M14 Forum

Sweets

The thread I started about tinder boxes from the days before matches got me to thinking about types of tinder in general. My favorite firestarter is a disposable butane lighter or ten, but tinder knowledge will handle emergencies, such as landing back in the stoneage after TSHTF. Here are some of the common tinders that I'm aware of:

-Charred linen: the classic tinder box material, created by heating the linen to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen. Something I personally have never used. Apparently any cloth of a vegetable origin can be used (but not for instance wool). In a wilderness situation you can make your own with a campfire and a piece of tinfoil.

-Cedar bark shavings: the classic Canuck tinder for use with or without matches. Burns like crazy at the least provocation- when dry.

-Birch bark shavings: from white birch. Never had the patience to try this as actual tinder because it takes more work than cedar. For sure the actual bark itself is the wild's greatest firestarter once you have a flame but don't skin trees for fun in public areas.

-Tampons: the cotton fibres are such good tinder that a tampon is included in British military survival kits. I carry at least one in every outdoor jacket but beware what happened to me at a beer festival when I jerked something out of my jacket pocket and a tampon flew out and landed plunk on the ticket table. Also be sure they are well wrapped, both to keep dry and to avoid them swelling up into a grapefruit size ball of fluff, something else that happend to me with only private embarrassment.

-Cotton wool and other such fibres in general.

-Cotton wool or other materials which have been saturated in petroleum jelly. These have the advantage of being water resistant and work well as fire starters. I've used commercial versions as spark tinder but haven't thought to try to try a homemade version myself. except as firestarters.

-Dry moss and wood punk of various types. No personal experience. When I'm in the woods,it's alway raining or has just finished raining or about to start raining. I lie of course, sometimes it's wet snow.

I would be most interested to hear comments or suggestions about other tinder types- I'm filling in some of the holes in my personal experience and have started out by ordering a preassembled old style tinder box that includes professionally made charred linen just so I'm sure what it's like.

Hungry1

That's a pretty thorough list Sweets.

You mentioned petroleum jelly. If you carry a first aid kit with the jelly infused gauze, it can pull double duty.

Another handy item that is not so much tinder as spark maker is the Swedish Fire Steel.




Edit: Pine Sap. There are many Pine trees in my area. The sap is very combustible and an excellent fire starter.

tmcfalls

Dryer lint. I haven't tried it on wet fuel but seeing how it burns dry will make you want to keep your cloths dryer clean.

Earthquake

+1 on the drier lint.
I took a piece out of my drier and used the striker for my oxy/acetylene torch. in one squeeze of the striker I had a flame.

Casey

osokusmc

A piece of steel wool and a flashlight battery. Just arc out the wool on the ends of the battery, don't have it in your hand though, it gets hot right now.

RandyB45

Huh. Never thought of using that striker. Chop the head off and dummy cord the striker part to the head and it's compact, if that's important. Good talk.

You can get those magnesium fire starters at Harbor Fright (sic) for about $3, which is 1/2 to 1/3 of what I've found them for elsewhere. They work, too.

Tampons, eh? I've been saving the cotton out of pill bottles for quite awhile. Whoosh….

Hoss08

One of the best tinders I have found out in the woods is the fibers/bark that peels off of a grape vine. After you peel it off you work it in your hands until it becomes very fine. This works as a very good tinder bundle and ive used them a starting tinder bundle for both flint and steel fire starting and bow drill fire starting.

mjconnau

Dryer lint (or cotton balls) mixed with petroleum jelly makes it a little denser, and burns better. Other alternatives on that theme would be to coat the dryer lint balls with melted wax. I do this in an old egg carton, let them cool, and then store in a ziploc bag. If you don't have the time for that then birthday candles are small, light easily, and don't add much weight to your pack.

Earthquake

Heres a short video I put on Youtube with dryer lint and a striker

Its way to easy to do and makes you worry about you dryer.

Casey

stoky

Dried rosin, from a damaged part of a tree, and the small sticks impregnated (pitch wood) with it make great tinder. This can also be commonly found at deer scrapes at the edges of where the bark is left. Fritos also make good tinder.
In my experience, butane lighters don't work well when they get cold, even the expensive ones. Good old zippos just about always light and leave both hands free to get tender going held vertically in their flames.

Butzbach

Active mass is chemistry talk for surface area available for reaction in this case ignition. Dryer lint works so well because it is a mat of tiny little fiber pieces. What's scarier than your dryer is what you can do with the dust in an abandoned factory or warehouse. Think grain silo dust and you'll have the picture.

Butzbach

When your tube of antibiotic ointment expires you can use it to coat some cotton balls to use for tinder. The base is petroleum jelly I'm pretty sure. Beats throwing it away.

RandyB45

Vaseline with aloe, lanolin, and the wax from toilet bowl rings are not flammable.

Nobody has mentioned pulling a bullet and using powder. Probably last ditch, but….

RandyB45

If you can find a downed pine tree, the roots are full of this. Fatwood.