using a Swedish Firesteel

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present. I can produce
brilliant sparks but so far not been able to get a fire going except
by cheating ie; pouring a bit of methylated spirits on to some wood
shavings. This lit first attempt and burnt for about a minute. (a pile
the size of an egg)

Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

regards

Norman

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

HTH

Keep the shavings as small and fluffy as possible, birch bark works best. Mr
Mears makes it look very easy, when in fact it can take quite some time to
get the hang of. The trick is to move the scraper and keep the steel in
position.

--
Wales and Borders 15th Century Living History Society
www.15thcentury.co.uk
"Chris 159" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present. I can produce
brilliant sparks but so far not been able to get a fire going except
by cheating ie; pouring a bit of methylated spirits on to some wood
shavings. This lit first attempt and burnt for about a minute. (a pile
the size of an egg)

Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

regards

Norman

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

HTH

Lots of discussion in the forums at www.bushcraftuk.com about the best
tinders and techniques for using firesteels. It's well worth
experimenting with various natural tinders, but I usually also carry a
film canister containing cotton wool which has had some vaseline
worked into it.

HTH
Andrew

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present. I can produce
brilliant sparks but so far not been able to get a fire going except
by cheating ie; pouring a bit of methylated spirits on to some wood
shavings. This lit first attempt and burnt for about a minute. (a pile
the size of an egg)

Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

Aside from what others have said (cotton wool is a good one), birch bark
works.
Here's how it goes
1. Prepare all your wood first; you need an armful of very small dry twigs
(maybe 3mm diameter), then increasingly larger ones. Arrange different size
in piles so they're easy to get to - you may need it in a hurry.
2. Using a small section of bark, scrape up the inside with the back of a
knife into tiny shavings; this releases the oils in the bark too. The more
you do, the better.
3. Place the bark on a hard (dry!) surface and the end of the fire steel in
the middle of the bark.
4. Scrape some fire steel shavings into the bark. If you it right, this will
keep your spark sparking. Again, more you do, the better.
5. Making sure your tinder is close at hand, with the end of the fire steel
in the middle of the bark, make the spark.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 until you get a flame.
7. Pick up the flaming bark, and place among your kindling.
8. Ta-Da! Feel very pleased with yourself.

Challenging to do when you're hungry, tired, and starting to get
cold.......... but considerably easier than rubbing sticks....

If you're really into this, I'd recommend a bushcraft course. I can
certainly recommend one of Mr Mears' courses, provided you don't want to go
on one soon.

Ken.

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 06:26:48 +0000 (UTC), "Richard Layton"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

| Keep the shavings as small and fluffy as possible, birch bark works best. Mr
| Mears makes it look very easy, when in fact it can take quite some time to
| get the hang of. The trick is to move the scraper and keep the steel in
| position.

An SAS survival program recomended surgical alcohol wipes. Useful for
disinfecting wounds, and starting fires.

--
Dave F

In message <[email hidden]>, Ken
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

If you're really into this, I'd recommend a bushcraft course. I can
certainly recommend one of Mr Mears' courses, provided you don't want to go
on one soon.

Ken.

8 pm BBC2 tomorrow (Thursday)
Ray Mears Bushcraft

No doubt he will be lighting fires here!

Regards
--
Neil Pugh

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 10:33:43 +0100, Neil Pugh <[email hidden]>
wrote:

| 8 pm BBC2 tomorrow (Thursday)
| Ray Mears Bushcraft
|
| No doubt he will be lighting fires here!

NATURE: Ray Mears' Bushcraft
Channel: BBC 2 North
Date: Thursday 9th September 2004
Time: 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM (starting in 1 day)
Duration: 1 hour.
Aboriginal Britain.
Ray Mears explores the world of bushcraft, the art of living outdoors
relying on a knowledge of the natural world. Here, he travels back in time
to the Stone Age for a unique view of Aboriginal Britain. Using only the
tools of the time, Ray shows how hunter-gatherers survived here. From flint
napping to bow making, Stone Age fire lighting to cooking venison, Ray
celebrates our lost bushcraft.
(New Series, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described)

Excerpt taken from DigiGuide

--
Dave F

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

Aha! So *that's* what they're for!
And cheap (why waste money?) sanitary towels (not the 'ultra
thin' ones 'cos they're useless anyway) make brilliant
compression pads for the sort of injury where you have to apply
pressure to stop bleeding. A very handy adjunct to a first aid
kit.
--
I try to be a good example to my children, but they just see me
as a dire warning.

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 19:05:41 +0100, Fran <[email hidden]> wrote:

| [email hidden] said...
| > very dry tinder is the secret.
| > carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
| > emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
| > at it - instant fire
| >
| Aha! So *that's* what they're for!
| And cheap (why waste money?) sanitary towels (not the 'ultra
| thin' ones 'cos they're useless anyway) make brilliant
| compression pads for the sort of injury where you have to apply
| pressure to stop bleeding. A very handy adjunct to a first aid
| kit.

But blood isn't blue, well not mine anyway ;-)

--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk> Sick of Marketing SMS
Register your: real name, mobile number, snail mail address,
with Telephone Preference Service, [email hidden].
IME it *works* :-)

Try the "fluff" found in the filter of a tumble dryer - always found this
burns easily
HTH
Phil

"Chris 159" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present. I can produce
brilliant sparks but so far not been able to get a fire going except
by cheating ie; pouring a bit of methylated spirits on to some wood
shavings. This lit first attempt and burnt for about a minute. (a pile
the size of an egg)

Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

regards

Norman

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

HTH

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 8 Sep 2004 19:05:41 +0100, Fran <[email hidden]> wrote:

| [email hidden] said...
| > very dry tinder is the secret.
| > carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
| > emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
| > at it - instant fire
| >
| Aha! So *that's* what they're for!
| And cheap (why waste money?) sanitary towels (not the 'ultra
| thin' ones 'cos they're useless anyway) make brilliant
| compression pads for the sort of injury where you have to apply
| pressure to stop bleeding. A very handy adjunct to a first aid
| kit.

But blood isn't blue, well not mine anyway ;-)

Well I always thought that a Tampax was something I could use so
that I could go skydiving whilst walking the dog, and play
perfect tennis whilst swinging my head from side to side letting
my long shiny hair billow out all around me in perfect formation.
Or was that some sort of shampoo?
--
I try to be a good example to my children, but they just see me
as a dire warning.

"Fran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a

spark

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

at it - instant fire

Aha! So *that's* what they're for!
And cheap (why waste money?) sanitary towels (not the 'ultra
thin' ones 'cos they're useless anyway) make brilliant
compression pads for the sort of injury where you have to apply
pressure to stop bleeding. A very handy adjunct to a first aid
kit.

good idea

"Fran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well I always thought that a Tampax was something I could use so
that I could go skydiving whilst walking the dog, and play
perfect tennis

if they do that i might get me some :-p

so - do i have to burn them before i do the sky-diving etc... ??? how do
they work ? ;-)

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

I wish I didn't have to say this, but I have lost control ...

please make sure it is a new one

sorry.
fire blanket at the ready

--
Darren

"Chris 159" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present.
Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

very dry tinder is the secret.
carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

Another source is an old pair of jeans or cotton shirt. Take a flat metal
edge (back of a knife etc) and scrape hard for several minutes, you should
get a nice lot of fluff from them. Very handy when you've run out of
pre-supplied tinder.

Nick

Darren G said:

very dry tinder is the secret.

Quoted message said:

carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

I wish I didn't have to say this, but I have lost control ...

please make sure it is a new one

what? before you floss your teeth with it?

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Darren G said:

very dry tinder is the secret.

Quoted message said:

carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

I wish I didn't have to say this, but I have lost control ...

please make sure it is a new one

what? before you floss your teeth with it?

:-)

reminds me of a job had when a student. Let's just say it involved
emptying bins; and all just for some more beer-and-curry money

--
Darren

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Darren G said:

very dry tinder is the secret.

Quoted message said:

carry a tampax around with you when you feel you might need to make an
emergency fire. open it up, spread it out so its fluffy then throw a spark
at it - instant fire

I wish I didn't have to say this, but I have lost control ...

please make sure it is a new one

what? before you floss your teeth with it?

Wrong group I know, but... CLOFF!!
--
I try to be a good example to my children, but they just see me
as a dire warning.

Ken said:

"Norman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Just been given a Swedish firesteel as a present. I can produce
brilliant sparks but so far not been able to get a fire going except
by cheating ie; pouring a bit of methylated spirits on to some wood
shavings. This lit first attempt and burnt for about a minute. (a pile
the size of an egg)

Has anyone any experience of this implement and its correct use?

Tried using the tampax and the fluff from the tumble dryer filter and
both worked first time. Will try some natural items and see how they
ignite.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Norman