141 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
141 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
Taken from American Survival Guide
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Subscription address is:
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American Survival Guide
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Subscription Dept.
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McMullen Publishing
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P.O. Box 70015
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Anaheim, CA 92825-0015
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714-635-9040
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Can be downloaded as FIRE0001.ZIP.
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The primary means of starting fire for European cultures over the last 1000
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years (possibly longer) has been flint and steel. Building the flint and
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steel fire has become one of the sporting events common to black powder
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rendezvous. Because of this flint and steel sets and the knowledge
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required to use them are available to anyone who wants to learn the
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technique.
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The four items needed to start a flint and steel fire are:
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1. Flint, or some other hard rock.
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2. A fire steel.
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3. Something to catch sparks.
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4. Tinder.
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Flint has been the traditional stone because it is hard, and
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breaks into keen edged fragments. Other stones will work, particularly the
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quartz based minerals. Look for stones that break into relatively flat
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sections with sharp edges.
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The steel is struck against the sharp edge of a hard stone which shaves
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off very small splinters of steel which are heated white hot by friction.
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To strike a fire hold the char on Top of the flint, close to the edge and
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strike the stone with a long sweeping downward stroke of the steel. Char
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cloth can be wrapped around the stone. When a spark catches in the char, a
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small glowing spot will appear. Blow on the spot gently and it will spread
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into the char material.
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The most critical is number 3, the spark catching material. The most common
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material is charred cotton or linen cloth.
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Char cloth is produced by heating in a low oxygen environment, producing a
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charcoal like substance. Get a metal can that can be resealed. Put the
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cloth to be charred in the can and seal it. Punch a small hole in the can
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and put the whole mess in a fire. Watch for smoke escaping through the
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hole in the can. When the smoke decreases slightly, remove the can from
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the fire and stopper the hole with a nail or something. After the can
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cools, look at the cloth. If it's dark brown, it wasn't heated long
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enough. If it falls apart at the slightest touch, it was heated to long.
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Experiment. The cloth needs to be 100% cotton, and free of dyes and other
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synthetics. The heavier the cloth, the better.
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Another good material to treat in this way is very rotten punk wood. Wood
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so rotten that it can be broken off with your hands. Maple is the
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preferred wood, but others work well also. Gather several different types
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and see what works well. Experiment. Charred punk is not as consistant as
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cloth, some will catch sparks very well, some won't at all. If it does
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catch, it is next to impossible to kill. Don't throw away the charred punk
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that won't catch sparks, it'll be useful later.
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Char material will glow, but it does not produce an open flame. That is
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the job of the tinder. Lay the glowing char in a birds next of fine dry
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tinder. Shredded paper, dry grass, and cedar bark all work well. Gently
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blow on the ember until the tinder bursts in to a flame.
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On sunny days, a magnifying glass will get an ember going in the char
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material very easily. From there to getting the tinder going is no
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problem. The charred punk that you couldn't light with a spark will start
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this way.
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ANOTHER WAY - Bow and Drill
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The four items needed to start a bow and drill fire are:
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1. The bow.
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2. Drill, or drills.
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3. A flat plank.
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4. A bearing block.
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And some char material and tinder of course.
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The first item required is a bow. 30" long and .5 to .75 inches thick. A
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little bit of flex, but nothing like an arrow casting bow. Notch the ends
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of the bow and tie on a heavy cord, leaving just enough slack to wrap the
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cord around the drill. Nylon boot laces work very well, but any cord will
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wear out rather quickly.
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Drills should be bone dry, with no pitch or oil. Relatively soft drills
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work better. Western Red Cedar, Red Alder, and Willow work well. Also try
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White Cedar, Cottonwood, Birch, Aspen, and Poplars. Drills should be 6 to
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8 inches long, with the bark stripped off, and .5 to .75 inches thick.
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Round one end, and make a blunt point on the other.
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The flat plank should be 2 to 3 inches wide and .5 to .75 inches thick. It
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should be made from one of the woods used as a fire drill above. Cut a
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triangular notch roughly .25 inch into the fireboard, this is to catch the
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sawdust. At the point of the V gouge a small hole for the drill tip. Work
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with that notch. To shallow and the dust forms a ring around the drill, to
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narrow and the sawdust doesn't have the mass to support an ember.
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Experiment.
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Lastly, is the bearing block. This is what you hold in your hand to hold
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the top of the drill. It should be slightly, or more bowl shaped, so the
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the top of the drill doesn't wonder out. Common materials are hollowed out
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stones, hardwood knots, and carved bones. The author recommends a one
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ounce shot glass, as the shot glass is almost friction free when the drill
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turns inside it.
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Place something flat and dry under the fireboard (plank) to catch the ember
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when it forms. Wrap the cord around the drill. Take shotglass in the
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other hand to hold the top of the drill. Put the point of the drill in the
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small hole at the V. Spin the drill with long smooth strokes of the bow.
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Use moderate pressure. You want some pressure to create friction. In a
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bit there should be smoke rising from the drill hole, and a wood dust pile
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rising in the notch. Watch the sawdust pile, and when it seems to be
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smoking on it's own carefully lift out the drill. If the sawdust
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continues to smoke there is an ember in there that will burn its way
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through the sawdust pile.
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Now you can put some tinder on the pile and blow it into a flame, or light
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a piece of char with the sawdust ember. Since the sawdust pile is hard to
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move, and easy to blow away, it is easier to light the char with it.
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Again, this is a good use of punk wood that won't work with the flint and
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steel.
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The time to think of matchless fires is sometime before your match supply
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runs out. Collect the materials now, and they will be bone dry when you
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need them.
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OTHER READING:
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Making Sure-Fire Tinder, by David S. Ripplinger, published by Track Of The
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Wolf.
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Primative Fire & Cordage, by John McPherson, P.O.Box 96, Randolph, KS,
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66554
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SOURCES:
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Mountain State Muzzleloading, RT.1 Box 154-1, Williamstown, WV, 26187
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Track Of The Wolf, Box Y, Osseo, MN, 55369
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Jas Townsend & Son Inc., P.O.Box 415, Pierceton, IN, 46562
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Dixie Gun Works, P.O.Box 130, Union City, TN 38261
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Arrowhead Forge, RT.1 Box 25, Wilmot, SD, 57279
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Prairie Forge, P.O.Box 234, Lavina, MT,59046
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