I tried friction firelighting once, and it wasn't fun. I decided that I would learn that particular skill the hard way should I ever need it. Personally I tend to use a butane lighter, often with accelerant. I have proven to myself that I can light fires other ways should I need to (ferro rod, battery shorting, chemically, solar, natural flint, charcloth), but why make life harder for myself? When I have a dump, I don't wipe my arse with a clump of nettles, I use soft toilet tissue. Why should I make firelighting more difficult than it needs to be? Just because I can, doesn't mean I should
Personally I tend to use a butane lighter, often with accelerant.
Gotta love the BlastMatch Not only is it a ferro rod but can be used off handed and 1 handed I have never made fire with friction but would love to and maybe someday will get the time to practice this
Quote from: Poncho65 on August 07, 2017, 12:06:32 PMGotta love the BlastMatch Not only is it a ferro rod but can be used off handed and 1 handed I have never made fire with friction but would love to and maybe someday will get the time to practice this Reading reviews on the Blastmatch and lately they have been everything but stellar. Odd if you ask meNow a fire piston is a great ida. Not sure how valid it is with one hand as I barely managed to open a 32oz Nalgene today because of the limited use of my right hand, but it would make for something fairly foolproof once the fool (me) learns how to use it
I practice all the different methods, the fire piston is the one that's given me the most trouble! Single handed? not a chance
Quote from: Smashie on August 07, 2017, 07:07:08 PMI practice all the different methods, the fire piston is the one that's given me the most trouble! Single handed? not a chance You can't smash the fire piston one handed? Examples of people with a chance: https://youtu.be/WPJRB45AEO8?t=378https://youtu.be/roNYhgH-b9Y?t=961https://youtu.be/D5GXIZcVOPk?t=316The fiddly bits before and after are certainly easier with two hands though.
Wait why am I disregarding 2 limbs that are perfectly fine at the moment (sure bumps and bruises in the past but they are functional). If you could hold on to the piston with your legs and pull the rod with your hand it could work
Quote from: styx on August 07, 2017, 07:49:04 PMWait why am I disregarding 2 limbs that are perfectly fine at the moment (sure bumps and bruises in the past but they are functional). If you could hold on to the piston with your legs and pull the rod with your hand it could workBetween your feet may be easier
Quote from: Smashie on August 07, 2017, 07:51:22 PMQuote from: styx on August 07, 2017, 07:49:04 PMWait why am I disregarding 2 limbs that are perfectly fine at the moment (sure bumps and bruises in the past but they are functional). If you could hold on to the piston with your legs and pull the rod with your hand it could workBetween your feet may be easier that's my line of thought too
Nice ideas. Just one little thing - do not experiment with fresnel lenses when you're unsure if you can put out the fire don't ask how I learned that lesson
Torch lighter for me. I got into them when I starting smoking cigars and have a couple of nice, elegant ones but found these on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IN7CFBY/ref=twister_B00IN7CF5K?_encoding=UTF8&th=1, for around 70 cents a piece. You could probably ignite a wet 2 x 4 with these. The flame can be aimed in all directions and works when it's windy. It's like the multitool of lighters
Quote from: styx on August 08, 2017, 08:16:35 AMNice ideas. Just one little thing - do not experiment with fresnel lenses when you're unsure if you can put out the fire don't ask how I learned that lessonOk now you've said that, come on tell us
Quote from: Kevin Davey on August 08, 2017, 12:30:39 PMQuote from: styx on August 08, 2017, 08:16:35 AMNice ideas. Just one little thing - do not experiment with fresnel lenses when you're unsure if you can put out the fire don't ask how I learned that lessonOk now you've said that, come on tell us I was experimenting with a fresnel lens and several tinders. Wood scrapings, silver birch bark that was also scraped, some sort of fat impregnated paper and jute twine. Birch bark and wood scrapings worked quite well so I moved on to that paper. But to be efficient I've already made a bird nest from the twine and put it halfway under my shoe so it doesn't fly away in the wind. Someone asked me a question and brilliantly I moved the lens so that the paper doesn't catch fire while I'm not looking. Only issue was that the jute did catch fire and so did my shoe
Do they work well? I have tried supposedly more expensive versions but they have usually stopped working in just a few weeks.
Quote from: styx on August 08, 2017, 03:20:42 PMQuote from: Kevin Davey on August 08, 2017, 12:30:39 PMQuote from: styx on August 08, 2017, 08:16:35 AMNice ideas. Just one little thing - do not experiment with fresnel lenses when you're unsure if you can put out the fire don't ask how I learned that lessonOk now you've said that, come on tell us I was experimenting with a fresnel lens and several tinders. Wood scrapings, silver birch bark that was also scraped, some sort of fat impregnated paper and jute twine. Birch bark and wood scrapings worked quite well so I moved on to that paper. But to be efficient I've already made a bird nest from the twine and put it halfway under my shoe so it doesn't fly away in the wind. Someone asked me a question and brilliantly I moved the lens so that the paper doesn't catch fire while I'm not looking. Only issue was that the jute did catch fire and so did my shoe Did you get to do the hot shoe shuffle to extinguish it
Quote from: Fortytwo on August 08, 2017, 01:46:14 PMDo they work well? I have tried supposedly more expensive versions but they have usually stopped working in just a few weeks.They're not super high quality and out of a batch of 10 you may get one where the piezo igniter fails within 10 or 20 clicks but most seem to last at least 2 months and many thousands of clicks. The one on my desk that gets used many times a day is going on its third month with probably around 10 refills. Not bad for $.70. The trick to refilling them is to put them in the freezer for an hour before filling. Also they seem to be filled at the factory using butane under much higher pressure than what you get in a can which means it is impossible to top up. Just wait until the factory butane is done before trying to refill. The flame is usually excellent, strong and nicely focused. Occasionally they are set too low at the factory but I've been able to take off the metal shroud and increase the flame height by adjusting the flame adjuster.I have a Xikar and a Blazer torch lighter that cost around $20 - $30 that have lasted for years now. But I still prefer these cheapies since they are slimmer and weigh much less.
What is glaringly missing is the bicycle inner tube that was usually there. Vaseline cottonballs are nice but I'd rather put them with the ferro rod that is usually used.