Nowadays, there are more than enough objects with which you can make fire. These include matches, both ordinary and hunting, termite, long-burning, etc. Lighters, both regular gas and petrol and electronic. As well as a variety of flint, solar prisms, chemical reagents, and other similar things. But how to make fire without having any of this? Situations in life are different. There are several ways to make fire without having absolutely any means for this purpose. In this specific example, we only need a piece of metal and a stone, which can be picked up anywhere.
Will need
- Knife or other metal object.
- Stone (any quartzite rock).
Getting fire from a spark
The fact that a spark suitable for igniting tinder can be knocked out with two stones is nothing more than a stereotype! What we need is metal! Nowadays, metal objects surround people everywhere. The ancient people who discovered fire learned over time how to make fire on their own using a stone and a piece of iron pyrite - a mineral with a high iron content. It is also called pyrite.In those distant times, for obvious reasons, there was no metal, so instead they successfully used a piece of this mineral. This method can also help some modern mushroom picker, or berry picker who had the temerity to get lost. It is this category of outdoor enthusiasts who are most at risk of getting lost, since these people are forced to constantly move from place to place in search of mushrooms and berries. Unlike hikers, who have already laid out a route on the map and have an exact goal, as well as the necessary gadgets to determine the exact location, mushroom pickers most often go into the forest with only a knife and containers for the necessary wild plants. A person lost in the forest, who does not have any means of making fire with him (or who has lost them on the way), has an order of magnitude less chance of quick rescue than his more thrifty colleague. Firstly; fire is a good defense against possible attacks by wild animals. Then, it is warm at night, and food is more acceptable for humans. Well, in the end, this is a way to attract the attention of search parties in case you are missed at home. The task will be greatly simplified if the knife you have with you is made of good, weapon-grade steel, with a high content of carbon and chromium. When struck against a stone, such steel sparks better than ordinary iron. The selection of stone should also be approached wisely. Soft rocks, such as crushed stone, are absolutely not suitable. Hard quartzite is required. It can be granite, or ordinary white or transparent pebbles. In general, solid rocks! Ideally, of course, flint! Flint can most often be found on the banks of a river, stream, or in pine forests, in the rhizomes of old pines fallen by the wind.
It is very easy to distinguish flint from other types of quartzite - it most often has a creamy-gray or creamy-coffee hue with a matte surface on the chip. In some ways it is similar in appearance to boiled condensed milk. Just petrified. Color varies by region; The further north the region is, the darker the shade will be. But you can come across flint that is two-colored, or three-colored, and even a whole palette of different shades - from beige to dark gray, almost black.
One thing is constant; matte, oily shine on the chip, and razor-sharp, transparent edges. In general, it is impossible to make a mistake! Next you need to prepare the tinder and kindling. Last year's dry cattail can be used as tinder - both its leaves and fluffy heads. Birch tinder fungus, or dry moss ground into soft dust, is also suitable. Wood dust is also suitable; it can also be obtained from an old stump. In general, everything that will smolder well when hit by a spark. For coarser kindling, after the flame appears, you can use dry pine needles, leaves, twigs, cones, etc. For example, in the video, instead of a knife, I will use a piece of an ordinary cheap file; I don't want to scratch the blade unless absolutely necessary. The steel from a file and a good knife are almost identical, both in hardness and composition - both have a high carbon content, so they will spark equally from flint. So, if absolutely necessary, you can use a knife - I think it is unlikely that you will be able to find another metal object in the forest. And as tinder, let’s take, again as an example, the most accessible thing - last year’s cattail!
Yes, and one more important point: in order for the spark to settle better on the tinder, you can rub the tinder on a charred surface. For example, on a tree scorched by lightning. Or at the site of a fire.Better yet, use a knife to scrape a small amount of coal powder and shavings onto the tinder.
So everything is ready to make fire. If the weather is windy, then we place a piece of birch bark on the stump, lay tinder sprinkled with coal chips on it, and pin the tinder with birch bark to the surface of the stump with a knife, with the butt pointing away from you. Next, with sharp, sliding blows, we hit the edge of the knife with the sharp edge of the stone. Top down. So that sparks fall on coal dust and tinder. Coal dust (if it can be found, of course) will begin to smolder immediately when a spark hits it.
And the main thing here is not to miss the moment! Careful not to scatter the tinder all over the place, we begin to blow on the smoldering area. As soon as the smoldering becomes more stable and stable, we roll the birch bark with the smoldering tinder inward, like this:
Now that the tinder is pressed down by birch bark and won’t fly away anywhere, let’s inflate the whole thing without sparing our lungs! Until you get a flame.
Well, then everything follows the old scenario: first small kindling, then larger and larger. Unfortunately, it was not possible to start a full-fledged fire this time, due to the extreme fire danger situation declared in our area, but the principle of creating a flame, I think, is clear. In wet weather, of course, you will have to suffer quite a bit, but even in this case, it is quite possible to get fire in this way. Personally, as a matter of principle, I don’t take matches or lighters into the forest. Only flint. Ferrocerium flint, and sometimes just a piece of file with one smooth edge. Only in this primitive way, in my opinion, can real, natural living fire be produced. I use the same method to melt and bake in my sauna. This interesting process brings extraordinary pleasure!
