Homemade Wood Fire Starters

Fire starters let you start a campfire quickly, even with wet wood.

While dry wood is quite flammable and makes a great fire starter, it is not always available. There are many times when you'll want to start a fire when the wood is slightly damp or not dry enough to work as kindling. Homemade fire starters can work as well as commercial fire starters, which often consist of nothing but wood chips or shavings and wax. The wood shavings work as a wick, allowing the wax fuel to light quickly and burn continuously for several minutes--long enough to get a roaring blaze going.

Things You'll Need

• Coffee can
• Pot
• Water
• Wax
• Cardboard tube
• Tissue paper
• Oven mitts
• Wood chips
• Wood shavings
• Sawdust
• Knife
• Saw
• Plastic bags

Instructions

1. Place a coffee can inside a pot that is several inches larger. Fill the pot with at least 3 inches of water

2. Place scraps from candle stubs and crayons into the wood can. You can also use store-bought paraffin wax, bees wax or any other wax you have lying around.

3. Heat the water on low to medium heat until the wax melts. If the water starts to boil, turn the heat down slightly to get a low simmer.

4. Place a cardboard tube such as a toilet paper tube on top of a piece of tissue paper on a plate or tray. Put a thin layer of sawdust, wood chips or wood shavings in the bottom of the tube.

5. Put oven mitts on both hands and carefully pick the can of wax up. Pour enough into the bottom of the tube to cover the wood completely.

6. Alternately pour wood and wax into the tube until you reach the top of the tube. Turn off the burner and let the tube cool for about half an hour.

7. Use a serrated knife or small saw to cut the tube into one inch sections and place the sections in separate plastic bags. Each section will work to start a fire.

References

• Becky's Guiding Resource Center: Fire Starters
• Love the Outdoors: Fire Starters