Mastering Fire in the 21st Century
Anyone who spends time outdoors can benefit from building their fire skills.
Personally, one of the things I find most intriguing about outdoor skills is fire making. Maybe it’s because fire is fundamental to outdoor living. Maybe it’s because fire creates comfort. Or, maybe it’s something deeply ingrained in all people. I just love a campfire, and I’m guessing you do, too. My personal attraction to fire, outdoor living, and history has compelled me to experiment with many historical methods of making fire. As a result, I’ve made hundreds of flint-and-steel fires, dozens of bow-drill fires, and even one hand-drill fire. If you’ve never done this, I can say that Tom Hanks absolutely gets it right in the famous Cast Away scene.
Thankfully, we don’t have to master friction fire in the 21st century. However, it doesn’t hurt any of us to develop basic skills in this department. It’s my belief that you’ll never hurt yourself by knowing a more difficult method of making fire, but you can short yourself by just relying on technology.
That being said, here are a few considerations for mastering fire in the 21st century.
Basics of Fire
Before diving into how to actually make a fire, it might be worth discussing the basic elements of fire. This knowledge will help you no matter what method or tools you use.
Essentially, fire needs just a few elements. These are heat, oxygen, and fuel. Understanding how these elements work together is the foundation of fire-making skills. When first making a fire, heat is the element you lack. You can have plenty of oxygen and fuel but the lack of heat is what stops you. In order to generate the necessary heat, we use a variety of different ignition sources. Some ignition sources create more heat than others, and thus, some are easier to use than others.
When you first create heat and have a small fire, the challenge becomes managing the delicate balance of oxygen and fuel. Too much oxygen, and you can blow it out. Incorrect fuel, and it will never take off. If you manage it all correctly, you should be able to get a good blaze going. At that point, the next thing is knowing how to manage heat, oxygen, and fuel to create the fire you want. An excess of any of the three elements can put you in jeopardy of your fire getting out of control. However, too little, and you might lose the fire altogether. Nothing but practice can help you learn how to manage this balance.
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of fire, let’s take a look at a few of the elements, components, and tools in more detail.
Ignition
When you think about ignition, the big question is “how do you create fire from nothing?” Well, historically, you had to rub sticks together until you generated enough heat to create a coal. Later, people developed the flint and steel method. This method was easier and one that people depended on for quite a long time. Eventually, people invented matches, lighters, and ferro rods for more reliable ignition that we use today.
The ignition source you choose depends on your goals. How easy do you want the process to be? If you want to challenge yourself, learn more, and develop your skills, more primitive methods are the best choice. If you just want insurance for an unexpected night in the woods, lighters are hard to beat. Neither is wrong or right, but there are better choices for what you want to accomplish.
Fire Starter
Whatever ignition you use, it needs to be paired with a proper fire starter. By fire starter, I mean the fuel you choose specifically for the initial creation of your fire. Traditionally, fire starter was called tinder. Tinder referred to any material that was light enough to readily combust. Examples are cattail fluff, birch bark, birds’ nests, cottonwood bark, tow, or other similar materials. When people used friction or flint-and-steel for their ignition, they needed quality sources of tinder to succeed with their low-heat sources. Today, you can buy products specifically made to get your fire going. Whether you choose traditional sources, or modern “emergency fire starters” also depends on your goals.
Combinations
At this point, we’ve discussed methods of ignition and fire starters. It’s worth noting that you cannot pair all methods of ignition with every fire starter. Some are better pairings than others. That being said, here are a few common combinations people use to start fires.
Lighter and Trioxane: Armed with a lighter and a trioxane bar, my guess is that almost anyone can start a fire in almost any condition. Personally, I have used this combination to get myself out of a jam. If you are only packing a fire kit for the unexpected, then this might be the kit for you. The downside is that if you need to start multiple fires you will have to buy and carry more trioxane. As a result, it’s not a good long-term solution, but it is definitely effective for an emergency situation.
Ferro Rod and Cotton Ball: Trending to be my favorite fire-starting combination is the ferro rod and cotton ball combo. This combination uses a ferro rod to cast sparks onto a cotton ball impregnated with Vaseline. Because Vaseline is petroleum based, it burns hotter and longer than a regular cotton ball. This fire-starting combination checks a lot of boxes for me. First, it is light and compact. Second, it is cheap. Third, it is simple. Fourth, it is effective. Another thing I like about it, is that it bypasses the chance that my numb fingers will have to spark a lighter. The downside, however, is that a cotton ball is not as effective as a trioxane bar. Also, unless you have developed your skills, it might not work for you.
Flint and Steel: One of the more tried and true methods of making fire is with flint and steel. In fact, this method has been used for literally thousands of years. It uses sparks created when a steel striker hits a piece of flint. The sparks then land on a piece of charred material before being placed into a tinder bundle. This method’s historical track record proves how effective it is. It also has the benefit of being able to be used for long periods of time without needing new supplies. That’s because, aside from the steel striker, everything you need comes from nature. On the downside, it does require more skill and knowledge than other methods. As a result, if you’re looking for an emergency fire starter, it is a poor choice. On the other hand, if you are looking to build your skill set, it is a good one.
Of course, there are many more combinations to start fires, but these are a few common ones that fit people of many different skills and knowledge sets.
Fuel
In addition to knowing how to get a fire going, you have to be able to keep one burning. That means using a good source of fuel. Let’s take a look at the two most common types of fuel.
Wood: This one is obvious. We all know that wood can be burned for fire. However, not all wood burns the same, and there are a few considerations to make. First, standing dead wood burns better than live wood. Second, wood from coniferous trees (evergreens) or other trees with lots of resin burns differently than other woods. The resin helps the wood burn hot, but also causes the wood to spark more when burned. This is important if you think much about fire safety. It’s not that you can’t use these species, it’s just worth considering.
When it comes to cooking, wood fires are not very efficient. Basically, they consume a lot of wood to heat your food. To combat this, today there are portable wood cooking stoves available that allow you to more efficiently cook your food. However, if you are wanting to make a fire to stay warm, a good old-fashioned campfire is impossible to beat.
Canisters: Although you can always use wood, these days many people opt for a canister fuel source. Not only are they easy and efficient, but they take the hassle out of making a fire. If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate them when you go to make the morning cup of coffee. Also, if you are camping in an area of high fire danger, they allow you to have a fire with a minimal chance of unintentionally starting a forest fire.
When it comes to canister fuel, there are a bunch of different options. Generally speaking, you can buy stove and fuel combinations at many camping retail stores. If you are just trail riding, you may appreciate ultra-light backpacking stoves because they take up minimal room. On the other hand, if you have extra room, a pack horse, or are camping from the car, propane stoves are hard to beat. Their best attribute is that you can find fuel canisters almost anywhere. Some of the other camping fuels are hard to find.
Fire Safety
Finally, it might be worth talking a little about fire safety. After all, humans are the leading cause of forest fires in the United States.
When it comes to deciding where to build your fire, it’s best to burn in locations that are free of excess debris. This should seem obvious. Don’t build your fire in a pile of dead leaves, in a drought-stricken grassland, or beneath the boughs of a dead pine tree. Realize what type of materials burn the best, and don’t build your fire around an abundance of those things.
Also, keep in mind the weather conditions. If it is hot, dry, and windy, it is ideal conditions for an unintentional fire. You probably don’t even need one anyway. As mentioned earlier, it is also important to be aware of your fuel source. If you are using pine knots (which make excellent fuel) the resin inside does cause them to frequently spark. They’re great to use in damp environments, but not in the middle of a grassland.
Finally, it should go without saying to make sure your fire is completely out. In this regard, I know how deceiving they can sometimes be. One time I personally put a fire out at the end of the night, only to wake up hours later to find it still burning. Accidents happen, but this is one department we can’t afford to make mistakes too many times. Our mistakes can cause too much damage to public and private property, and we need to fully accept the responsibility to fully extinguish all of our fires. That means cigarettes too. It sounds like a Smokey the Bear commercial, but it’s true.
In the end, fire is an important skill and knowledge set anyone going to the woods should be familiar with. Knowing how fires work, how to start a fire, good sources of fuel, and fire safety is all part of it. I’ve heard it said that fire is a great servant, but a terrible master. By building our fire-making skills we can harness the power of fire to better enjoy the great outdoors.