Undoubtedly, every survivalist should be able to light a fire without matches. Of course, it is stupid to go into the forest without means for starting a fire, but there are different cases, for example, the matches that you took with you got wet, and you lost your lighter. Sometimes it happens. You have probably seen many times in films how people made fire without using matches, but it's one thing to see, and it's another to try it yourself.
In ancient times, people kindled fires by friction, or sparks were struck with stones. There are many ways to start a fire without matches, in this article we will look at some of them.
The first way, the most ancient - with the help of a bow
To do this, you need a stick that can be made from a branch of, say, a birch. The length of the stick should be no more than 1 meter. You will also need a piece of rope or something from which this rope can be made, it will act as a bowstring. Then you need to make a drill, find a pine stick with a length of 30 cm and sharpen it on one side.
You can use a plank or log to support the drill. It is best to use a dry tree, even in the dampest weather the tree inside is always dry, but this only applies to standing trees. The log must be split or split so that the surface is level. Make a hole in the board in which you will lay the tinder.
It is important to make a slot next to the hole for the tinder to exit, the first shavings will come out there. The drill can also be made from the tree itself, you can make something like a peg, it is important that the shaft itself has edges, that is, irregularities, this will provide better grip with the rope. Next, fasten the bowstring to the bow and, in principle, everything is ready.
Also, you must take care of the kindling, because when the ember appears, there will be no time for this, you must remove all unnecessary and prepare the place so that absolutely nothing bothers you. Wrap the drill with a bowstring, set the sharp end into the hole, then press it from above through some piece of wood so as not to damage the palm and move the bow back and forth.
The tinder will slowly smolder and over time a coal will appear, which we need for further making a fire. As soon as a coal appears, the main thing is not to lose fire, take the smallest chips and shavings, overlay the coal, and gently fan it to make a fire.
Second way. Wire friction method. Sawing method
The fire can also be lit with ordinary wire. It is desirable that the wire be at least 2 mm thick; if it is thinner, it will simply burn through the wood and you will not have time to ignite the tinder. Two sticks are attached to the ends of the wire, which will serve as handles for you. The principle is this, you just wrap the log with wire and, as it were, try to saw off a piece. A tinder should be placed next to it, as soon as an ember appears, start making a fire.
The third way is with ice
A very interesting way of making a fire using ice. Everything is simple here - you make a kind of lens out of ice and then kindle a fire, as with a regular lens. Below you can watch the video, everything is shown in detail there. The disadvantage of this method, of course, is the binding to the sun. If the weather is not sunny, you cannot light a fire this way.
Fourth way. The method of making fire by rolling cotton wool with chalk
Few people know that without resorting to matches, fire can be obtained using ordinary cotton wool and chalk. This method may come in handy when you find yourself in some area where there are abandoned houses, garages and other structures. Here you can always find an old mattress, insulation for doors, old quilted jackets, etc. That is, you can find cotton wool in any area where people lived. How to get fire with cotton wool?
You need to separate a neat, even layer from the cotton wool and spread it, say, on the floor. In order to roll it into a roll, you need a binder, as you can use chalk, or whitewash from the wall. The chalk will allow the cotton to roll into a very tight roll, which is exactly what you need. After you have rolled the cotton wool, you should take a flat board and continue rolling the cotton wool with that board. That's it, the cotton wool is tightly rolled.
Now you are making tinder, you can make it from the same board (sawdust, small shavings). This will be your kindling. Putting the prepared tinder aside, start rolling the cotton wool with the flat side of the board again. Your task is to warm up the cotton wool until it smolders. This moment can be noticed by the smell, it starts to smell a little burned. The coal is formed inside the cotton wool, and you need it. With the help of it and kindling, you can easily light a fire.
We also invite you to watch a video on the topic "How to light a fire without matches."
There are many ways to make fire without matches or a lighter. Some of these methods are very laborious and difficult to execute, but there are also those with which it will be a little more difficult to start a fire than using the same box of matches.
In particular, in addition to matches, there are others special means for . So, for example, you can kindle a fire without matches and a lighter using a flint or a fiery piston. However, if you have these means at hand, you cannot talk about an emergency, since it is no more difficult to start a fire with them than with matches. Therefore, further we will consider non-standard methods when even these tools were not available.
Lighting fire with a lens is the easiest and fastest alternative to matches and a lighter.
These methods include lighting a fire without matches:
- Kresal and flint;
- An empty silicon lighter without gas;
- Lens;
- Concave mirror;
- By rubbing wood against wood;
- Rubbing a tinder fungus on a tree;
- By rubbing the wire against wood;
- With a nail and hammer;
- Rolling cotton wool;
- Electricity;
- Using chemical reagents;
- Shot from a gun.
Some of these methods of making fire were used thousands of years ago, when ancient people did not have special equipment. Let's take a look at all these methods of producing fire in more detail.
Making a fire with kresel and flint
V this way The tinder is ignited by a spark made by sharp flint from high-carbon steel (kresala). So, when the sharp edge of a flint or other strong stone collides with a smooth steel surface, small particles are scraped off the steel and heated by the impact are ignited in air, forming sparks.
Kresalo and flint can be found almost everywhere, even in wildlife.
In the wild, finding flint or other durable stone is usually not a problem. Many people use cleavers, knives and other steel tools as a chair.
This method requires a first-class tinder that can ignite with the slightest spark. Pharmacy cotton wool, paper and many other options that are suitable for other methods will not work here, because a spark carved from steel is much colder than sparks carved, for example, from modern flames.
I know of five options for making first-class tinder suitable for this method:
- The first tinder is made from two tinder fungi. A tinder fungus is torn off from the birch, from which the tubular part is cut off, and the "velvet" is left. Chaga (a type of tinder fungus growing on a birch tree) is found and its brown part is crushed into dust. "Velvet" is rubbed with chaga dust - tinder is ready. Such tinder is quickly harvested, but it takes a long time to catch the spark.
- The second tinder is made from tinder fungus by boiling. To do this, "velvet" is cut off from the tinder fungus and placed in an ash solution (1 part of ash from a fire, 2 parts of water). The tinder is boiled in ash for 2 hours, after which it is removed and beaten off with a smooth stick until it becomes a rag. After that, the tinder is well dried and kneaded. To kindle such a tinder, part of it is torn off and a spark is struck on the fibrous surface from the side of the fracture. This option can be used in cases where it is necessary to save other means of ignition: once spending one match on cooking tinder over a fire, you can save a full box in the future.
- The third tinder is made from birch. For this, there is a birch lying on the ground: it is these trunks that rot faster with the formation of the so-called rotten wood (rotten wood). The rot is removed and, if necessary, dried in the sun. Such rotten wood, though not easy, catches the spark and begins to smolder. The method is convenient in that the preparation of this tinder almost does not require time and effort, as well as preliminary making a fire.
- The fourth tinder can be obtained by burning cotton cloth without oxygen. This is the so-called scorch. The fabric is rolled up and pushed into, for example, tin can... The jar is closed and put into the fire. When smoke and flames stop appearing from the cracks in the jar, the jar together with the tinder is removed from the fire and remains to cool in the air. The resulting tinder very easily catches a spark, but for its preparation you need a cloth and a fire made in a different way, as in the case of boiling tinder fungus.
- The fifth tinder is the recently-extinguished embers of a campfire. Only those that still have a layer of white ash are suitable. Having caught a spark, such a coal begins to smolder, a second coal is brought to it and a fire is blown up, from which a kindling is ignited. Such coals easily catch sparks, but require preliminary preparation. Nevertheless, like other options, this one is quite suitable for saving other means of ignition.
Any of these tinder should be protected from moisture. It would be ideal to put it in an airtight container, for example, a plastic jar for vitamins or a PET bottle with a wide neck for easy removal.
Tinder fungus, or tinder fungus, in fact, got its name for the fact that good tinder has been made from it for a long time.
Now that you have the right tinder available, you can start lighting a fire with flint and krasal. For this:
- By hitting flint on flint, a sharp chip is made on one of the stones. A sharp edge will allow you to strike more sparks and increase your chances of success sooner.
- Chipped flint with tinder is clamped in one hand, the chair is taken in the other. The tinder is placed on the chip from above (this is where sparks will fly) and pressed against thumb.
- By striking the flint on the flint, sparks are struck, which should ignite the tinder. If a burnt log is ignited, then the chisel rests against it, and sparks are struck by a blow of the flint from top to bottom.
- The tinder that has caught the spark is put into a kindling and swells up until a fire appears.
In the acclaimed 2016 film The Survivor, based on real events, the main character played by Leonardo DiCaprio puts the tinder under the flint instead of using correct option with tinder over flint. In this way, of course, you can try to set fire to the tinder, but why complicate your life, which is not sugar anyway?
This method is quite whimsical, as it requires a specially prepared tinder, which should be protected from moisture. However, if such a tinder is still available, then it will be easy and quick to kindle a fire with this method: it is not for nothing that in the old days, when matches and lighters had not yet appeared, it supplanted other more complex methods and became the main one for producing fire.
Lighting a fire with a silicon lighter without gas
This method is similar in principle to the method of kindling a fire with a modern flint: a spark ignites a prepared flammable powder scraped onto tinder from the mischmetal that is part of the lighter. The ignited powder ignites the tinder.
It is clear that this method requires a silicon lighter.
If there is tinder described in the previous method, or cotton wool (usually in a tourist first-aid kit), or fluff from an old cattail growing along freshwater reservoirs, then the spark of a lighter will be enough to ignite them. But we will consider two options when such a flammable tinder is not available.
In the first method, toilet paper will be taken as tinder. On hikes, we use it as a direct appointment and for wiping dishes, when it is necessary to save water, and there is no suitable grass nearby. It is also good as a kindling, especially if you moisten it with oil (even hygienic lipstick can help) or other flammable liquid or wrap a piece of paraffin from a candle in it.
So, to kindle a fire in the first way, you need to do the following:
- The protective cover is removed from the lighter.
- Toilet paper folds several times and tears. All pieces are stacked with the torn part in one direction.
- The resulting stack is pressed against the lighter in the place from where sparks fly out when the wheel rotates. The torn loose parts should be directed towards the sparks.
- Sparks are struck with a rolling blow of the palm on the wheel of the lighter onto the stack of toilet paper. Sparking is repeated until the paper begins to smolder.
- The paper is inflated until a fire appears.
This method requires good dry toilet paper (preferably soft and loose, not thick like Whatman paper). I can say that not all toilet paper is equally well suited for setting fire in this way: paper that has lain in a pocket of your trousers and is damp from this ignites badly.
Even without fuel, a silicon lighter produces enough sparks to ignite dry tinder.
Many people recommend putting the kindling fire in a pocket to dry, but from my own experience I was convinced that the paper in the pocket of my pants does not dry, but is moistened. This is most likely due to perspiration and high humidity air between the body and clothing.
The second method is less capricious and is able to light not only toilet paper, but also ordinary paper, for example, torn from a notebook. It is more versatile: I, for example, without any problems managed to achieve the beginning of smoldering of the tinder fungus (its tubular part) plucked from the tree with this method. It's not hard to guess that in the wild, instead of paper, the same birch bark can be used (the upper thinnest part of it).
So, to implement the second method, you must follow the following instructions:
- The lid is removed from the lighter.
- The center of the paper sheet is loosened by rubbing or any other method suitable for this purpose and bent so that a funnel forms in the center of the sheet. If this is not done, fire can also be obtained, but more powder is needed, scraped off the mischmetal of the lighter rod.
- The lighter is initially positioned horizontally above the paper so that sparks cannot ignite the paper.
- The lighter wheel is scrolled slowly until it collects on paper the right amount powder scraped off the lighter rod. When turning the wheel, you should try to avoid sparks.
- The powder collects in the center of the paper where it is loosened.
- A spark is extracted onto the powder from the lighter by rotating the wheel - the flash sets fire to the paper.
This method works well with an empty lighter. But, as my experience has shown, if the lighter was used until there was no gas left in it, there would be little sense from it: already at the stage of scraping off the mishmetal shavings, the rod can fly out and get lost, depriving a person of the opportunity to complete the matter.
On the other hand, although such a lighter allows you to make fire even without gas, I would still dare to recommend carrying a piezo lighter with you: it is more convenient to use, especially when you have to use it in the cold with frozen hands.
Attention!
In the cold, many cheap lighters work very poorly due to cooling and a decrease in gas pressure inside them. Therefore, it is recommended to carry them in an inner pocket and remove them immediately before use. It is also helpful to have at least two lighters and matches or flint in case one of them breaks.
If finances allow you to spend money on something more "powerful", then it is better to buy a turbo lighter: it will not go out in the wind, and it is easier to light a fire with it, although it also runs out of fuel faster.
Lighting a fire with a lens from the sun
This method is based on the properties of a lens to concentrate all the sun's rays passing through its surface at one point. This is where the temperature will be sufficient to ignite the tinder.
When hiking, the lens can be removed from glasses, a camera, binoculars and other devices that may include it. Sometimes they take a small magnifying glass on a hike to examine the map. A magnifying glass is included on some tablet compasses.
If there are no ready-made options, the lens can be made from improvised means, for example, carved out of ice, made from the bottoms found along the road, among other garbage glass bottles(It is not recommended to carry a glass container with you on a hike, due to its fragility). A condom or PET bottle filled with water also works well as a lens for lighting a fire.
Video: Making a fire with a condom
These and other methods of making a fire using the sun were considered in more detail in a separate article, so now we will focus on an option that can be used in a city or village, namely, creating a lens from an electric light bulb.
To do this, you need an incandescent lamp, which can be found both at home or in the entrance, and among the garbage.
The bigger the lamp, the better. The shape of the lamp should be round.
- The ceramic insulator is broken with a hard object. It is more convenient to do this with a nail.
- The inner part is gently knocked out through the resulting hole.
- All "insides" are removed from the flask.
- Poured into the flask pure water- the lens is ready.
Such a lens, in comparison with many others made from improvised means, is very effective remedy for making a fire.
The method of lighting fire from the lens and the sun is simple and effective, especially when a finished lens is available. I use it myself and recommend it to others as a primary method for starting a fire in sunny weather, thus saving matches and fuel in lighters.
There is an opinion that this method is good only in the warm season, however, as practice has shown, they can make a fire even in winter time years at sub-zero temperature but clear weather. The main thing is to have the sun.
This method has one drawback - it is impossible for them to make a fire in cloudy weather and at night.
Lighting a fire with a concave mirror
This method is based on the same principle as the previous one, only in this case the sun's rays are collected in a beam not by a curved glass, but by a concave mirror, and the kindling is located between the mirror and the sun.
On a hike, you can get some semblance of a concave mirror by removing the reflector from a flashlight or car headlight. It's also good to light a fire. gas bottle, or rather its concave shiny bottom (such cylinders are taken on a hike for cooking on gas and multi-fuel burners).
In urban settings, a concave mirror can be bought at a store that sells all sorts of small things.
For example, for these purposes I used a mirror taken from an old microscope: despite its small size, it did an excellent job of lighting a fire from the sun.
An interesting and highly unusual option is lighting the fire with a tablespoon. Of course, in order to simplify the task of kindling a fire in the future, the ladle of this very spoon must be deformed to the shape of a concave mirror. However, even without deformation, such a spoon on a hot summer day is capable of kindling sensitive tinder, for example, burnt.
Many times I have come across recommendations for the manufacture of a concave mirror for these purposes from a beer tin can... It was suggested to polish the bottom of the can with a piece of chocolate. After Les Stroud (Canada's Science of Survival TV host) demonstrated this technique in his video, I decided to try this technique. But, as I expected, nothing good came of this idea: the bottom of the can, instead of becoming mirrored, became dull. Rubbing the bottom of the can with campfire ash and toothpaste didn't add any shine either. The method actually suitable for polishing turned out to be simple, but tedious: it turned out that the bottom of the can can be polished with a piece of cloth.
Compared to the method of obtaining fire with a lens, this method is less convenient, since it is necessary to hold the tinder in a canopy between the sun and the mirror, which is not always convenient. In addition, the tinder itself, in most cases, partially obscures the sun's rays falling on the mirror with its shadow, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the method. In general, this method has the same advantages and disadvantages as the method of producing fire with a lens.
Building a fire by rubbing wood against wood
The principle of making a fire in this way is based on the fact that friction heats up the wood, and the dust formed as a result of friction begins to smolder. This smoldering dust is carried into the kindling fire, igniting it.
These methods are very difficult to implement and time consuming. Without preliminary training, it will be difficult to build a fire in this way, especially in our latitudes. In addition, the method is sensitive to wood: not all wood heats up well by friction and, if you make a mistake in choosing it, the chances of success are sharply reduced.
Nevertheless, I personally consider this method basic, that is, one that will allow you to start a fire without anything at all, when a person in the wild has no equipment at all, and besides trees, there are no more stones and metal in the area. Therefore, it makes sense to spend time and effort on its development, especially since fire in a campaign or in conditions of survival is one of the main things for a comfortable and safe stay in the wild.
Building a fire by rubbing a polypore on wood
The principle of this method is similar to the previous one, only in this case friction occurs between the wood and the tinder fungus, namely chaga.
For reference: chaga is a type of tinder fungus, also called a birch mushroom. As the name implies, such a mushroom grows on birches. Chaga is used not only for making a fire, but also for making tea, kvass, as well as for medical purposes.
To start a fire in this way, follow these steps:
- In the trunk of a dry tree in its upper part, two edges are cut longitudinally with an ax, located at right angles to each other. Top part the cross-section of the trunk at the same time resembles a gable hut.
- Chaga is cut into two parts.
- One part of the chaga is pressed with a cut with both hands to the edge formed by the edges, and they begin to move. These movements should be reciprocating, directed along the trunk, and performed before the beginning of decay of the chaga.
- The smoldering chaga is transferred to a kindling and fanned until fire appears.
This method is somewhat similar to the fiery plow method, it requires a lot of effort and time for its implementation. In addition, this method requires an ax or other tool that allows the felling and processing of wood.
The disadvantages of this method can also be attributed to the chaga itself, which does not grow in all regions. In any case, I have never found it in the south of Ukraine, including due to the small number of birches growing in this region.
Nevertheless, in a birch grove of all friction methods, this is perhaps the most effective, since using birch for the same method of making fire with the "Indian violin" is not the best idea due to the hardness of birch wood.
Building a fire by rubbing a wire on wood
In this method, the tinder ignites from a wire heated by friction against a tree.
The tourist usually has the wire in the repair kit: here it lies in case of breakage of the equipment, which can be repaired with its help. In addition, wire can be used instead of rope to fasten elements together when building a shelter or raft. Traps can be made from wire, in particular, snares, and much more.
Certain types of traps, such as snares and traps, may be illegal in some regions. Therefore, before catching certain representatives of the fauna, you should always ask what the local legislation says about this. So, in one region, the use of a particular tackle may be allowed, while in another it is prohibited by law. It is clear that in conditions of survival, no one will pay attention to these things, but for a peaceful tourist who wants to practice survival skills in the wild, they should still be taken into account in order to avoid a fine and damage to nature.
The wire for this method should not be thinner than 2 mm in thickness, so as not to break prematurely as a result of heating.
On a hike, the wire is generally very useful - dishes are hung on it over the fire, from which they are made various devices, it can also be used to start a fire.
To start a fire in this way, you must do the following:
- A piece of wire with a length of at least 80 cm is taken.It will be inconvenient to work with a smaller piece.
- Two small sticks are screwed to the ends of the wire as handles.
- A thin dry log is taken, at one end of which a small area is cut down on one side (about 20-30 cm).
- The log is placed on a dry platform and, in order to prevent rolling from side to side, is fixed in any convenient way.
- The wire is passed under the chipped area and the “sawing” process begins. They work in a similar way when sawing wood with a chain saw.
- After the wire has rubbed a little against the tree and a small groove is formed, a tinder is placed on the hewn area so that it touches the wire tightly. As tinder, you can take an old dry stalk of cattail with fluff. If one is not available, another tinder is wound on the stick.
- A stick with tinder is pressed with a foot against a platform hewn on a log.
- The handles of the "saw" are crossed once so that the wire forms the number "8" with the broken upper ring.
- Sawing begins, heating the wire and igniting the tinder. The smoldering tinder moves into the kindling and swells until it ignites.
Like other methods of starting a fire by friction, this method is laborious, however, in the presence of wire and a suitable tinder, it can be implemented in as soon as possible and does not depend on the type of wood. And given the fact that many people take wire with them on a hike (and sometimes it can be found among the garbage along the way), this method can be recommended not only in urban areas, but also in the wild.
Building a fire with a nail and hammer
This method is based on the ability of the metal to heat up during sharp deformation and, by transferring heat to the tinder, set it on fire.
For this method, you will need nails 10 or 20 cm long, a hammer, an anvil and, for example, paper as tinder. Smokers, on the other hand, can try to light a cigarette in this way, from which, among other things, you can kindle a kindling.
For obvious reasons, this method refers to the urban: hardly anyone would come up with the idea to put a hammer and anvil in a backpack, however, in the wild, you can also dodge by finding a replacement. For example, instead of a nail, you can take another metal object, instead of a hammer and an anvil - two stones. But in this case it will be much more difficult to get fire.
So, in order to light a fire in this way, you must follow the following instructions:
- The newspaper is rolled up into a tube and pressed with some object so that it does not unwind. To do this, you can put the same anvil on the newspaper or step on the newspaper with your foot.
- A nail is placed on the anvil and a series of hammer blows are applied to it.
- The heated nail leans against the newspaper until it begins to smolder.
- If smoldering does not start within a few seconds, the newspaper is removed, and a few more blows are applied to the nail. If the newspaper begins to smolder, it is fanned until a fire appears.
As I said earlier, this method is advisable at home. To test your fate in the wild, trying to light a fire in this way, wasting precious energy and time, I would not recommend. However, if fire is still vital, and other methods for some reason cannot be realized, you can use it as well. As they say, in the absence of fish ...
Making a fire by rolling cotton wool with chalk, ash and without them
In this method, a smoldering ember appears inside a cotton roll, which is vigorously rolled with a board along flat floor... Raw cotton wool, which can be removed from, for example, old mattresses and children's toys, is suitable for this method. The principle here is that when the cotton wool is rolled, its fibers rub against each other as the temperature rises. With due diligence, the cotton wool heats up so much that it catches fire.
Instead of cotton wool, you can use cattail fluff or fibers removed from the stems of dried nettles.
The production of fire occurs according to the following scheme:
- A piece of cotton wool is spread out in a rectangular plate and rolled into a dense roller. To get a denser roller at the final stage, you can wet your hands with water (or spit) and roll the roller between your palms. Most often, chalk is used to fasten the roller (in the old country house it is applied to the walls, which is why they get dirty if you lean against them) or ash (you can take it from the oven), crushing cotton wool on both sides with them before rolling.
- Then the roller is turned over and a little more cotton wool is also tightly wound over it in the opposite direction. This is necessary so that the inner roller does not unwind when the board rolls it across the floor. This step can be skipped if chalk or ash is used.
- The roller is placed on a flat floor or board, pressed on top with another board and rolled for even greater density. The denser the roller is, the more chances you have to make a fire.
- The roller pressed by the board begins to roll intensively on the floor in one direction and the other. The pressure on him should not be excessive. As a result of such rolling, the inner layers of cotton wool heats up and begins to smolder.
- The smoldering cotton swells, is transferred to the kindling, which ignites as a result of these actions.
This method is realizable only under the conditions settlement or, for example, in a forest house, where you can find even smooth boards. In addition, this method requires a special tinder, from which you can roll a roller.
And yet, despite its shortcomings, this method has a right to exist and can be used in a situation where more simple ways will be unavailable. In particular, it can be implemented in an abandoned village or in old hut in the forest.
Electrocution of a fire
Fire with electric current is obtained through one of two mechanisms. In one case, due to the high resistance, the conductor heats up and ignites the tinder, in the other, the spark ignites the tinder when the contacts are closed.
This method requires a source of electrical current. On a hike, a battery taken from a flashlight, or a battery in a cell phone or navigator is usually a source of current.
The poles of the battery are closed with a conductor, for example, foil (you can take it from chocolate - one of the recommended products for hiking in the cold season) or steel wool (it is used to wash pots from soot and food debris), which, when electric current passes through them, ignite.
V recent times metal scourers for dishes are mass-produced and sold, which outwardly look like steel wool, but cannot be used to produce fire. An experiment carried out by me showed that such sponges not only do not light up when in contact with a battery, but also do not give a spark. In addition, an attempt to close the battery contacts with a thread extracted from such a sponge ended in failure: the battery did not even heat up (heating occurs when a short circuit occurs, for example, when the battery is closed with foil), which indicates the possible electrical insulating properties of the material of which these sponges are composed. The experiment with the foil carried out afterwards gave a positive result: this suggests that the matter was not in the battery.
We have already talked in detail about the methods of starting a fire using a battery or accumulator in
There is an opinion that steel wool can be set on fire with the help of a lemon, if you stick a series of steel and copper nails into it, connected with wires in a certain sequence. But the sequence of connecting nails inside one lemon, which is suggested in most videos, does not make any sense, since it does not increase either the current or voltage. And, as it seems to me, the current arising from the "fruit battery" (and this is, according to different sources, 0.2-0.9 V) will not be enough to implement this idea, unless there are a dozen or two of these lemons.
On the other hand, this method can still be implemented even in the mid-latitude wilderness, where lemons do not grow. So instead of a dozen lemons, you can take almost any fruits or vegetables that are found in our area (for example, wild apples), since they also contain an electrolyte necessary for generating electricity. The only thing left to do is to get copper and zinc elements that will be used as electrodes.
There is, however, a fundamental point: if a person in the wild can get apples and even more so lemons, then he does not have an urgent need for fire. These fruits ripen in the warm season and can serve as food without a fire. So the method of producing fire with their help should be attributed, rather, to hypothetically possible, practically not useful.
Details about the main methods of starting a fire using a battery or accumulator can be found on the website in a separate article, here we will consider an option implemented in a settlement using a 220 V outlet.
Attention!
Getting fire with high voltage currents can be life-threatening: electrical shock and fire caused by short circuits.
Consider two ways to start a fire using a high voltage electric current.
For the first way:
- From any electrical appliance(preferably damaged) a plug with a piece of wire is cut off. You can take a piece of ordinary insulated wire without a plug, but then you have to make it yourself and using such a wire will not be so convenient.
- The wire at the end is divided into two contacts and stripped of insulation. This creates two forks on either side.
- A piece of foil or steel wool is taken as tinder. For the same purposes, a piece of paper is suitable, on which a square is drawn and painted in the center with a simple pencil: a layer of graphite on paper has electrical conductivity and high resistance, so such paper can be effectively used to start a fire using this method.
- The plug is plugged into an outlet.
- If exposed wires come into contact with foil, steel wool, or graphite-lined paper, they will catch fire.
For the second way:
- A cigarette is taken. Instead of a cigarette, you can make a roll-up: put another tinder into a small piece of toilet paper.
- As in the previous method, a plug with bare wires is made.
- The edge of the cigarette is slightly wetted with saliva.
- The plug is plugged into an outlet.
- Touching the bare wires to the damp part of the cigarette causes sparking, which, by pulling from the cigarette (like lighting a cigarette), helps the tinder to ignite.
- The smoldering tinder is transferred to the kindling and fanned until a flame appears.
On the basis of the principle implemented in the second method, in my childhood I managed to ignite a fire from a dynamo (by the way, many people use “dynamos” on bicycles, including cycling trips).
It all happened by accident and became the reason for the subsequent replacement of the oilcloth covering kitchen table, which was successfully burned by me. To do this, I poured a small pile of magnesium shavings, obtained by processing a magnesium plate with a file. He brought the wires from the dynamo to her. At the moment the dynamo rotated, the wires, due to the shaking, either came into contact with the magnesium, then disconnected from it, as a result of which small green sparks appeared, which actually attracted my attention. As a result of these actions, at some point, magnesium flared up and burned the oilcloth.
After this incident, repeated tests of the method were carried out, but already on a non-combustible foundation. In all experiments, sooner or later, magnesium ignited.
Magnesium gives a dazzling flash the moment it burns. This is why its mixture is used to make magnesium light bombs, which are used to blind the enemy.
For many who use modern flint to light a fire, a magnesium bar in a backpack pocket is commonplace. It is from it that the shavings are scraped off onto the tinder, which is ignited by the spark carved by the flint. Magnesium can also be extracted from the remains of an aircraft (here it is used because of its lightness), for example, after an emergency or military action, if there is still something left of the aircraft. Magnesium alloys, containing more than 90% magnesium, are used to manufacture vehicle housings, binoculars and much more. In general, the main problem is not where to find it, but how to distinguish it from other metals.
Summarizing the methods of producing fire using electric current, I can say that they are very easy to use, although they do not always guarantee success. Some of them are feasible in the wild with a battery or accumulator, while others require more civilized conditions.
In conditions of survival, you always need to decide which is more important - fire, or a charged battery.
The methods where you have to use high voltage current should be resorted to only as a last resort for the reasons indicated earlier.
In general, these methods can be recommended when there are no matches left, the sun is hidden by clouds or is behind the horizon, and other methods are too complicated to implement. Nevertheless, you always need to watch and assess the situation: sometimes getting fire is not as important as staying in touch, for example, with a rescue group, because often the same batteries are used to fire this method and operate a mobile phone, the charge of which, as you know, it is not unlimited. Being in the wild without a navigator or phone is sometimes more dangerous than without fire.
Building a fire with chemicals
Some chemical reactions are violent, producing enough heat to ignite the mixture. This method is based on this principle.
Two methods are most applicable in the conditions of a hike - rubbing potassium permanganate with sugar (or without it) between two wooden surfaces and moistening potassium permanganate with anhydrous glycerin, which can be found in the medicine cabinet. In urban conditions, to obtain fire, you can also use cotton wool soaked in alcohol, which must be put on a potassium permanganate soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid.
These and others chemical methods receiving fire without matches have been analyzed in detail in, so here I will not repeat myself, but will only draw a conclusion on them.
This method is simple and allows you to quickly produce fire, but its big drawback is the high cost and rarity of some of the reagents involved in the reaction. Potassium permanganate, for example, is generally included in the list of precursors, and getting it today is not an easy task. In view of this, this method is rational only with a critical need for a fire and the availability of appropriate reagents in humans.
Making a fire with a shot from a gun
In this method, the tinder is set on fire from the gunpowder of the cartridge, which flares up when the weapon is fired.
Attention!
This method is very unsafe, so you should only use it as a last resort.
As you know, almost every modern hunter has a gun, at least in our country, so this method is primarily for those who like to shoot in the wild, as well as for the military who have the appropriate weapon at their disposal.
In order to light a fire with a shot from a gun, the following instructions should be followed:
- There is a small depression in the dry ground, although you can dig it yourself.
- A piece of dry cotton cloth is cut off.
- From hunting cartridge the gaskets, wads and all the shot are removed. If the cartridge is live, a bullet is removed from it.
- Half of the gunpowder in the cartridge is poured out: firstly, there will be plenty of remaining gunpowder in the cartridge (excess gunpowder can even harm), and secondly, the sprinkled gunpowder can be useful for starting a fire in the future.
- A piece of cloth is cut off and pushed into the cartridge over the powder so that fragments of this tissue do not go beyond the cartridge body.
- The cartridge is inserted into the weapon.
- A shot is fired into the previously found recess in the ground - the fabric ejected from the trunk ignites.
Due to the high cost of cartridges, this method is advisable only when other simple methods of starting a fire are not available, and it is still necessary to organize a fire. For many tourists and city residents, it has no practical meaning due to the lack of weapons.
As you can see, the number of methods for obtaining fire is quite large and you can always choose the one that turns out to be optimal in a given situation. The main popularity, according to my observations, was gained by the methods of producing fire with a battery with foil, a fiery bow, a lens from the sun, as well as potassium permanganate with glycerin.
Nevertheless, ideally, you need to know and be able to apply all possible ways for making a fire, because the production of fire in an emergency survival situation is one of the primary tasks. Another thing is that it is not always possible to practice all the known methods, since some methods require a lot of money (for example, the method with a gun), others are difficult to access (for example, the fire bamboo method, although if you so desire, you can get a bamboo trunk even in areas where it does not grow, for example, by purchasing it via the Internet), and still others are simply life-threatening (for example, some methods of producing fire with electricity).
In addition, in conditions of survival, you always need to be able to correctly prioritize. For example, if the weather is not too cold, instead of starting a fire, it is more useful to build a shelter from the rain, or simply comfortable spot for an overnight stay, which will require less effort and time, but will allow you to sleep well without having to get up and throw firewood into the fire. If you are at a distance of 100-150 km from a settlement or the nearest road and you have a navigator or a phone with a charged battery, it is wiser not to stay overnight at all, and even more so not to waste battery power on starting a fire. You can sleep during the day, warmed up in the sun, and the rest of the time you can confidently go to civilization using the navigator. Finally, the expenditure of energy for making a fire by friction can be greater than the energy value of food cooked over the fire. In this case, it may be advisable to eat the prey raw.
And not always at modern man there is time to practice these skills, because besides them there are others, for example, the construction of a temporary shelter, orienteering, overcoming different terrain in different weather conditions and much, much more that may be needed not only in survival conditions, but also for the usual hike of the first category of complexity.
That is why here I have selected the methods that I recommend mastering in the first place. These include:
- Getting fire from sunlight and lens, namely pre-made lens, condom and water bottle options. These methods are easy to learn and can be used in clear weather as an alternative to matches. Personally, I almost always use this method to start a fire.
- The chemical method, namely, making a fire with potassium permanganate. This method is simple but expensive. However, in the absence of standard means of ignition in inclement weather, it can help a person save time and energy to obtain fire, for example, by friction.
- Getting fire by friction, namely with the help of a fiery bow (also known as an Indian violin). This method is the most "harsh", but it allows a person to make fire in nature from scrap materials. You can also try to master the fire plow, so as not to be dependent on the reliability of the bowstring of the bow that rotates the wooden drill.
These are the main ways to start a fire and need to be mastered first. Other options can be studied afterwards, if desired, with the availability of time and the possibility of their implementation.
Interesting video: Making a fire by rolling cotton wool
You never know what surprises life will bring you. Therefore it is worth it. We present to your attention the post of Boris Zak - a lover of travel, trail running and running in general (who, by the way, has already told us about his). Today Boris will tell you about 10 ways to start a fire. Some of them will seem useful to you, and some will surely surprise you. :)
A bit of theory. What is fire?
Fire is the main phase of the combustion process, which is accompanied by the release of light and heat. Combustion can be caused by different reasons: heating, chemical reaction, exposure to electricity.
So, to start a fire, we need flammable materials, oxygen and high temperature.
Method 1. We light the fire with a condom
The condom is truly a unique item, I think all travelers have appreciated this multipurpose item for a long time. So, take a transparent condom and fill it with water.
Building a fire with a condom
We use it as a lens, focus the beam on previously prepared dry grass or paper, a little patience, and now the smoke appears.
Method 2. Bank of Pepsi
We polish the bottom of the can and use it as a reflector. We direct the beam onto a sheet of paper or dry grass.
The bottom of the can is a great reflector Method 3. Photo frame and cling film
Take a photo frame and wrap it with cling film.
Frame wrapped in cling film We put the frame on the stand and pour water.
Pour water gently That's it, the installation for lighting the fire is ready.
Ready! Method 4. Steel wool and mobile phone battery
Steel wool is a weave of very thin fibers of steel that looks like ordinary cotton wool from a pharmacy. The steel itself is 98% iron and 2% carbon, the proportions may vary depending on the type of steel. We prepare a "nest" of dry leaves and grass, put cotton wool in it and run the battery contacts over cotton wool several times.
We light a fire with steel wool and a battery Method 5. Battery and foil from chewing gum
Finger battery and gum foil Cut off a strip of foil, fold it in half and sharpen the fold with scissors.
We attach the ends of the strip to the poles of the battery, and the main thing here is not to burn your fingers.
The same manipulations, only more clearly, are presented in the video.
Method 6. An interesting but expensive way to start a fire using goods from IKEA
Method 7. Ice
This method takes patience. You will not only light a fire, but also keep warm. We take a piece of ice and with light movements of a knife give it a shape into the lenses. Then we polish the lens surface with our hands.
Smooth ice works like a lens Well, how to light a fire with a lens - every child knows.
Method 8. Chemical reaction
Sodium is a silvery-white metal, plastic, even soft (easily cut with a knife), a fresh cut of sodium shines in air and is easily oxidized to sodium oxide. To protect against oxygen in the air, sodium metal is stored under a layer of kerosene.
Sodium reacts with water very violently: a piece of sodium placed in the water floats, because of the heat released, it melts, turning into a white ball that quickly moves in different directions on the surface of the water; the reaction proceeds with the release of hydrogen, which can ignite. This experiment is also called "dancing fire".
Sodium + water Method 9. Fire
With the help of a flint, sparks are struck. The tool is compact, lightweight and can be used in any weather. You can find a large assortment of fires on the Internet. Which one you get doesn't matter, the main thing is to learn how to use this gadget correctly.
Striking sparks is not difficult, you just need to prepare a good tinder. To do this, use a dry, flammable material.
Method 10. Fire Piston
This pneumatic lighter was invented around 1770. It works on the same principle as a diesel engine. Under strong compression, the air in the cylinder heats up to temperatures above 300 ° C, which ignites the tinder at the end of the piston.
Fire piston In order to achieve high temperature, you need a strong blow.
It is an integral part of any hike. It helps prepare food and warm up tourists. Basically, to kindle a fire, they take matches with them, less often a lighter, but it can happen that neither one nor the other is at hand. In this case, help folk ways how to light a fire in the forest without matches. It is better to familiarize yourself with them in advance and even practice before the trip.
How to light a fire without matches and a lighter?
There are several ways how this can be done, but all of them are based on the fact that you must first get a spark, and then, using natural combustible or flammable materials, make a real flame out of it.
No matter how you are going to make fire, you must first collect dry grass, moss, sawdust, birch bark, leaves, needles, or take rags or cotton wool. All this is called tinder - a material that ignites very easily.
How to light a fire with sticks?
This method is the most time consuming of all. It consists in the fact that you need to take a stick (drill) and a plank, in which a small depression is made. We insert a stick into it, squeeze it between the palms and begin to twist it, until the board begins to smolder. Under this place, you need to put a tinder, which, when coal gets into it, will light up.
How to light a fire with a flint?
Everyone knows that flint gives off a spark when it hits iron. Therefore, in order to get fire, it is necessary to put tinder (rags or moss are best suited for these purposes) and start to carve a spark from the stone near it. Having a flint and a metal object (chair or knife) with you on a hike, you can light a fire even in damp weather.
How to light a fire with a lens?
The method consists in focusing the light into one beam with the help of glass and directing the sunbeam so that it hits exactly the pile of tinder. After a few minutes, it will light up. You can also use a piece of ice or a balloon filled with water as a lens.
Non-standard methods of starting a fire
These include:
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We'll go camping ... virtually. Moreover, as usual, our trip will turn out to be extremely unsuccessful. And it won't get lucky with the weather, and the matches were forgotten at home, not to mention the fact that after a continuous rain for two weeks everything that could be set on fire was irreversibly damp. Having piled up a small handful of similar problems, we, with our usual zeal, begin to overcome them. So, let's try to make a fire in wet weather. And the first thing to consider in these chilly circumstances is the obvious fact that a small fire is much easier to light and ignite than a large one. Therefore, we boldly make a great many small fires, which will burn better, and will give more heat, or maybe, if we are very lucky, they will lure some plane lost in the clouds. What for? Maybe they'll be thrown up to the house ... As for fuel, it is best to look for it under the trunks of fallen trees. Small, dry islands usually remain there. Of which the most flammable and convenient material is the rot of dried trees, or dry stumps and resin of pine cones. Now everything that we have found needs to be piled up, in the form of a wigwam. And at this solemn moment you discover that you have forgotten the matches at home. It's OK. You should not tear your hair, buttons and rub your cheeks abundantly watered with a salty tear on this occasion. Not worth it - because there are at least three proven folk wisdom method of making fire without matches. The first and most successful option is flint and flint. The flint can be the corresponding side of the waterproof matchbox, or a solid piece of stone. In order for a flame to ignite from a spark, it is necessary to strike this spark first. Why do we get furiously hitting with a flint on a steel knife blade, or on some small steel bar. When the spark hits the tinder and the latter begins to smoke, urgently, urgently bend over and begin to blow desperately. If everything is done correctly, the fire is ready, if not, go to the beginning of the paragraph. The second way, sung by the unforgettable Cyrus Smith, is in the sun and the lens. And he made the last one from two glasses wrist watch, filling them with water and smearing them with clay, once again confirming that there are no hopeless situations. If Prometheus did not come out of you and it was not possible to get the fire, it remains to advise you to resort to the latter and yourself the classic way cutting flame, namely friction. This method is resorted to out of great despair. However, there should still be a faint hope of success. This method has many varieties, we will focus on one, called "bow and drill". To begin with, we make a bow using a string, rope, or belt. Then we use it to roll a dry soft shaft in a small hole made in a dry and hard block of wood. As a result, we get a dry powdery dust, in which a spark should appear with further friction.
7 ways to light a fire without matches
There is a primary connection between man and fire. Every man should know how to fire it up. A real man knows how to do it without matches. This is an essential survival skill. You never know when you will find yourself in a situation where you will need fire, and you will not have matches or a lighter with you. Here are 7 ways you can start a fire without matches.
Making fire by friction
Making fire by friction is not for the faint of heart. This is perhaps the most difficult of all methods of producing fire without matches. Exists different methods that can be used to get fire by friction, but the most important aspect it is still the type of wood that is used for the plank and spindle.
Spindle- a stick that you will twist to create friction between it and the board. If you've created enough friction between the spindle and the plank, you will have a charcoal that can be used for further ignition. Juniper, aspen, willow, cedar, cypress, walnut best materials for plank and spindle.
In order to use wood for friction fire, the wood must be dry. If the wood is not dry, you will need to dry it first.
Hand drill
Method hand drill the most primitive, the most basic and the most difficult. All you need is wood, tireless hands, and firm determination. Here's how it's done:
Build a Tinder Nest... Tinder is any material that ignites from a single spark. Birch bark, dry grass, wood shavings, waxed paper, fluffed cotton wool, spruce cones, pine needles, crushed dry mushrooms (tinder fungus), burnt cotton cloth - excellent tinder, as well as fine dust produced by woodworm insects, as well as the contents of bird nests ...
Make an incision. Cut a small indentation on the board.
Place the bark under the cutout. The bark will be used to catch the ember that will arise from the friction between the spindle and the board.
Start rotating. Place the spindle in the groove on the plank. Your spindle needs to be about 50 centimeters long for this to work properly. Maintain the pressure between the spindle and the board and start rolling the stick between your palms. Continue twisting until an ember appears.
Set on fire! As soon as you see a flaming ember, transfer it to the tinder nest. Blow gently on it to light a fire.
Fire bow
Most effective method extraction of fire based on friction is the use of a bow and a borav.
Onion. Make a tight bow by pulling a string, strap, or string over a stick.
Make a small hole in dry, hard wood.
The result will be black powder like dust.
When a spark is generated in this powder, it must be transferred to pre-prepared flammable materials (tinder).
Fire Bow: Getting Fire from a Branch (photo report)
This photo report is dedicated to production of fire using the fire bow, briefly covered in the previous post. For the experience we need a knife, a rope ( perfect option- paracord) and something like Silky pocketboy .
Go…
Multiple movements Silky Pocketboy and ...
A few more with a knife ...
Add paracord ...
Now let's put this puzzle together ...
Making a deepening ...
Cut out a piece from the side of the hole ...
Let there be fire ...
This is a good old fallback. Good idea, always take flint and steel with you on a hike. Matches can get wet and practically useless, but you can still get a spark from steel and a piece of flint. A pretty good option is the FireSteeL mini flint, although I prefer the Expedition flint knife.
If you have a situation that you do not have a set of flint and flint with you, you can always improvise with the help of quartzite and a steel blade. pocket knife... You will also need a piece of charred cloth to catch the spark. If you don't have it, you can replace it with a piece of mushroom or birch.
Take a rock and charred cloth. Take a piece of stone between the big and forefinger... Make sure the edge protrudes 5-7 centimeters. Pinch the fabric between your thumb and flint.
Strike sparks! Take steel or the back of a knife blade. Hit steel against flint several times. Sparks from the steel will fly straight onto the fabric, causing a glow.
Light the fire. Place the smoldering cloth in the tinder and gently blow on it to ignite the fire.
Lens-based techniques
Most easy method production of fire without matches is based on the use of lenses.
Traditional Lenses
To get fire, all you need is some kind of lens to focus the sun's rays on a specific spot. A magnifying glass, glasses, eye lenses or binoculars will do everything. If you add a little water to the lens, the beam will become more intense. Tilt the lens so that the beams are focused to a small point (as small as possible). Put the tinder in this place and you will soon have fire.
The only drawback of lenses is that it only works when there is sun. Therefore, at night or cloudy weather, you will have to look for other methods.
In addition to the methods using traditional lenses, there are three unusual but effective method based on the refraction of rays.
Balloons and condoms
By filling a balloon or condom with water, you can transform these ordinary objects into a lens.
Please note that condoms and Balloons shorter short focal length than conventional lenses. Therefore, keep them 1 to 2 cm away from the tinder.
Fire from ice
In order to get fire from a block of ice you need to make ice in the shape of a lens and then use it in the same way as with any other lens. This method can be especially useful for winter camping.
Pure water. For this to work, the ice must be transparent. If it is cloudy or has other impurities, this option will not work. Most The best way to get a crisp block of ice fill a cup, goblet or container made of foil, clean water from a lake, pond or melted snow. Let's turn the water into ice. Your ice block should be about 5 centimeters thick.
Lens shape. Use a knife to form a piece of ice into the lens. Remember that the lens shape is thicker in the middle and narrower at the edges.
Buff the lens. Once you've got the rough shape of the lens, finish it off by hand polishing it to a smooth finish.
Set on fire. Tilt your ice lens just like you would with traditional lenses. Focus the light on the tinder.
Coca Cola and Chocolate Bar
One more interesting way extraction of fire.
All that is needed is an aluminum can and chocolate.
Polish the bottom of the can with chocolate. Chocolate acts like a polish, and by rubbing the bottom of the can a little with it, you can get a kind of mirror. If you don't have chocolate with you, toothpaste works too.
Get fire. After sanding the bottom of the can, you will have a parabolic mirror. Now they need to catch the sunlight and place the tinder in the place where the rays are focused.
How to light a fire without matches?
How to make a fire
The usual way. Small dry chips are folded into a small "pioneer" fire, and larger pieces of wood are laid on top of this structure (in the end, it looks like a cone - a standard "pioneer" fire).
A modernized way. A well is formed from the logs: in pairs, two logs parallel to each other, on top two more perpendicular to the previous ones, and so on. Chips are kindled at the bottom of the "well", and the whole structure ignites very well and quickly. For lighting it is convenient to use pieces of birch bark, previously separated from the log.
In the rain. Even in rainy weather, you can make a fire as follows: put two small woods of the same size in the wind. On top of these logs, put the thinnest dried twigs or twigs perpendicularly and set fire. Usually lights up from the first match.
How to light a fire without matches
In the absence of experience, it is difficult to light a fire, even with large stock matches. But what if there are no matches? There are several ways with the help of available tools. Before trying to light a fire without matches, prepare some dry, flammable materials. Then, shelter them from wind and moisture. Good substances can be rot, rope or twine, dry palm leaves, wood shavings and sawdust, bird feathers, woolly plant fibers, finely chopped tree bark, gauze, cotton wool, fluff, dry moss, scraps of clothing, which, if possible, moisten gasoline, etc. To stock up on them for future use, put some in a waterproof bag.
Potassium permanganate and glycerin
Pour about 1 gram of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), ground into a fine powder. Then carefully drop 2-3 drops of glycerin from a pipette or glass tube onto it and quickly remove your hand. It will take only 2-3 seconds, and you will see how the fire breaks out.
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