How to make fire

These methods will help you make fire in the wild without a lighter or matches.

The ability to make fire is, without a doubt, one of the most important skills to master in the wild. Fire can sterilize water, prepare food, keep you warm, boost your morale, keep predators away, and help you signal rescuers in a survival situation. But let’s be honest: if you haven’t trained in primitive fire making, you are not going to be able to make fire spontaneously in the wild. It is ten times more difficult than it looks, even in perfect conditions. Add rain, damp or cold weather, and combine it with stress and numb fingers, and it becomes almost impossible. 

Even if you are lucky enough to carry a firestriker, matches, or a lighter, there are still things worth knowing when it comes to making fire. As with many things regarding wilderness living, the rule of the ‘five Ps’ applies particularly to fire making: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. As mentioned, don’t expect to be able to make fire right away unless you have tools or significant experience with natural materials. Even a fire steel can be difficult to master without practice. Anyway, here’s what you need to do:

Collect fire wood

You need more materials than you think
As a rule of thumb you should collect about three times as much material than you think you will need. Many people have a tendency to underestimate how much material is needed to light a fire. If your fire is hard to light you are going to appreciate that extra material and it will also give you more time to collect additional firewood later without risking your fire burns out. I always collect tinder materials on the go before I even need them. It gives them time to dry or stay dry for when I need them. In this way I don’t risk walking into a terrain where there are no tinder materials or not having dry tinder if I’m surprised by a rainstorm.

Finding dry firewood in wet conditions
In the wet you can look for dry firewood under fallen trees or in caves, or look up to find broken branches stuck in the tree tops. These will often be dry even if it has been raining because of the wind. Branches at the bottom of spruce trees are usually also still dry even if has been raining. These are particularly great for getting your fire going with since they contain terpenes, a substance used for making turpentine. If everything is wet you can also try splitting bigger logs into smaller sticks if you have a knife or a hatchet. Usually they are only wet on the outside leaving the inside still dry and easy to light. By carving thin slices into a branch you can make feather sticks to use as tinder. In this way you get to the dry part of the wood while creating a fine material that will catch fire more easily. Be sure to always remove the bark from the wood as it holds on to the moist inside. Once you get your fire going you can use it to dry up additional firewood before use by placing it next to you fireplace.

Select a suitable location

Before you build your fire you should find a suitable place for it. Make sure the surface doesn’t catch fire easily and that you don’t light it on rocky ground. Some rocks, especially layered types like flint and sandstone could explode in your face if you do. With this in mind, you may want to place it right in front of your shelter, so you can use it for keeping warm and cooking at the same, while still being able to keep out of the elements. Make sure you keep your back towards the prevailing wind direction. In the mountains the wind will often change direction at sundown.

Prepare the area

Before you build your fire be sure to make a safe zone around it where there are no flammable materials. You may even want to put stones around the edge of it in order to prevent your fire from spreading. Granite works great for this, but don’t use stones that have been submerged in water since they may explode from the fast expanding water inside. Also don’t forget what’s beneath the surface. Many forest fires start underground because people think they have put out their fire but in reality the roots beneath have been turned into a bed of hot embers burning fiercely.

Chosing the right materials

Tinder for catching a spark from flint and steel
You need a tinder that will catch the tiny spark produced when your steel is struck by the hard flint stone. Depending on where in the world you are, there are different materials that will work for this. You will need to try for yourself what works in your regon as the same material may work in one place but not in another. False tinder fungus (Fomes formentarius) for example can be used unprocessed in the far northern parts of the hemisphere because they contain more oil when growing in cold weather than when they grow further down south where you need to char it before use or make amadou out of it. Amadou is a process where you boil it in birch ashes, beat it and tear it up into a fine felt like mesh. Other materials that may be used for this are Chaga, Palm fibers from a.o. Sugar and Cocnut palms, bark from Cedar and Juniper, pith from Elder and withered stinging nettles. You can also use punk wood which is basically dried rotten wood.

Tinder for catching an ember
If you’re making friction fire you need a tinder bundle that will make your small pile of embers burst into flames. This is often referred to as a birds nest because of the way it looks. It can be made from many different materials as long as you make sure they are bone dry. I have used everything from withered stinging nettles to fluffy bark, withered grasses, and much more. When you pick grass break it off at least 10 cm from the ground to avoid pieces that are still moist from ground.

Tinder for catching a spark from a ferro rod
This is much easier to find. Anything a flint and steel can light, a ferrorod can light more easily; dry grass, mosses, leaves, furry seeds, funghi and much more. Just make sure it is completely dry and fluffed up. Birch bark is probably the most widely used for this. The papery outer bark contains an oil which makes it burn easily. Scrape the surface of it to create a small pile of dust before lighting it. Fatwood is another great tinder for ferro rods. It is the found by chopping into the lower branches on dead spruce or pine trees. Here the tree concentrates all the sap in a final attempt to prevent itself from being eaten by insects or fungi. Chaga and False tinder fungus (Fomes Fomentarius) also work well. On the Fomes fometarius you use the flesh of it which is located right underneath the hard outer layer at the bottom of the fungus. This part of the fungus is called the trama layer. Cattail: The shoots are highly flammable when smothered. It only burns for a very short time so you want to make sure you have some other material to add quickly. You can also mix it with some fine wood shavings or dry grass to make it burn a little longer.

Kindling
Pine and spruce: Dead branches at the bottom of pine and spruce trees work excellent to get your fire going. They produce a lot of heat which is good when starting your fire. They will burn out quickly however so make sure you have enough of them and be ready to add some twigs to build your fire.

Birch bark also works great as kindling. It produces a lot of heat but it burns quickly.

Dry Stinging nettles: Dry stems from Stinging nettles are great for getting your fire going. Again make sure you have twigs of different sizes for building your fire with.

Start with small twigs without bark ranging from pencil size to the size of your knife handle. When you have a solid bed of embers you can begin feeding it logs.

Firewood
When you have a solid bed of embers you can begin feeding your fire logs. The harder the wood, the longer it will burn and the more heat it gives you. Softer woods burn well but don’t last very long. Start with these if you have a choice. They are easy to split and they burn well. When you’re building a fire to last through the night go for harder woods like beech and maple. They can be hard to split but they burn very well and produce a lot of heat. A great wood for a consistent and clean fire.

Organize your materials

Keep your camp organized. It makes the whole process run smoother. Before you light your fire divide your materials into the following three categories and keep them within arms reach.

Tinder:
Keep it in a dry place and keep it off the ground. The finer the material the easier it will catch fire but it is also more prone to moist. Unless it is completely dry you will have a hard time lighting your fire.

Kindling:
Keep it stacked and organised. Make sure you have plenty and that you can reach it without turning over your fire. If one kind doesn’t burn well try another rather than risking the life of your fire.

Firewood:
If one doesn’t burn well use another or you will get no heat and your entire fireplace will be cracking and spitting. Skip wet pieces and dry them before use by storing them right next to your fire.

Prepare your fire

First make a bed for your fire by covering the ground with twigs or small branches. This separates your dry tinder from the wet or damp ground. It will also increase airflow and give you a stronger core of ember once your fire is lit.

Next prepare a “birds nest” from the material you have collected. Just mold it into a fluffy ball. If you are using cattail you may want to mix it with some dry grass or very fine wood shavings. Otherwise it will burn out before you have time to build your fire properly. Also make sure you don’t press your birds nest into a tight ball. It should to be fluffy and air filled.

Make a bowdrill

 

If you are making a bow drill you will need to collect and prepare the following materials first:
1. A block of wood or a stone with a hollow point in it for the handle.
2. A long and powerful stick for the bow. Preferably it should be a bit curved, but it’s not a must. The longer it is the less motion you will have to put into the drilling part. It shouldn’t be flexible like a bow for hunting.
3. A 2-4 cm thick and completely straight stick, about 20 – 30 cm long for the spindle. You will need to experiment with different types of wood to find out which works better together with your board.
4. A durable piece of cord. Many people will tell you that shoe laces can be used for this, but my experience is that they are often too fragile for this purpose. Unless of course you are the prepper like type who exchanged his shoe laces with paracord.
5. A piece of soft wood for the board. It needs to be about 2 cm thick after you split it. It should be about 20-30 cm long and wide enough to prevent it from rocking back and forth to the sides when you drill. Cut a depression into the board with your knife and start drilling. After you have “burnt in” the board (meaning that you have drilled a deeper depression into it with the drill), you cut a notch into the side of it at an angle of about 45° from the center and out.
6. Last but not least you will need a base or “ember pan” to catch your coal. It can be a piece of bark, paper, a flat piece of wood or even a big leaf.

Lighting your fire

Fire steel:

If you brought a fire steel you should be well off. It takes some practice, but you will soon learn to master it. It works by scraping off fine pieces of your fire steel into your birds nest. By doing so you oxidize the metal creating up to 3000° C hot sparks. Strike you fire steel a few times (it may take several attempts) and you will have a fire going. If you’re using birch bark for tinder you may want to scrape the surface of it into a small pile of dust and aim at that. Or you should find a younger birch tree with loose and very fine papery bark to light. Take care that your hand doesn’t hit your tinder or you may destroy your bundle. A way of avoiding this is to pull the firesteel away from you rather than pushing your knife or striker into the pile.

Flint and steel:

The principle of this method is similar to the fire steel method only the sparks produced are not as powerful. The key to success using this method is really the tinder. Since the sparks produced are not as hot and powerful you will need some tinder that catches and holds a spark very easy. The tinder fungi described earlier are good choices. You can also use dried rotten pieces of wood. There are different ways to the technique. I normally place the flint on top of the tinder although the general recommendation is to put the tinder on top of the flint. This is because the sparks tend to jump upwards when you strike the flint with the steel. I’m not sure if my movement is different from other people’s but it works for me. I have also seen people strike the flint on the steel instead holding the steel over the tinder. The whole thing works by the flint scraping tiny pieces of material off the steel and onto the tinder. Most people don’t know this but when carbon steel gets in contact with air it ignites. After igniting your tinder place it in your bird’s nest and blow it into flames. Or you can place your birds nest on top of it and blow.

Bow drill:

This technique is harder to master. You will need to practice in order to successfully make it work but don’t give up. Make sure you are in the right position before you start. Place the board under your foot and make sure it doesn’t move or tilt when you start drilling. Remember to put the ember pan under it. Twist the spindle into the string and place the blunt end in the board and the point end of it in the handle. Now put downwards pressure on the handle and start moving the bow back and forth. Start slowly and increase speed as you go. Once you see smoke coming you should start moving faster. You need to keep going to make sure you collect a proper pile of coal. Then carefully place the pile of coal in your birds nest and blow it into flames. Take care that your string doesn’t grind against itself on the spindle or it might break. Especially if you are using your shoe laces or other kinds of less durable string. In order to prevent this you can tilt the bow in a slight angle.

Hand drill:

The method is similar to the bow drill method. Only it requires a thinner drill and even more endurance. The advantage of this method is that you don’t need to have any cordage at hand of course. It works by rotating the drill back and forth between your hands while putting downward pressure on it at the same time. Move your hands back up top as soon as they reach the bottom of the drill and keep going.

Note

There are numerous ways of making fire from natural materials other than the ones described here. A few examples are the Fire Plough and the Fire Saw. You can even make fire from ice by turning it into a magnifying glass if you can find some ice without air bubbles in it and if the sun is shining. Often people develop their own fire making techniques and ways of combining materials. The above techniques are just some the most commonly used.