flint

[red feather]

Looking for a source of good flint for fire starting. In the area I live in flint is difficult to find and is often of a soft variety. I have tried a couple of commercial sources and have found their flint to be soft and crumbly also. While it is usable it gets used very quickly and not suitable for training scouts.

 

Any ideas and help will be greatly appreciated.

 

yis

[Fat Old Guy]

Have you tried the flint that blackpowder shooters use?

 

Somewhere, somplace I have the address for a fellow who sells flint and steel kits that are supposed to be finestkind. I'll see if I can find it and send it to you.

[9muckraker7]

Have you tried dryer lint? A good size ball of that stuff works extremely well and ignites literally with the touch of a spark.

 

Also there is something called "charcloth," which is little 1 inch squares of cotton material (an old t-shirt will do very well). I've never tried this method, as it requires too much preparation...

 

Have you tried using magnesium flakes? Sporting goods stores or any other store that sells Boy Scout hot-sparks should sell magnesium blocks. You'd take an old pocket knife and shave off a good amount of magnesium flakes; these also ignite with the touch of a spark.

 

 

 

Here's an EXCELLENT website dealing with tinder and firestarters...

 

http://lynx.dac.neu.edu/m/mbennett/tinder_thoughts.html

[packsaddle]

Any old hunk of quartz from the side of the road and an old worn-out file will work great. Chert will also do just fine but you should be able to locate something fairly easily in Missouri. Char cloth is easy to make. You take an old flannel shirt made of cotton. Holding it in one hand and letting it hang down, light it at the bottom and let the flames travel up the whole hanging length. Prior to charbroiling your hand, let it drop and smother the flames with a board or even a newspaper. Make sure all sparks are out but don't use water to put it out. The blackened pieces will catch a spark and start a fire very quickly. Polyester and nylon don't work. Tee shirts work too, but make sure they're cotton.

If you want to blow the boys away with a dazzling display, take the hunk of quartz and the file and strike a good spark into some clean, plain steel wool (Brillo pads won't do it). The spark will catch and if you blow on it the steel wool will erupt into a huge display of flames and sparks as the steel burns. The whole thing occurs in just a couple of seconds and the boys are saying, "Whoooaaa!"

Another trick is to scrape the soot from inside a chimney. A spark into that will develop into a coal that can be carried or transported for quite some time. Something similar can also sometimes work with powdery-dry rotten wood (crushed into a fine powder), sort of the way a cigarette smolders but never goes out. Finally, collecting fine fibers from juniper bark and wrapping them, using bailing twine, into a sort of large juniper cigar, maybe 2 inches in diameter, will hold a smoldering coal for a very long time. Long enough for a significant few hours of backpacking between campsites. Need to keep it dry though. Hope this helps.

[hops_scout]

Take the steel wool and a 9 volt battery. Touch the point of contacts to the steel wool and it will spark and BLOW on it!!

 

I forgot to mention that this tip came from Purcelce at Fall Camporee last year:)

 

(This message has been edited by hops_scout)

[red feather]

Good stuff you all sent. Some of it I already do and some of it was new methods. Most of the chert or flint here is N Missouri seems to be soft rock. Guess I live too close to the Missouri River, not many rocks. Will be looking in S. Missouri next time I am down that way. Have had the most success around here finding hard jasper to generate a good sparking.

 

I use an old metal Altoid tin with an 1/8 in hole in the top of it to make my char cloth. Place 8-10 squares of flannel in it, place on fire and when it stops smoking it is done. Works well and the tin is used to store the char cloth in.

 

Keep the ideas coming and if someone has a commercial source of flint let me know.

 

yis

[packsaddle]

If it's soft or crumbly it may not be flint, at least not in my experience...it must really be low quality stuff. I'll be glad to send you a few hundred pounds of the quartz stuff from my garden. It just makes cultivation tough so I toss it aside and pile it around a tree trunk. It's an old pegmatite dike, I think, from the Southern Appalachians. But you'll find some closer I expect.

[red feather]

Thanks Pack, if nothing else I may pm you and give you an address. Around here I have been gardening and digging post holes, planting trees and bushes and have hit one, repeat one, rock in 15 years.

 

thanks again and will keep you in mind.

 

yis

[packsaddle]

That IS impressive! I just thought of another potential source. Check with some local well drillers and see what kind of core samples they have that they might give to you. If anyone is going to hit rock around there it should be those guys. Take an old file with you to test the cores for sparks. If all else fails, send the PM. I'm serious about the rocks. OK, maybe just a few pounds.

[hops_scout]

I wish our garden was like that! We have LOTS of rock on our fields and in our gardens!

[BPwannabe@137]

Check out flint and steel kits at

 

Jas Townsend and Sons

Smoke and Fire

 

Both have websites.

 

These sutlers sell reproduction items for 18th century reenactors.

You get the entire kit (flint, steel, tow, and charcloth) and instructions for about 12 bucks. You can start a fire in under five minutes.

 

Good luck.

[anarchist]

MAGNESIUM PERMANGINATE (not at home, so I might be spelling it wrong)

but I love this stuff for demonstrations...

(black powdery substance in a jar, You can get from chem. supply house or a neighborhood pharmasict (prob. have to order for you) Don't bother to go to a chain pharmacy...they won't do it)

anyway this is an old WWII trick "MAG.PER." was an powered oxidizer in the old first aid kits...put a little powder (size of little finger nail) in a small wad of paper/paper towel add two or three drops of antifreeze (prestone works fine) from an eyedropper bottle, wad loosely and set into your prepared fire 'teepee'/tender-pile and watch the smoke and fire begin...in a few seconds...just as the boys figure its not gonna work!

goes well with the battery/steel wool (which is actually the antirust coating on the fine steel that is "burning")

and I can send you some quartz also...by the ton if you pay shipping!

anarchist

[red feather]

Thanks for the info, did not know that about the steel wool.

 

Been trying to find a source for MP not much luck but do know a friendly science teacher that I may contact as a source.

 

Been having good luck with the hard jasper and some of the flints that I got online. Some online sources seem to have a soft flint.

 

Thanks again.

[red feather]

My other 3 brain cells just kicked in. I have been looking for potasium permanganate (sp). Have I been looking for the wrong stuff?

 

yis

[packsaddle]

Red Feather, I have edited my entire message because this topic is going the way of materials that can be dangerous. I suggest that we all be very careful of the ideas we plant in little heads. Send me a PM if you're still interested.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)