Arguably the most important part of a survival situation is the ability to make a fire. Anyone can create some sort of makeshift shelter to protect themselves from the elements. It takes skill to create a fire – especially to create a fire without matches or a lighter. Let’s talk about 25 bushcraft fire starting techniques that you can actually use.
- Bow Drill:
- Create a bow using a flexible, curved stick and a strong cord.
- Carve a spindle and a fireboard from dry wood.
- Place the fireboard on the ground and hold it steady.
- Attach the spindle to the bowstring and place it on the fireboard.
- Use the bow to rotate the spindle back and forth, creating friction that generates an ember on the fireboard.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Hand Drill:
- Carve a spindle and a fireboard from dry wood.
- Place the fireboard on the ground and hold it steady.
- Hold the spindle between your hands and apply downward pressure.
- Begin rotating the spindle back and forth between your hands, creating friction that generates an ember on the fireboard.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Flint and Steel:
- Hold the steel firmly in one hand and the flint in the other.
- Position the flint at an angle, with the edge facing the tinder.
- Strike the steel against the flint, directing the sparks toward the tinder.
- Aim to catch the sparks in the tinder, creating an ember.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Solar Ignition:
- Find a magnifying glass or a water-filled plastic bag.
- Position it at an angle to concentrate sunlight onto your tinder.
- Hold it steady and adjust the angle until the focused sunlight creates a hot spot on the tinder.
- Wait for the tinder to catch fire and transfer it to your prepared kindling.
- Fire Plough:
- Carve a groove into a fireboard using a sharp stick or knife.
- Use a dry, flat piece of wood as the plough.
- Rub the plough back and forth along the groove, exerting pressure and creating friction.
- The friction generates heat, eventually creating an ember.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Saw:
- Create a notch in a fireboard and place it on the ground.
- Take a dry, flat piece of wood and saw back and forth against the fireboard notch.
- The friction and heat generated eventually create an ember.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Piston:
- Load a fire piston with a small piece of tinder or char cloth.
- Rapidly push the piston into the cylinder to create compression and heat.
- The heat causes the tinder or char cloth to ignite.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Roll:
- Collect dry and fibrous materials like bark, grass, or plant fibers.
- Roll the materials tightly together into a long, thin rope-like structure.
- Hold one end of the roll and rapidly spin it against a hard surface to create friction and heat.
- The friction generates an ember within the roll.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Thong:
- Cut a flexible branch or cord and create a bow-like structure.
- Attach a short, curved piece of wood to the bowstring, creating a thong.
- Place a dry, flat piece of wood on the ground as the fireboard.
- Hold the fireboard steady and use the thong to rapidly saw back and forth on the fireboard, creating friction and heat.
- The heat generated creates an ember on the fireboard.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Steel and Char Cloth:
- Prepare a piece of char cloth by charring a small piece of natural fabric until it becomes black and carbonized.
- Hold the char cloth close to the tinder.
- Strike the fire steel against a hard surface, directing the sparks onto the char cloth.
- The sparks will ignite the char cloth, creating an ember.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire Straws:
- Obtain pre-made fire straws or make your own by tightly rolling a piece of paper or cardboard into a straw-like shape.
- Stuff the straws with dry tinder materials like cotton balls, dryer lint, or char cloth.
- Seal the ends of the straws with wax or by folding them over.
- When ready to start a fire, simply light one end of the fire straw with a match or lighter.
- The tinder inside the straw will catch fire, providing a flame to ignite your kindling.
- Fire from Ice:
- Find a block of ice and shape it into a lens-like shape using a knife or by rubbing it against a hard surface.
- Position the ice lens to focus sunlight onto your tinder.
- Adjust the angle and distance to concentrate the sunlight into a hot spot on the tinder.
- Wait for the tinder to catch fire and transfer it to your prepared kindling.
- Fire from a Battery and Steel Wool:
- Gather a 9-volt battery and a fine-grade steel wool.
- Hold the steel wool against the battery terminals.
- The electrical current passing through the steel wool will cause it to heat up and eventually catch fire.
- Transfer the burning steel wool to your prepared kindling to start the fire.
- Fire from a Magnesium Block:
- Scrape off some shavings from a magnesium block using a knife or a sharp edge.
- Create a small pile of magnesium shavings on top of your tinder.
- Use a ferrocerium rod or a lighter to ignite the magnesium shavings, as they burn at extremely high temperatures.
- Once the magnesium is burning, it will ignite your tinder, and you can add kindling to build the fire.
- Fire from a Spark-Lite:
- Obtain a Spark-Lite or a similar spark-emitting device.
- Attach a small piece of char cloth or a cotton ball to the end of the Spark-Lite.
- Strike the Spark-Lite against a rough surface, directing the sparks onto the char cloth or cotton ball.
- The sparks will ignite the char cloth or cotton ball, creating an ember.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire from a Fire Syringe:
- Load the fire syringe with a small piece of tinder or char cloth.
- Rapidly push the plunger into the syringe barrel to create compression and heat.
- The heat causes the tinder or char cloth to ignite.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire from a Light Bulb:
- Carefully break open a light bulb, being cautious of the glass.
- Extract the filament, ensuring it remains intact.
- Use a battery or other power source to heat up the filament until it glows red-hot.
- Transfer the glowing filament to your prepared tinder bundle, igniting it and eventually building the fire.
- Fire from a Coke Can and Chocolate:
- Polish the bottom of an empty, aluminum soda can to create a reflective surface.
- Melt a small piece of chocolate and spread it onto the polished surface of the can.
- Use the reflective surface to concentrate sunlight onto your tinder, igniting it.
- Fire from a Fire Plunger:
- Assemble a fire plunger kit, consisting of a hollow tube, a plunger, and a rubber gasket or piston.
- Load the tube with a small piece of tinder or char cloth.
- Quickly push the plunger down into the tube, compressing the air and creating heat
20. Fire from Chemical Reaction:
- Mix potassium permanganate and glycerin in a small container.
- The combination of these chemicals creates a rapid exothermic reaction, generating heat and igniting the surrounding materials.
- Place the mixture onto a bed of dry tinder or directly onto the kindling.
- Ensure proper ventilation and stand back as the reaction occurs and the fire starts.
- Fire from a Flashlight Reflector:
- Unscrew the reflector from a flashlight.
- Polish the reflective surface to a high shine.
- Position the reflector at an angle to concentrate sunlight onto your tinder.
- Adjust the angle until the focused sunlight creates a hot spot on the tinder.
- Wait for the tinder to catch fire and transfer it to your prepared kindling.
- Fire from a Fire Roll (made with natural fibers):
- Gather dry, fibrous materials like bark, grass, or plant fibers.
- Roll the materials tightly into a long, thin rope-like structure.
- Hold one end of the roll and rapidly spin it against a hard surface to create friction and heat.
- The friction generates an ember within the roll.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared tinder bundle and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
- Fire from a Hand Sanitizer and Spark Source:
- Apply a small amount of hand sanitizer to your tinder.
- Create sparks using a flint and steel, ferrocerium rod, or other spark-emitting device.
- Direct the sparks onto the hand sanitizer-soaked tinder.
- The hand sanitizer will quickly catch fire, providing a flame to ignite your kindling.
- Fire from a Battery and Foil Gum Wrapper:
- Cut a foil gum wrapper into a thin strip.
- Touch one end of the strip to the positive terminal of a battery.
- Touch the other end of the strip to the negative terminal of the battery, creating a circuit.
- The resistance in the circuit causes the strip to heat up and eventually catch fire.
- Transfer the burning strip to your prepared kindling to start the fire.
- Fire from Char Cloth and Friction:
- Prepare char cloth by charring a small piece of natural fabric until it becomes black and carbonized.
- Place the char cloth onto the fireboard or tinder bundle.
- Use friction-based fire-starting methods like the bow drill or hand drill to create an ember on the char cloth.
- Transfer the ember to your prepared kindling and blow gently to ignite it into a flame.
There are plenty of ways to start a fire to create warmth and to cook a meal for yourself and your family. Before you have to, practice these bushcraft fire starting methods in a safe setting and hone your skills. Always remember, the time to practice survival skills isn’t in a survival situation. Also remember that I am not an expert and to obey your local laws and regulations when it comes to fire starting and safety.The best fire is a safe fire. Do your due diligence and develop those skills!
