against steel.
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Break the edge of the stone so that it forms a point.
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Strike the steel (such as the back of a pocket knife) with a firm blow. Do this near enough to the tinder that the sparks ignite it.
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Continue sparking until you see a thin line of smoke coming out of the tinder.
The Flame
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Pick up the tinder “nest,” and blow very gently in short puffs.
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Drop the tinder when the spark catches and bursts into flame.
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Create a larger fire, if desired, by adding sticks in a teepee shape around the flame.
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Tips & Warnings
Fires can sometimes get started focusing the rays of the sun through a magnifying glass or thick glasses lens and onto a pile of dry tinder or leaves.
Always clear the area around which you plan to build a fire. Have a way to put out the flames if they appear to be getting out of hand.
- Photo Credit freeze.com
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Comments
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benpressley
Dec 03, 2008
This is roughly true. You might want to mention that steel should be hi-carbon steel (Hi carbon will throw orange sparks.). And it is easier if you have a charred material (cotton, linen works best.). And flint should be struck afainst steel to make sparks fly downward, otherwise put charred cloth on top of flint and strike with steel. -
benpressley
Dec 03, 2008
This is roughly true. You might want to mention that steel should be hi-carbon steel (Hi carbon will throw orange sparks.). And it is easier if you have a charred material (cotton, linen works best.). And flint should be struck afainst steel to make sparks fly downward, otherwise put charred cloth on top of flint and strike with steel.
