Start a fire

[jennypenny]

Does the leatherman wave have room for an extra pin like the squirt? (short video) If so, I wonder if you could coat the pin head like a match head. Then all you would need to do is attach a strike to the leatherman somewhere (maybe on the file?). You'd only get one strike and you'd still need tinder, but it would be small like you want.

[Sclass]

The wave has enough room for two matches. I was worried matches might be too delicate or I'd get them wet. A sealed straw full of strike anywhere match heads might be good. I only carry the leatherman if I expect trouble. I liked the way the ferro rods are hidden in 550 cord on Fire Laces. I've tied 550 lanyards to my bigger multi tools. You can slip stuff into the actual cord then seal it under with heat.

You know the Commander Swiss Army knife that I EDC has a space under the can opener that can hold a few match heads in a plastic wrap. Given that I never open cans that maybe a good solution.

Back to matches. Matches are good.

[jennypenny]

A sealed straw full of strike anywhere match heads might be good.

Yup. You just have to be careful not to snap the matches opening a sealed straw. You can attach a strike to the straw if you want.
(one end is unsealed for the picture--it's sealed in my tin)




If you're not worried about getting them wet, don't seal the straw.




(sorry, I'm really into this stuff )

[Sclass]

(sorry, I'm really into this stuff )

We know!

[jennypenny]

Im going to try making these using old crayons instead of paraffin wax.

http://practicalprimitive.com/skillofth ... match.html

[Sclass]

got my EDC fire starting ferrocerium rod set up.

got some of these bottles called "flint matches" on ebay for $0.75 ea shipped. They have a nice 2mm ferro rod on the side of the bottle to strike a steel striker upon. The bottle contains a little naptha to help ignite a wick. Kind of like a zippo but with a more primative striker.



So I cut the bottle up and take out the ferro rod like this.



Then I place it under my Swiss Army Knife corkscrew like this.



Then I close the corkscrew like this to lock it all down.



This is minimalist enough for me to carry around. I really don't like the idea of lugging a bic lighter around given I only need to start a fire once every decade. But I really wanted an EDC fire starter. I'll have to actually try this thing. I think I'll need some cotton balls and petroleum jelly as tinder. I found some cat tails growing in a marsh down the way that I may try to spark up. Better test it before I actually say it works!

[jacob]

I bet if you wanted to start a fire every day, you'd carry a BIC lighter

[steelerfan]

I bought a parabolic mirror - which works very fast in full sun. The whole kit is in a machined snuff size can which holds tinder. A leaf bursts into flames almost instantaneously. I would carry this along with the bic and ferro rod. I don't want to have to depend on a match. You could always use a 9 v battery and steel wool as backup and use it to power your QRP CW transmitter as well. Multiple methods.

http://www.amazon.com/Solo-Scientific-T ... lic+mirror

[jennypenny]

After seeing the deals you got on flint matches and swiss army-type knives, I'm jealous of your ebaying ability. I never score like that. (probably a good thing, or I'd cross over into hoarder territory)

[Sclass]

?

I'm actually a dumb ebayer with an iPad. Let's see, I just searched something like flint match, or emergency fire starter. Sort tab set to lowest price with shipping and selected auction type to buy it now. Pretty basic stuff and presto, $0.75 fire starters from Philippines.

The hard part was realizing I could salvage a 2mm x 35mm ferrocerium rod from this thing. The smaller ferro rods I could find were lighter flint and I couldn't get those to spark without a lighter which kinda defeated the idea.

Although there are some great vids on YouTube about cutting down a bic lighter to just the spark wheel and flint for compact fire starters. I've found several full lighters in the bushes at the fence of a golf course I walk by. It seems workers (kids?) are stashing boxes of cigarettes with lighters in them in the bushes a long the fence line. It's like an Easter egg hunt on my morning walk! I'm helping them with their dirty habit by taking the lighters!

The knives I get searching for Swiss Army knife lots. You get these guys who score a big lot of knives from a TSA auction. If the lot looks good, (main blades and handles not broken or nicked) I buy. I do spend time cleaning them in a big ultrasonic cleaner and sharpening but that's the hobby. My max bid is usually $6/knife.