How to Make Fire Without a Lighter or Matches

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Steel Wool and Battery Make a Good Fire Trick

It’s one of those skills which everybody should have. The ability to make fire without resorting to matches or a lighter. Here are a handful of well known firemaking techniques that can be fun to try

Using Friction.
We all know that rubbing things together makes them warm up and if you have ever watched any of the excellent Ray Mears Bushcraft TV series you will have seen Ray use a variety of friction based techniques. Be warned, these are not easy and you’re likely to wear yourself out in the process. But you’ll find that making fire using these basic bushcraft techniques can be enormously satisfying.

Basically, you need two pieces of wood, one to act as the fireboard and the other as the spindle. It is essential that the wood is completely bone dry. You need to make a tinder nest from dry grass, wood shavings or other material that catches fire easily (I like cotton wool).

Cut a V shaped notch in your fireboard and place some bark under the notch to catch the smouldering ember. Carve another little indentation into your board at the point of the V for the tip of your spindle. You can use a bow to spin your spindle nice and fast to create a lot of friction. Loop the bow string around the spindle, place the tip in the indentation and spin the spindle with the bow while applying light pressure (I like to use a flat pebble to push on the end). Hopefully you will soon see wisps of smoke coming from your fireboard as it heats up due to friction. Once you see a glowing ember push this onto a piece of bark and transfer to your tinder nest. Then gently blow onto your tinder nest to turn the embers into fire.

Fire Sticks
Once upon a time people would carry a piece of high carbon steel and flint to make fire. Striking the steel with the flint will create a spark. These days you can find excellent firesteels consisting of a high carbon steel rod and hardened steel striker. You can also use the steel blade of a knife.
As for other fire-making methods you need a nice dry tinder nest for your spark, but this method is much easier than the friction based method described above.

Using the Sun
We will all recall scorching things using magnifying glasses and the sun. This is another relatively easy way to make fire, if it’s sunny. However, we don’t all carry magnifying glasses with us wherever we go. You might have a pair of spectacles that you could use, or even a condom filled with water.

Electricity
This is a fun way to make fire that can provide a useful demonstration of the power and danger of electricity. For this one you will need a battery and some steel wool. The best batteries for this are the 9v variety. By rubbing the battery contacts on the steel wool it will heat up and begin to burn. Transfer the burning steel wool to your dry tinder nest and blow. Hey presto, you’ve got a fire!

These firemaking techniques are great to try out when you are next on a family camping trip. Why not include a few fire-making tools with your camping equipment and let your children have a go. But be sure to take plenty of warm outdoor clothing because you might be a little chilly without a fire.

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