Hello, I'm the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/
Here's your outdoor tip on making a fire.
One of the most important outdoor survival skills you need is how to make a fire. A fire can also just make a wet day in the outdoors more pleasant.
· Fire will give you warmth
· Fire will allow you to boil water
· Fire will provide light at night
· Fire will let you signal for help
· Fire will dry your clothes
· Fire will discourage insects and predators
In an extreme survival situation, fire can make the difference between living and dying.
Three elements in the right quantities are needed for a fire; heat, fuel and oxygen. You need to choose a dry area to create you fire that is away from dead trees, bushes and other combustibles that might lead to the fire getting out of control. There should also be protection of wind and rain. Dig a hole or make a circle of rocks to keep the fire under control.
Of course, an easy fire starter is a butane lighter or matches. In many cases these things are not available, however. If you have a flashlight and some steel wool, you can place it on the positive and negative terminal together and it will catch on fire. This may also work using the silver-backed paper from gum. Connect the positive and negative terminals and have a narrow tear in the middle of the connecting wrapper. If there is sun available, a magnifying glass or lens from binoculars or a camera can focus the sunlight onto something that will ignite.
You often hear of friction-based fire making—or rubbing two sticks together-- but this is one of the most difficult ways to start a fire. This involves using some kind of basic fire board and a spindle whether it is a hand drill or bow to create friction and heat. Several types of wood will work, but wood must be bone dry for this to be effective. These materials are not always available so I’m not going to spend time detailing these methods.
One of the most popular fire starters found in a survival kit is a magnesium fire bar. The secret to success with this equipment is to first create a small pile of magnesium shavings together by the combustible material you plan to use to start the fire. Experts recommend half a bamboo stick to hold the shavings to handle placement of the hot shavings once started. You can carry this small piece of bamboo with you with the magnesium bar.
A real challenge in starting a fire is having enough dry tinder to get the fire going. This can be dry bark, grass, pine; needles, or dead plant material. Some recommend carrying cotton balls covered with petroleum jelly. You can stretch them and spread them out to make a good starter. Wring out the petroleum jelly and they should start easily. Carrying a candle can also work as your starting tinder.
Having dry kindling is next in the process. These are thin, narrow pieces of wood that must be slowly placed on the tinder. Start with toothpick sized and slowly work up in size. Once the kindling gets going, start building up the size of the fire wood getting to arm size pieces.
The teepee fire is the most popular structure for fire starting. Place your tinder ball on the dry ground and then construct a cone-shaped teepee around it starting with small sticks. Make sure you leave enough room to get in and ignite the tinder. Once the teepee is going strong, you can keep adding more wood.
Practice your fire making skills and you will have success adventures in the outdoors.
This is the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/
References-Additional Reading
Fire Making
http://www.survivaloutdoorskills.com/fire_making.htm
Fire Making
9 Ways to Start a Fire Without Matches
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/04/29/9-ways-to-start-a-fire-without-matches/
7 Ways to Start a Fire Without a Match
http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/survival/fire/2006/10/seven-ways-light-fire-without-match
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