View Full Version : Artificial Tinders
More of an idea for a kick-about thread than anything else.
What do people like to use for man-made tinder?
By "man-made", I mean either commercially sourced, or had to be made up at home. I'd therefore be inclined to include charcloth in that description.
So, off the top of my head -
For sparks:
Cotton wool
Charcloth
Gelled alcohol (and other liquid fuels, I guess, but care needed)
For flame:
Cotton wool/vaseline mix (not yet tried to see if it'll take a spark)
Rubber shreds
Egg carton cardboard (or sawdust, or paper...) soaked in wax
Metaldehyde tablets
(oops - forgot hexy blocks)
Other suggestions?
Dunno bout the rest, but cottonwool/vaseline goes up great, with very little spark. It burns well, easily and for quite a while. After trying it, I got about 30 balls and rubbed em with vaseline (dont overdo it) then stuffed em tightly into a small plastic aspirin bottle. Only a small fluffed up portion of one ball is needed, so should be good for a few hundred fires. Making em is very easy and very cheap (if a little messy). The results are cheap, light, compact, versatile and waterproof.
Tampons work for a survival kit tinder. Very highly compressed cotton wool.
bigjackbrass
11-09-2003, 20:05
Fine grade steel wool is an old standby, which I mainly use if conditions are wet. When I first read about using the stuff as tinder it seemed such an absurd idea that I immediately had to try it. Also, I'm told, handy for those survival situations lighting a fire sparked from a car battery. Never tried that because I don't have a car.
Keith_Beef
12-09-2003, 09:28
As I mentioned elsewhere: if you do a bit of woodwork, gather the shavings from the plane work, and the dust from saw and drill work.
Keith.
the old standby, mountain bike inner tube makes a good, if a bit unpleasant fire lighter. the inner tube has loads of other uses as a source of an elastic band.
if you're a mini/altoids/tobacco tin survival kit person, then one of those tiny tubes of glue from a puncture repair outfit makes a handy addition. just add a drop of glue (smaller than a pea is still enough) to a slice/strip of inner tube and yo have a fire lighter that'll work from sparks. it is so waterproof you can completely submerge it, and it'll still work.
using the innertube for strapping the tube of glue to your knife sheath witha fire steel makes an instant kit for watersports fans. beware salt water with a firesteel though. it'll crumble like a wet bisquit in a few hours.
cheers, and.
Actually, all of my old firesteels have some severe corrosion problems. These are the issue style (as found in the BCB matchless fire sets), and they are probably 15 years old. Crumbly, but there is still some life left in them. Salt water is a pig on pretty much anything aluminium, too - I dread to think what it would do to a Mg fire lighter.
I like the idea of using the adhesive, too.
Oh - and a 9V battery will light the finer steel wools cheerfully.
How do you make charcloth?
Anonymous
12-09-2003, 22:08
Peter,
I didn't twig the salt water and aluminium thing until I totally trashed a SAK on a sailing holiday a few years back. I rinsed it off with fresh water from time to time during the week, but it often got wet just in the pocket of my shorts. A couple of weeks later the scales and liners were all corroded to bits even though there wasn't a mark on the stainless. To me this was a big reason to dump the swiss army knives and go over to leatherman.
Martyn,
Although I haven't tried it, there are articles around on the web that say the way to make char cloth is to put cotton cloth into a firmly closed metal tin with a small hole (I suspect they mean only a millimetre or so diameter) in it. Then heat the tin over a flame and watch the smoke come come out of the hole. When smoke stops coming out, the cotton has been reduced to char cloth.
This seems very very similar in principle to the work of the traditional charcoal burners, who built a large bonfire sized structure of sticks and branches which was then totally banked over in turf and set to light. The timber would burn slowly over many days while being starved of oxygen and become charcoal. It was a constant job to watch the mound, keep the turf damp and plug any gaps if smoke started to leak out .
Arthur Ransome's novel for children (I think it was the one called "Swallowdale") describes this very well. The book was one of the Swallows and Amazon's series written around the lake district in the 1950's and I feel sure is an accurate depiction of how it used to be done.
Cheers, Alick :-)
Charcloth -
The way I've made it is to use a Callard & Bowser tin with a hole in the top (approx 1.5mm) and some cut-up pieces of old jeans. Heated on a gas stove as low as possible until no more smoke issues, then seal the lid with a small square of gaffer tape. Allow to cool...
Do not do as I did with the first batch and make it indoors. BAD idea. It stinks.
In use, the stuff is very impressive - catch a spark on it, and you have a glowing coal. The harder you (or the wind) blow(s), the brighter & hotter the coal glows
Thanks Peter, gotta give that a go. ;)
A quick and easy way to get a piece of charcloth is simply to burn a piece of cotton cloth and then smother it as it turns brown-black. This is not particularly efficient and you get less usable material than by the can method but if you only want a piece to experiment with then it's a lot quicker (plus all you need is a flame - a potential 'chicken and egg' situation here!)
The quality and type of cotton cloth used makes a difference too. Denim material is excellent and easily acquired - a good cheap source is a charity shop (and you're helping them too). All you need do is cut it into an appropriate size before treatment. Other thinner cottons will give mixed results - one old T-shirt of mine produced a charcloth that would not take sparks at all!! (not the sort of thing you want to find out if your life depends upon it!). Conversely, an old triangular bandage produced an excellent charcloth that lit first time, every time. Bear in mind too that some cottons have a coating applied to them - I don't know what it is but it acts like a plastic when burnt and 'curls' the cotton up - an inferior charcloth results.
Good charcloth can also be produced from cotton wadding and '2 by 4' sold in gunshops for cleaning the inside of rifle / shotgun barrels.
Hope this helps :-D
Old cotton tea towels are also good.
One of the best tinders I have found is the fluff collected from the filter of a tumble dryer. It takes a spark for a fire steel superbly and burns with a reasonable flame (unlike some natural tinders such as cattails etc). If you do as much washing as my other half you get an unlimited supply. if you don't have a tumble dryer it might be worth trying your local laundrette.
The drier fluff works well - PROVIDING it is natural fibres. I've been caught out by trying to spark-light a batch after the drier had a bunch of fleeces through it...
IIRC the material in tinder boxes was charred linen rather than cotton, anyone tried that?
qweeg500
14-09-2003, 00:47
The cotton socking material for polishing your car is perfect for charcloth.
It wraps up very tight so you can pop it in a coffee tin nicely. Very cheap from Halfords.
Stick it on your gas barbie for a few minutes and it comes up a treat.
Hi All,
Thought I'd chip in with an extension to the cotton wool/vaseline approach that I saw posted on one of the US forums (Bladeforums or Knifeforums, can't remember which).
It involves plastic drinking straws: melt one end closed and using something thin and stick-shaped, push some vaseline-covered cotton wool down the straw (easier than it sounds, honest). When you get to within an inch of the top, melt that end closed aswell.
When you need to use one simply snip off the top, fluf out a bit of the cotton wool and light with firesteel: I timed a small length (1 1/2") that burned for over 5 minutes.
In no time you can have a small bundle of non-messy, waterproof fire lighters to distribute around your kit (especially handy if you use a piece of inner-tube to strap your firesteel to your knife sheath).
duroglit or the brasso equivalent makes exellent man made tinder for spark or flame,also comes in a handy little tin
meant to put the cotton wool type dutroglit on the above post :-D
The other day I cut a 1/4 inch wide strip from an empty litre "brick" of fruit juice. It needed a flame to start, but then the waxed card burned nice and steadily. Easy to pack a small piece in the firelighting kit, it might be good for moving the fire up from first tinder to small twigs. Take a chinagraph pencil and write on it in an emergency. Cheers. :-)
As an aside, I'm told that those fruit juice tetrapacks are effectively unrecyclable due to the plastic lamination on the inside. Bit of a pity, really - although they *are* good if you want to grow tempeh.
Tampons. Highly compressed high grade cottonwool and it comes in a waterproof wrapper. All you need to do is tease it out and apply a spark.
clcuckow
17-10-2003, 14:02
I make it by getting some cheap muslin, rapping it tight in tin foil and shoving it on the top of my gas ring (I had my BBQ half inched ;-) with all the window open. I stop cooking it when I can see it again through the smoke ;-) Adds a nice smoke taste to my homemade jerky even if the kitchen does stink for the rest of the day.
gurushaun
18-10-2003, 03:56
Well for what its worth... as a secondary tinder, or as a tinder to be lit by a flame source (matches, lighter etc) I've had very good results with crumbled Druaflame Logs. These are a "log" of wax and sawdust which are avaliable at many supermarkets. I also use them as fuel in my Kelly Kettle, about £1.85 for 1.45Kg which works out pretty cheap as you can get about 20, 1cm slices from each "log" and 1/3 of a slice will boil a full (small, 1 pt ) Kelly Kettle. When used as a secondary tinder crumbled around a cotton wool/vasaline ball they preform very well giving you an easily stored, and waterproof Primary/Secondary source to get your larger twigs or split wood spills alight. :wink:
Cheers
Shaun
clcuckow
19-10-2003, 22:02
Although not really tinder. I found something useful by accident to slow the rate the tinder burns. I was trying to soften tea light wax with light oil. It was not a success as it went soft and at the same time brittle. But it did crumble to a powder a bit like that candle sand people put wine glasses as candles.
I was doing some back garden spark and char-cloth lighting but my tinder ball burn to fast(it was probably to small) before enough of my small stick caught and I had to start again.
That was when I remembered wax powder I had kept just in case and sprinkled some in to my next tinder ball. When it caught the wax melted and created hundreds of little candles and the tinder ball burned for ages allowing me to start off much larger sticks.
Since then I have used the same powder to light single match fires, you know the one where you dig a hole and put a candle in it and light it with your sticks on top, I have always thought it was a wast to use a whole candle but with this power and a improved wick stuck in it you can use 'just enough'.
You can obviously us it to make 'sand candles' to light your campsite.
Christopher
good one chistopher, i've had some unfortunate mishaps trying to soak cotton wool balls in molten tealight! :shock:
i've seen it stated that you can use an ordinary candle to light a fire, the demonstrations i've seen involve laying the candle on it's side under the pile of twigs, by the time the fire is self supporting half the candle is gone.
a slightly more economical way to get more fires out of one candle, cut the candle into shorter lengths with the saw on your swiss army knife! just use the small candle stood up in the normal way.
cheers, and.
clcuckow
24-10-2003, 21:52
Leon,
Great one, just tyred those cotton wool petroleum jelly straws. They work great. They are quite messy to make but I quickly got the hand, nipping the melted end with my leatherman, unrolling the cotton wool balls, twisting them much thick than when I am making candle wicks and working in the vaseline at the same time.
They work really well.
Christopher
i've seen it stated that you can use an ordinary candle to light a fire, the demonstrations i've seen involve laying the candle on it's side under the pile of twigs, by the time the fire is self supporting half the candle is gone.
Birthday cake candles are great for this job. Small, light and easily packed. If you really want to be clever about it, use the ones available from joke shops that will not blow out. :D
IIRC the material in tinder boxes was charred linen rather than cotton, anyone tried that?
Because I am usually demonstrating ancient technology and trying to be "authentic" about it, I am faced with the problem that the Vikings, Saxons or Romans did not have access to cotton.
As a result I use linen char cloth exclusively with very good results.
Interestingly I have discovered that the ember produced burns hotter than cotton or linen / cotton mix.
To convert my ember into a flame I use a small bundle of raw linen fibre or "tow". The linen char cloth ignites it easily but cotton or mixed fibre char cloth does not reach the same flash point.
More Info. (http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/html/firelighting_with_flint_and_st .html)
I use hemp char simply cos that's what most of my clothes are made from - again it seems to burn much hotter than cotton.
a slightly more economical way to get more fires out of one candle, cut the candle into shorter lengths with the saw on your swiss army knife! just use the small candle stood up in the normal way.
You can also collect candle remains (thumb size left overs) after diners / christmas time from family - gives you enough candles to light your fires for a year :D And it doesn't cost a penny ;) :D
Because I am usually demonstrating ancient technology and trying to be "authentic" about it, I am faced with the problem that the Vikings, Saxons or Romans did not have access to cotton.
What about using Clematatis (sp?)? ;) ;) ;)
I got a few of those so called magic birthday candles, that can't be blown out in my possibles pouch ... Firts time I saw them they were standing on MY birthday cake ... Yeah very funny ... :rolleyes: :o
You could also take a box with normal standard matches and one massive pile of suitable sticks and practice your featherstick making skills :D Allowing yourself only to use 1 match for 1 fire (4-6 feathersticks). By the time you emptied your match case, you'll be a master in making fire with only 1 match ... and you got the skills to make feathersticks almost into perfection :D
But this isn't with any artificial tinder at all ...
Fine grade steel wool is an old standby, which I mainly use if conditions are wet. When I first read about using the stuff as tinder it seemed such an absurd idea that I immediately had to try it. Also, I'm told, handy for those survival situations lighting a fire sparked from a car battery. Never tried that because I don't have a car.
It will also light from a 9v battery, and a D-Cell torch battery at a push
Cheers
Pete
My boss tells me he prefers the traditional Somerset way:
A pint of red diesel and a box of matches
I'll get my coat
My boss tells me he prefers the traditional Somerset way:
A pint of red diesel and a box of matches
I'll get my coat
Its the sussex way too :)
my best results with cotton wool have been with tampons and with pieces torn from the big rolls of cotton wool used to remove make up.curiously Ive found cotton woolballs from FAKs etc not as effective for some reason-maybe compression is a factor?
I have had success using Rizla papers(cigarette papers), tear a few slits in the end and use a firesteel! I always have them with me and dry and if I dont I will be on my way to the nearest garage/late shop no matter where I was!
Motorbike Man
06-05-2005, 22:49
I have had success using Rizla papers(cigarette papers), tear a few slits in the end and use a firesteel! I always have them with me and dry and if I dont I will be on my way to the nearest garage/late shop no matter where I was!
Something I heard about from (I think) Martyn was to have the paper actually inbetween the blade and steel. The paper tears through and then it catches all of the sparks. Thinking about it, I wonder if that would work with cotton wool as well?
I tried that too but it broke the paper too much. You get a flame but it is on tiny pieces that dont stay lit, it might work better with a little more practice though.
ChrisKavanaugh
07-05-2005, 00:32
Dryer lint consisting of artificial fibers not only makes poor tinder but gives off noxious fumes, a bad idea when your holding close and breathing life into the fire :eek: www.ragweedforge.com has an excellent review of charcloth and the preparation of amadou and the use of fungi for tinder. Click on his section of firesteels for the links. I carry my neckknives on lampwicking. It's safer and provides an emergency tinder source.
I find that the lint from the filter of my tumble dryer works great. If you dry only cotton, (sheets , jeans etc) for a few cycles there's nothing nasty in there. :)
I use hemp char simply cos that's what most of my clothes are made from - again it seems to burn much hotter than cotton.
What clothes are these? Home made or commerciallly available?.
I like to think that this one is my invention:
Cut up 2 tabletennis balls into 5mm*5mm pieces, put in a well closed container, such as a 35mm film can, with 1-2ml of acetone. In a day or two, it will turn into a white creamy thing.
Stuff into a mold of your choice (a little roll of paper is great as it helps with evaporation of acetone) and dry for a week or two. What you end up with is a piece of solid plastic. Drill a hole and put on a lanyard together with your firesteel.
You can scrape it with a knife just like you would a magnesium bar. The shavings easily catch sparks any burn fierce.
enjoy!
Matjaz
Ogri the trog
01-06-2006, 20:48
Matjaz,
Thats a great idea for all the tennis balls that our dog bites to pieces.
Another not very Bushy tinder is a mix of granular (sodium or potassium based) weedkiller and sugar :eek:
Pyromaniacs of the world - ignite :naughty:
Ogri the trog
British Red
01-06-2006, 21:40
Not really Ogri old mate - its table tennis balls you need not tennis balls!
Red
I carry a small pencil sharpener in my fire kit.
Used on a dry twig it produces loads of fine shavings much easier than a knife.
Ogri the trog
01-06-2006, 22:42
Not really Ogri old mate - its table tennis balls you need not tennis balls!
Red
Whoops,
Cheers Red :o
Ogri the trog