Interesting ways to start a fire
 

I'll start with potassium permanganate & glycerin:

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

Well I was looking for some video of tracer rounds starting a brush fire but I found this bit of insanity instead (how many minutes can you watch it?):

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

KMnO4 also works with peanut butter. Sorry, no video.

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steel wool and a a battery...this is really cool

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I purchased one of these Fire Steels from this guy for my B.O.B.

Its awesome.

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I've used the battery and steel wool method. Finer steel wool seemed to work best for me. The #1 wool started a lot quicker and hotter than the #3.
Also tried the technique used on Survivorman(?) where you break the bulb of a flashlight without breaking the filament. I'm pretty suspicious of some of the things I see on those shows. I got it to light some very dry grass. On the show he used a small mag-light. I was using a 3 d-cell mag light.

You might also want to check out the fire piston. It takes some practice but once you get it down it works pretty well.

A magnifying lens is always fun for kids. I was able to get two eyeglass lenses to create enough of a focal point to light some very dry grass. Took a while to find the right combination and to keep it steady.

Haven't tried that since I was a kid. My eyeglass prescription has changed quite a bit since then. And I'm old enough now that momma won't whip me because I can't get my lenses back in those ugly cheap ass black plastic frames she used to buy for me. Looking back I guess she had a good reason for that.

Some day I'm going to have to try rubbing two sticks together.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

I've done rubbign sticks ... although it's hardly that. More like trying to drill through a block. The keys to that are .. hardwood, and super dry. If it's really any weather that you need a fire for heat ... it's not likely to work. Unless you're smart enough to carry your own kiln dried wood.

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And also for us (so-called) adults. If you get a cheapy Fresnel lens off eBay, they work VERY well. Lots of surface area concentrated on to one itsy-bitsy focus spot.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

The Fire Piston... pre-historic design lighter based on the same principles as the diesel engine. Very cool, imo.

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=256255

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

A case of disposable lighters costs bugger all, and beats trying to light a fire by any of those methods.By all means have a backup but at the end of the day a cheap lighter is your friend...

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

Are you preparing for survival or looking for a hobby? When you need a fire you don't need anything interesting, you need something reliable. A Bic lighter is going to be your primary fire starter. No other brand can match the Bic for reliability and long life. A piston, or diesel, is almost as good, but it costs fifty bux and a Bic costs one and a half.

For a backup you need flint and steel. SA matches are ok but bulky. If you carry anything else you are gambling with your life.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

BIC lighters are worthless for booby traps.
Potassium permanganate and glycerin, OTOH, could work quite well for a booby trap ignition system.
I didn't get the gist from OP that this thread was about reliable methods but those of peculiar interest.
My interests just happen to lie in remote ignition (hence the tracer round suggestion).

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

Oh Dude... I spent days rubbing my hands together with glee in anticipation of what novel and gnarly way to start a fire 'Ol Saul would post on this thread.

Then you pull out a Bic.

--Dude...

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...PPOINTMENT.jpg

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

Nichrome wire/christmas lights/and firearms primers are where it's at for booby traps/remote detonation.

Binary chemical reactions are ideal for chemical timers. Cigarettes+fuse+primary are a ghetto alternative.

Non-lubricated condoms combined with an acid are another chemical timer.

Generally though: prepaid cell phones, nichrome wire, toe poppers, and mechanically triggered firing pins.

Light bulbs are good.

Shaped charges/Explosively formed projectiles/penetrators are where it's at. Primary precursors, and AN via instant cold packs. Nitroglycerin and other liquid explosives give good penetration with shaped charges because of the uniformity. Depends on how unstable you want your secondary explosive to be.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

Ok, so you guys are looking for a hobby. That's cool. Try petroleum jelly and cotton balls. They have to be real cotton, not the synthetic kind. Work the jelly in real good and scrape out what you can with a card, then stack a few in some convenient container such as a 35 mm film can, pill bottle, or one of those stamp-sized Altoid boxes. To use one of these, fluff it up and put a spark to it by any clever method you know. For another amazing trick, start your fire on a piece cut from a bicycle inner tube and float it on water. This is a nice trick for starting wet wood. And of course you want bright lights, so get a magnesium bar at the sporting goods store. That's always a crowd pleaser. Best of all, any or all of these tricks are useful when you really need a fire. Most of the other tricks only work when you don't really need a fire.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

I've always used cardboard egg crates filled with dryer lint as a great campfire starter. You get 12 at a time and all you need to buy is Paraffin.
Fold a length of jute or sisal as a "wick" and poke it into the individual egg spots. Cover flush with dryer lint and then pour melted paraffin on top until quite saturated. The wick isn't necessary as the egg crate itself will catch from just 1 match.

I used these to start fires with groups I took guiding in the winter. They will burn like a mini torch for 8-10 minutes regularly; more than enough time to establish pencil-sized kindling.

Also if you go on youtube and search for my name "jodster71" I will show you how to make a bowdrill basically from scratch to fire in 15 minutes.

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

cheap firesteel

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=180335394989

Re: Interesting ways to start a fire
 

It even has multiple uses ("it's a dessert topping AND a floor wax!").

The Fleabay ad says "BRIGHT SPARK-CAN BE USED AS EMERGENCY SIGNAL OR TO DETER ATTACKERS".

Maybe in Japan, but I sort of doubt that a spark will "deter attackers" here in the good old USA. Maybe if they're doused with gasoline first, however.....

The seller also offers such useful goodies as a blackhead remover/pimple extractor - see:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Comedo-Black...3%3A1|294%3A50