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Show Us Your Fire Lighting Kit.

Keith

Keith

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“Dwarves can make a fire almost anywhere out of almost anything, wind or no wind; but they could not do it that night, not even Oin & Gloin, who were especially good at it”.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

What has he got in his pocketsies precious? Show us your fire kit & how you carry it.
 
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Newcomer reply - to my mind, a fire lighting kit should cover a few different options. For the times when natural tinder is abundant and time on your side - carry the traditional and primitive methods so you can practice those techniques and for the time when you have just pulled yourself shivering from a freezing lake - your fire kit needs to be accessible and operable with cold, wet hands and be capable of igniting a fire with questionable fuel sources and non-ideal locations. Taken as extremes with a few Clippers and a Zippo in between should be a very good fire kit!

ATB

Pete
 
Pete said:
Newcomer reply - to my mind, a fire lighting kit should cover a few different options. For the times when natural tinder is abundant and time on your side - carry the traditional and primitive methods so you can practice those techniques and for the time when you have just pulled yourself shivering from a freezing lake - your fire kit needs to be accessible and operable with cold, wet hands and be capable of igniting a fire with questionable fuel sources and non-ideal locations. Taken as extremes with a few Clippers and a Zippo in between should be a very good fire kit!

ATB

Pete
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Well as a matter of fact Pete that actually happened to me one winter on the Great Lakes. A sudden storm blew up & swamped our boat & my friend & I had to get out of the boat & swim it to the shore. Whilst my mate unpacked the boat, I got a fire going & then we built a shelter using our oilcloth shelters & the boat sails. It was pouring with rain!
I made fire that day with my flint & steel & tinderbox.

Do you have a fire lighting kit yet Pete?
Keith.
 
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My fire lighting kit, flint & steel & tinderbox kept dry in a greased leather fire bag & carried in my belt pouch.
Keith.
 

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My general carry kit (along with char cloth). I also use an English style 1790s tinderbox with associated striker when I want to slip something into a pocket.
 
I DO get the whole ' primitive / historic ' aspect of fire making and yes it does FEEL good in a romantic way.

But...

Don't deny that you may need to make a fire in super quick time for a real emergency - don't deny yourself the ability to carry something you can just strike a match to and get a real life saving going in record time when either your cold and freezing , your hands are icy blocks , your dexterity is shot to hell and back and you need a fire to just provide life giving heat.

Again I'm not anti the primitive / historic stuff and I've done enough fire bows and fire ploughs to know the effort and TIME required to get things done.
 
This doesn't mean that I don't carry a firesteel also, but in the long term and given my view of where society is headed I think the good old flint and steel kit may well have its day again.
 
lonewolf said:
once everything else is used up or broken, then the old traditional ways will reassert themselves.
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I believe they will. You and I have often discussed this, and I see us back in the late 17th century once the dust has settled. I reckon my love of F&S will serve me well then ;)
 
I was thinking 18th century- mid 1700s but 17th Century I can live with.
in 1750 about the time the Industrial Revolution began in Britain the population was about 6 million, I reckon it will be that again, about 12-18 months post SHTF.
 
lonewolf said:
I was thinking 18th century- mid 1700s but 17th Century I can live with.
in 1750 about the time the Industrial Revolution began in Britain the population was about 6 million, I reckon it will be that again, about 12-18 months post SHTF.
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We won't know until we get there ;) Did you know that the UK population was somewhere around 20-22 million at the outbreak of the first world war, makes you think when we now have 65 million peeps. It must have been quite a quiet place back then. I guess the population would have been a fair bit lower 100 years (plus) earlier.
 
This thread is in real danger of being derailed. Again..

Is there anychance we can keep it on topic guys?
I'm not saying what you are talking about isn't interesting but good forum etiquette would be to start another thread.
 
At the moment I only have one I made
C0D3DEDE-4A13-4971-9D9F-7CBD719F852A.jpeg

I use this or a lighter. At the moment I’m trying to master the bow drill lol so I will move onto other methods when I think I have it mastered.
 
Prime said:
I DO get the whole ' primitive / historic ' aspect of fire making and yes it does FEEL good in a romantic way.

But...

Don't deny that you may need to make a fire in super quick time for a real emergency - don't deny yourself the ability to carry something you can just strike a match to and get a real life saving going in record time when either your cold and freezing , your hands are icy blocks , your dexterity is shot to hell and back and you need a fire to just provide life giving heat.

Again I'm not anti the primitive / historic stuff and I've done enough fire bows and fire ploughs to know the effort and TIME required to get things done.
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Well like I said in my reply to Pete, I once had to swim our boat to shore on the Great Lakes in winter after we got hit by a sudden storm. It was pouring with rain driven by strong winds. I got a fire going in no time whilst my friend unloaded the boat. I could never have made fire with matches, not even sure a lighter would have worked.
I have learnt how to make fire with flint & steel so that I can make fire anywhere & at any time. I would never stake my life on a modern fire lighting alternative. No matter what you use to make fire, you need to learn about natural plant & fungi tinders & natural kindling. Flint & steel is sustainable, so is the fire-bow. I don't think that can be said for any modern fire making tool.
Keith.
 
Keith said:
Excellent, now you need to move up a notch to using plant & fungi tinders & natural kindling.
Thanks for sharing.
Keith.
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That’s the plan Keith. My intentions are to walk into the woods and start a fire with what’s around me. At the moment I lack the skills and time to practice but this will not always be the case :thumbsup:
 
Keith said:
Excellent, now you need to move up a notch to using plant & fungi tinders & natural kindling.
Thanks for sharing.
Keith.
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I do m8, I just keep it in a tin and couldn't be bothered to drag it out for the pics ;)
 
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