In any survival situation, making a fire will be your first priority, once you have a fire going you can start setting up your shelter, and so on. This is even more important if it is wintertime and you are somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Although you are a smart person and you have probably packed several lighters, you might find that none of them actually work when you need them. As a prepper, you will need to know several ways of doing certain things like building a fire.
When it comes to starting a fire without matches, a reliable and cost-effective method is using flint and steel. Flint and steel kits are readily available and provide a straightforward way to ignite a fire, especially when accompanied by a tinder kit that includes charcloth. With the right technique, striking the steel against the flint creates sparks that can easily ignite the charcloth or other tinder materials.
One of your best alternatives when it comes to starting a fire is using a Ferro flint, my personal recommendation is to use one which can create sparks up to 5,500 F Click here to check it out on Amazon.com
In my experience, if you live in a remote area of the country then you should definitely learn how to make a fire without any tools whatsoever. This way you will have a backup up plan for your backup plan. The main problem with lighters is that once they get wet you will not be able to use them as they will not be able to produce a spark if they are using a lighter stone. Combine this with the ambient humidity and your lighters will be useless.
For more in-depth information about Prepping Click here to check out my recent guide
What you actually can use to start a fire depends on several factors, like how high is the humidity, is the wood wet, how windy it is, and so on. So even though something like a magnifying glass is great for starting a fire but if the wood is wet you will probably just waste your time. You should always assess the situation first, and think about what could and could not work when it comes to making a fire as each situation will be different.
One of your main challenges of making a fire no matter if you are using a lighter or matches is the wood and wood shavings if these are wet then no matter what kind of fire starter you use you will struggle to build or start a fire. Luckily for you, I have already written an in-depth article about starting a fire with wet wood so check it out How to start a fire with wet wood? ( Fast & Easy ).
How To Make Fire Without A Lighter?
Making fire without a lighter can be accomplished using various primitive fire-starting techniques. One method is the friction-based bow drill method, which involves creating a bow and spindle from wood, along with a fireboard and a socket. By rapidly moving the bow back and forth, the friction generated between the spindle and fireboard creates heat, eventually producing an ember. This ember can then be transferred to a tinder bundle, such as dry leaves or bark, and gently blown upon to create a flame.
Another technique is the flint and steel method, where a piece of flint is struck against a steel striker to create sparks that can ignite a prepared tinder bundle. Additionally, using a magnifying glass or lens to focus sunlight onto a small, dry tinder can also start a fire.
Earn a 50% Commission on each sale by simply sharing my guides with friends and family on social media, check out Prepping Planet Affiliates
Starting A Fire With A Glass Lens Or Magnifier
A reading glass or magnifier is a great way to start a fire if you do not have any other tools to start it. The thing to keep in mind when starting a fire with your glasses or magnifying glass is that the tinder must be dry and the sun must be shining. The way it works is that these lenses will have a focal point that will channel the sun’s energy into a small point, after a couple of minutes in the same position this point will be hot enough to ignite the tinder.
Do note that this method works best during the summertime, as during the wintertime the sun’s rays are not that powerful. If your firewood is wet then check out my recent article How to start a fire with wet wood? ( Fast & Easy ).
Starting A Fire With Batteries And Steel Wool
Brush the batteries against the steel wool and it will produce a spark, this would be sufficient enough to ignite the tinder or wood shavings. Generally speaking, the more Voltage a battery has the bigger the spark although you will still be able to produce a small spark with batteries that are lower Voltage. The way this works is that you are actually making a short circuit once you rub the battery against the steel wool.
Every battery has a positive “+” and a negative “-” side, and these are isolated from each other, once you place something conductive between them they will short out and produce a spark. The problem is that every time you produce a spark you will drain the battery and in some cases even break it, so make sure that the battery which you are using doesn’t need to power something important.
Also, keep in mind that if the fire steel or if the battery is wet then this will still work although it will make even more damage to the battery than when using it dry. Open flame fires indoors can be a potential fire hazard, this is why you should use a fireproof document bag in order to protect your documents, for more information check out my recent article Do fireproof bags really work ( Or do they? ).
Starting A Fire With A Condom
Yep, you heard it right you can actually start a fire with a condom, condoms have some focusing properties like a magnifying glass although a lot weaker, but still enough to start a fire. Fill the condom with water, do note that the water has to be clear as this will be your magnifying “object” and the condom will be your focusing device. Fill the condom with one or two cups of water and start squeezing it, your aim is to squeeze it till you will see a circle of light.
The smaller this circle of light is the better it is as this will heat the tinder up a lot faster, now you will have to keep the condom in that position for a couple of minutes in the same spot till the tinder actually catches on fire.
Starting A Fire With A Soda Can
All soda cans have a very reflective bottom, which you can use to make fire. First, you will need to empty the soda can and clean the bottom of the can as best as you can, the shinier the better it reflects sunlight. The reason why it has to be empty is that if it still contains soda then this will actually absorb the sun’s heat and will make it a lot harder to ignite the fire. Now just focus the bottom of the soda can in such a way that it either makes a small point of focused energy or a small circle, and keep in that position till the tinder ignites. As a side note if you are wondering if coal can go bad or not then check out my recent article Does charcoal go bad? ( Fact or Fiction? ).
Starting A Fire With A Hand Drill
This is a fairly primitive method of starting a fire, it only needs some wood and a lot of work. Grab a piece of dry wood that is flat, if you can’t find any then simply split apart a bigger log. Make some wood shavings and a small hole in the middle of the wood on the flat side of it. Now go and get a twig that is strong enough to withstand at least some pressure. Place the twig in a vertical position on the log.
Where the twig and the log come in contact, place wood shavings, this is what will catch on fire. Now simply use your palms to start drilling, the faster you do this the faster you will start the fire. Once the twig starts drilling it will produce heat, and after a couple of minutes, it will ignite the wood shavings. Do note that this sounds fairly easy, but on your first attempt you will probably struggle for a couple of hours and you will get a couple of cuts and bruises on your palms so use a glove.
Starting A Fire With A Bow And Drill
This is exactly the same method as above, but with one exception, you will use something that resembles a bow to drill. Find another twig that you can bend, and tie your shoelaces on it, if you don’t have anything else, just make it look like a bow. Now you will have to make a loop with the rope on the twig which is doing the drilling, find a rock and with one hand, hold in place the drilling stick with the rock, and with the other hand start moving the bow forward and backward as fast as you can. If you are wondering how to live in the wilderness without supplies then check out my recent article How to survive in the wilderness without supplies? ( In 6 Steps ).
Starting A Fire Using A Piece Of Ice
Ice magnifies and it also can focus the sun’s rays into either a point or a small circle. For this, you will be needing clear ice and some manual work like scrubbing the surface of the ice to make it focus the sun’s beam better.
Starting A Fire With A Plastic Bag
You can also use a plastic bag to channel the rays of the sun in such a way that it is focused on a single point. The problem if you do this with an empty transparent bag is that the sun’s rays will actually melt the plastic, so you should add also water to the plastic bag, as this will keep the plastic bag cool and will help to magnify the sun’s rays.
Starting A Fire With Flint And Steel
If you have ever watched some survivalist shows then you have probably noticed that most of them use flint and steel to make a fire. The main reason they use it is that it is fairly easy to use and you are almost guaranteed to make a spark provided that the flint and steel are not wet. Make a small bed of tinder and or wood shavings and use the flint and steel to make a spark, if you have never tried using flint and steel don’t worry you will get a spark in a couple of attempts.
The spark from the flint and steel will be hot enough to burn tinder and wood shavings, generally speaking, the spark will be above 1000 degrees hot, and some brands which use Ferrocerium can generate a spark with an average temperature of 5500 degrees.
Starting A Fire With A Flashlight
Yes, you heard it right, you can actually start a fire with a flashlight. All flashlights will have a reflective layer around the bulb, this is to make the flashlight more effective. You will have to take apart your flashlight and remove this reflective part, now use it to channel the sun’s rays on your tinder, and with some alignment, you will find the correct position and you will have a fire burning in no time.
Starting A Fire With A Fire Plow
This fire-starting method also involves friction as the main source of producing enough heat to get the tinder to catch on fire. Grab a thick dry wood, split it in half, and go look for a good strong stick. Place the stick on the flat area of the thicker dry wood and place some wood shavings at the end of the plow, the plow is the actual stick. Now start moving the plow front to back as fast as you can, this will create friction and a lot of heat which will ignite the wood shavings.
Starting A Fire With Matches
This is probably one of your B plans when it comes to making a fire, some preppers will use waterproof matches while others just use standard matches. If you have a zip lock bag then just put your matches inside them while you are traveling, this way water will not ruin them. The main difference between waterproof matches and normal matches is that the waterproof ones will ignite even underwater, although hopefully, you are not trying to start a fire underwater.
Key Takeaways
- Use techniques such as the bow drill, hand drill, or fire plow to create friction between two pieces of wood and generate enough heat to ignite tinder.
- Utilize a ferrocerium rod, commonly known as a fire starter or fire steel, to create sparks that can ignite a flammable material like dry tinder.
- Use the power of the sun to focus sunlight onto a piece of tinder, such as dry leaves or grass, using a magnifying glass or other similar lens to create enough heat for ignition.
