Was asked today if this summer I might help at a scout camp out. I thought this may be a chance to show a primitive fire making skill. Have any of you ever used a steel striker and a piece of flint to spark a fire to life? Would be kinda nice to show them how in the wilds of the west the mountain man made his fire.
I think it's a great idea that you get involved with the boys and show them your skills. As you have mentioned this skill to us I can tell you that is exactly where I learnt it as a boy scout when I was young.
Flint and steel is the standard way for the kids in our troop to light fires. It started out as a bit of a joke on a camping trick, but a few of the kids perfected the skill immediately and it stuck. Get a good dry bed of tinder and a decent sized flint/steel will spark it right up. (The ones who perfected it happened to have some dryer lint handy).
Scotty Overkill is good with this stuff. When I was in the scouts I could never make flint work. I really liked the army surplus magnesium firestarters... That or steel wool and a 9v battery
Here is a bow drill demonstration I did a while back. It's like riding a bike, once you learn it you keep getting better and faster. Some of our scouts can do this method......the trick is to have the proper wood, and to learn the technique. Also have your tinder and kindling ready AHEAD OF TIME. I have since made and perfected a more reliable method (pump drill), I still have to do a video on that one. Most of our scouts can get an ember using the pump drill. Flint and steel is best done onto a piece of char cloth (which is easy to make). One single spark on char cloth can make a great ember.....
Me too. I used flints all the time to start fires for camping. Steel wool, dryer lint, and nice seasoned splinters from your woodpile work great.
Those of you that have done this....what did you make your striker out of an old file-spring steel-any random old steel-old circular saw blade? How about techniques striker hit stone or stone hit striker. I was never a scout but the guy heading this up knew I did a lot of camping and hit me up. I have never made fire this way and figured it is a chance for both me and the kids to learn something.
Just watched the bow drill vid...you got me intedested in that too now. Sure it is tougher that it looked but practice probably made it like second nature for you.
