Flint and steel

[beanbag]

So I'm pretty practiced with ferro rods and the bow and drill, but I've always wanted to try my hand at flint and steel because it seems so primitive/primal-- You know, the whole "Me bang rock, make fire" thing.

Recently I traded with TCo for a sweet flint and steel kit that included a nice chunk of flint, a retro striker from the BSA and some char cloth with a desiccant pack to keep it dry.

I used my Gossman Big Bore Tusker for fire prep:

It was late, and I was pressed for time, but even when rushing, the BBT makes a nice feather stick.

My tinder was some Cedar and Birch bark:

After too many attempts, I finally got the char cloth to catch and I popped it into the cedar bark tinder basket.

I blew it into a flame and built the fire:

Another fire starting method under the belt.:dblthumb:

 

[Adahy]

That's awesome. I learned how to start a fire this week as well. It felt good when those flames shot up.


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[aingletree45]

Although not authenic try steel wool preferably 000 steel wool instead of the char cloth. Works almost every time

 

[Easy_rider75]

Very cool I just got my first one going a few weeks ago with a flint and steel. I was telling a friend almost makes ya wanna do the scene from Castaway LOOK WHAT I MADE I MADE FIRE!!!! it is great fun just trying to catch a spark to

 

[Kerri]

Very cool i just learned that not to long ago myself

 

[RangerXanatos]

Just came in from outside from making char cloth and my first Flint and Steel fire. AWESOME!

 

[kinzei]

Awesome! Just got a kit myself. 1St attempt was unsuccessful, but I used a ferro rod for the 1St time, so I still consider it a success! Hopefully the sausage i am grilling is equal successful! Once again, great job and Congrats.

 

[beanbag]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I learned a lot from this practice session, and it's got me thinking about my fire kit and fire starting methods.

Here are a few observations:

I discovered that if I want to incorporate flint, steel and char cloth into my fire making repertoire, I'll need to drastically improve my technique. I was not getting consistent sparks from my strikes. In fact it took me so long to finally get that char cloth to ignite that my dog, Skip, was getting bored and started to whine.

I really like char cloth. Once you land a spark, you're good to go and it burns slow and steady. Accordingly, just as with a bow drill ember, there is no need to rush things, which can hurt your chances of success. I'm going to have to try making some myself.

If you shred it finely enough, Cedar bark makes a great tinder bundle, even if it's not bone dry. The stuff I collected wasn't damp, but when I touched it to my lips to test it, there was a hint of moisture to it. I knew that could be a problem, but the char cloth did it's job and I was able to blow it into flame. Next time I'll bring bone dry stuff from home.

Now that I have successfully made fires with ferro-rods, bow and drill, and flint and steel, I am in a better position to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each method.

The bow and drill is labor intensive and uses a lot of time and energy. However it's fun, and like riding a wheelie on your bicycle, impresses onlookers. I also like the big, fat coals you can get.

Ferro-rods are easy to use and can light a huge variety of materials, but you don't get a coal to work with.

If you're good at it (I'm not) flint and steel is fast, uses very little energy and you don't need a build a four piece rig like with the bow drill.

If I become proficient at it, flint and steel could be the way to go. But after thinking about it last night, it dawned on me that if I never did get proficient at it, I could still use the char cloth with my ferro-rod.

Bottom line, because it's light as a feather, I'm definitely adding char cloth to my fire kit. And I'll keep working on my flint striking technique, because it has that primitive cache to it.

 

[Old Wolf]

I learned flint and steel from my grandfather as a young teenager. Never saw a fero rod till I was in my 30's, if I did, i didn't know what it was.

 

[kcardwel]

Good job and observations. you had things set up well there. i always take flint and steel as one source of firemaking on all my trips. I just put everything including the completed nest in my tin and off I go. always fun around here to use cheat grass for the tinder bundle except in the winter when it may be wet or snow covered.

 

[Prof]

Flint and steel is also my primitive method of choice. It is pretty neat to see that small spark grow into a flaming ball of flame. Congratulations on getting it to work; your photos are great!