Start a Fire Without Matches - Check!

In doing this list, I have been amazed at how talented my friends are. I had no idea of the untapped wealth of knowledge that surrounds me every day. At the top of the list of talented people is my friend Terry, who among other things worked leather for a while as a hobby and is by trade an amazing graphic designer.

It turns out he was a Boy Scout for a time and knows quite a bit about starting fires, so he helped me complete this one. He began by explaining the different methods of fire starting - friction, spark, sun, pressure, electricity, etc. - and then we set out to try to make fire in three different ways: with a magnifying glass, with a flint, and with a bow and stick. The Boy Scout that he is, he already had the materials we needed (though we did bring the magnifying glass!).

We made the basics for starting any good fire: tinder and kindling. Tinder is a light and fluffy material that can be lit easily, such as grass, wood shavings, or pine needles. Tinder provides the initial flame, which catches the kindling on fire. Kindling is a little bigger and is the segue between the initial flame on the tinder and the full fire on the logs, as it burns longer than tinder. Read more on those materials here.

We started out with the easiest of fire-starting techniques - using the magnifying glass. Now, I was not one of those kids who used to pop ants with one, but I think I might try it. The glass was quick, easy, and fun. It could also be simulated with glasses or a plastic bag of water. Don't worry, we were safe and had water around with each one.

Next we used a pocketknife and a flint. Making sparks was as fun as using the glass.

The tinder we had wasn't catching as fast as we would've liked, so we went and got dryer lint. By far the best tinder. A little scary.


Finally, we used the bow method, which takes two sticks and a string - you can use a shoelace if necessary. We got a lot of heat out of it and bored through the wood, but we never actually got a flame (though some embers we accidentally smothered). But if my life depended on it, I could do it. This was the most tiring of methods.

He does have something under his hand...having a "friction guard" is probably the most important part of that method.

If I were stranded in the wilderness six months ago, with nothing but a pocket knife and my dignity, could I have survived? Undoubtedly, no. But now, having learned how to start a fire using only basic elements...well, I probably still couldn't survive, but at least I wouldn't freeze to death and could eat if I could bring myself to kill and skin something.

So basically I wouldn't freeze to death.

But I could start a fire so big I could be rescued. Though that never did work for Tom Hanks. I'll have to put "build a raft from woodland or island materials" on my next list, just in case.

Incidentally, I had a Castaway Wilson antenna ball for years, and I think I sold it at the last garage sale. I'm regretting that decision at the moment.