Making A Fire Without Matches

Making a fire without matches or a lighter looks easy on television. On a recent episode of "Man Against Wild," the host/survivor simply spun a stick between his hands for a few minutes, with one end on a fire board (a piece of wood with a hole and a notch in it), and he soon had a burning coal. This was easily blown into a flame. Or was it easy.

One thing we don't see is the whole process in one camera shot. This might be because it takes a long time to make a fire using primitive means. It is also very easy to fail at any one of the six crucial steps, and that means no fire. Here are the six steps to making a fire without matches or a lighter:

1. Gathering the right kind of tinder.

2. Gathering firewood and laying a good fire.

3. Making the fire-starting tools.

4. Using the tools the right way to create an ember.

5. Blowing the ember into a flame using the tinder.

6. Starting a fire with the burning tinder.

Making A Fire

Of these steps, numbers 4 and 5 are by far the most difficult. You probably already know how to gather dry wood and lay it in a way that allows air into it, with tinder at the center, kindling around that, and small pieces of firewood ready to add. Making the tools, whether a hand-spun spindle or a bow and drill setup, is relatively easy too, once you've seen how and tried it once or twice.

Tinder needs to have very specific qualities when you don't have matches. Paper, for example, is a great tinder for starting a fire with matches, but it won't easily take and hold a spark or ember and allow you to blow it into a flame. That is what you need in good tinder materials when you don't have matches. These materials include lint from your pocket, cattail seed head down, fine dry grass, cotton twine, cotton cloth, and dry-rotted wood.

Some dry funguses that grow on trees work well too. Experiment with these. You can also scrape the outside of some trees, like western cedars, to get a small pile of fuzzy bark for tinder.

The tinder should be placed in a nest or ball of dry grass. The moment you get your spark or coal, you will drop it into the center and blow into it gently. With practice, you should be able to blow this ember into a flame within a minute or so. If not, try other tinder materials. You can mix several, like lint, cattail fuzz, and finely shredded soft bark.

Here is the basic routine: Whether using a bow and drill, a fire plow or a simple spindle and fire board, you need to create enough friction to get a small ember. This is dropped into the tinder you have prepared, and blown into a flame. This flaming tinder is then transferred to the kindling and firewood you have prepared, and soon you have a blazing fire.

Now it is time for a confession. I've practiced every element of this process. I can lay a good fire, collect great tinders, and blow them into a flame from an ember. I can even make a decent bow and drill fire starter. What I haven't done yet, however, is create an ember from friction. That's right. I've created clouds of smoke and a lot of sweat, but never started a fire from friction. Perhaps the fact that I have always had matches limited my motivation.

Bottom line? Step number four is very difficult. You might want to practice all the others to get your confidence up (you can light a small stick and blow out the flame to get your ember for practice). The real lesson, however, may be that if you think you might be making a fire, bring matches or a lighter.

NOTE:

To see how to make a bow-and-drill, or fire plow, visit the page: Building Fires

The Ultralight Backpacking Site | Making A Fire Without Matches