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Friday, February 2, 2018

My favorite: Easy Improvised Fire Starter



Funny thing is, I use this fire starter all the time yet never thought about bringing it up here. I suppose it’s so simple and obvious I thought everyone did it (or some variation) but apparently that’s not the case.
This is by far the most common fire starter I use. I have more commercial stuff for kits but for a BBQ or to start a fire around home, start the fireplace or during a picnic this is what I do. Whenever there’s a BBQ party this is very convenient because the materials needed are already handy. People often act completely surprised as if you’re McGyver or something.
I bet there’s several variations but what I do is press one paper napkin into a ball and wrap it with the other, making somewhat of a cup.

Then I simply pour some vegetable oil inside. The paper ball absorbs most of the oil and the paper napkin acting as a cup keeps it from pouring out.

Place it in the fireplace or grill with the wood piled around it and light it up.




That’s it. It burns for a good few minutes, the more oil it has the more it burns, and it burns very hot too.
Give it a try next time!
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never seen that trick before -Thanks !

My trick requires bit of work. Melt some paraffin, then dip cotton window sash cord in it, allowing some time to soak in. Carefully remove and give it some time to cool down. Cut to 1" - 1 1/2" lengths, the latter will allow about 5 minutes of lit time.

Anonymous said...

Simple is best. Even in the most long term survival situations, paper and cooking oil are must haves. If you can't get either, you probably won't be alive long.