Starting a fire is a basic survival skill that you may think you have a handle on. But when things go unplanned, it's important that you know how to start a fire without matches and under harsh conditions.
Fire starting becomes less easy without the right tools, but there are various survival hacks for it. Check out the following ingenious ways to start a fire: (h/t to Survivopedia.com)
Starting a fire in the winter cold
It's possible to make a fire using ice. Here's how:
- Fill a 6-inch-wide container with clear water about 2 inches through.
- Let the water freeze until it turns into ice.
- Shape a lens out of the ice using a survival knife. A lens should be narrower near the edges and thicker in the middle. It should measure at least 6 inches wide and 2 inches thick.
- Polish the ice lens with your hands to smoothen it.
- Place the ice lens under the sun and focus the beam of sunlight on wood shavings and other kinds of tinder. Be careful to avoid dripping water onto the tinder.
- The tinder will smoke and then ignite. Add more tinder and very small sticks until a good fire is established.
Starting a fire when injured
Injuries spell big trouble, especially if one of your hands is affected. The "fire plough" method works well for this scenario. So long as you have one good, strong arm, you can start a fire. Here's how:
- Find a piece of soft wood that's no more than 2 feet long, 6 inches wide and an inch thick.
- Find a very hard stick, about a foot long and half an inch thick. Whittle one end to a sharp point.
- Using the sharpened stick, create a groove going down the length of the soft wood.
- With your good hand, rub the small stick back and forth through the groove. Keep in mind that this "ploughing" should be hard and fast. You can prop your feet against the stick so you can rub it deeper.
- The wood will eventually be hot enough to ignite the wood shavings into embers.
- Immediately place your kindling on the embers and gently blow on it until the kindling ignites.
Starting a fire in complete darkness
Looking for kindling in the middle of the night is challenging because you cannot see your path clearly. You can trip, bump into dangerous animals or even fall off a cliff. The full moon is an advantage but it's not a permanent fixture in the sky.
The trick here is to let your eyes adjust. After a while, your eyesight becomes better and more equipped to spot obscure shapes. Start picking up kindle and wood, then you can make a fire. The basic "hand drill" will work out fine for this situation. (Related: What to do when SHTF: Are you prepared to deal with a grid-down scenario?)
Starting a fire with just one match
Having just a single match can sometimes be as bad as having none. When starting a fire using matches, the first lit match often burns out too quickly before you can light the kindling. To avoid wasting that single good match, you can create fast-burning "fuzz sticks" to easily spread the fire. Here's how:
- Find a long strip of wood and strip off the bark.
- Angle your knife against the wood and slide the blade to create thin, spiral-shaped shavings. Don’t cut too deep.
- Leave the shavings attached to the wood. The thinner the shavings, the easier they catch fire.
- When you've made several shavings, prop your fuzz stick against the kindling and light the shavings on fire. The flames should easily spread up the stick and to the kindling.
Starting a fire under harsh conditions is something that all preppers need to be prepared for. Make sure you're up for the task by training for these survival scenarios.
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