Camera PV 2007 » 35mm Film » Fire Wicks homemade fire starters.
Fire Wicks homemade fire starters.
Question:
As a young lad in the Boy Scouts, we used to take a sheet of newspaper folded and rolled so it made a log about 12 -15 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. Tie it up with cotton string every couple of inches. Cut the paper between the strings so you have a bunch of little logs with a string on each. Dip the logs, string and all, in paraffin and let them dry. They usually burn long emough to get a decent fire started. Jim Brophy
Response:
Where I live in Northern Michigan, the ability to start a fire quickly in any weather is invaluable, especially if you’ve just fallen through ice while fishing or find yourself stuck in a cold rain that literally washes away your body faster than it can be generated. There are only two manufactured fire-starting tools I currently recommend: The Strike Force and the Blast Match, both made in USA by Survival, Inc., Seattle, WA (800-292-4707). Both have worked very well in extensive field tests, and both are essentially a modernized version of the frontiersman’s flint-and-steel. The best home-brewed firestarter I’ve found is the "fire wick," which is explained in detail in my 2nd book, MADE FOR THE OUTDOORS. Construction is simple: First twist lengths of cotton laundry/packaging string (it must be cotton, not nylon) into twist-locked wicks, then soak the length in a container of melted paraffin (sealing wax). Hang the saturated wick to cool, and when the wax hardens, simply cut the wick into 2-inch lengths with a knife and stand them in a 35mm film canister, which holds roughly 50 fire wicks. An alternative is to saturate lengths of felt weatherstripping with molten paraffin instead of cotton string. Either of these ignite easily with a lighter or match (some include paper matches and striker in the watertight film bottle), and neither can become wet because fibers are already saturated with waterproof wax. Burn time of a string-type fire wick is about 1 inch per minute — longer, of course, for the felt types — and i’ve never needed more than 3 of them to start a fire in any weather. Len McDougall, author of the books, THE COMPLETE TRACKER, MADE FOR THE OUTDOORS, PRACTICAL OUTDOOR SURVIVAL.