How many of you could make a fire using materials found in the bush?

Follow-up question: what method would you choose if you had to?

Some popular ones:

Percussive using flint (or similar) and pyrites (or similar). One disadvantage is that suitable materials are not abundant everywhere.

Frictional methods include:

drill: basically rolling a stick inside a hole in a larger piece of wood, back and forth between the hands. A variant of this is the bow-drill, which involves using the string of a simple bow to work the drill.

saw: basically rubbing a stick longitudinally along a larger piece of wood. Sometimes a membrane or rope is used as the saw instead.

plough: a flatter stick is rubbed back and forth at an angle against another piece of wood. This was used in the movie Cast Away.

The frictional methods all involve readily available materials but are all hard work.

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

dv said:

How many of you could make a fire using materials found in the bush?

Follow-up question: what method would you choose if you had to?

Some popular ones:

Percussive using flint (or similar) and pyrites (or similar). One disadvantage is that suitable materials are not abundant everywhere.

Frictional methods include:

drill: basically rolling a stick inside a hole in a larger piece of wood, back and forth between the hands. A variant of this is the bow-drill, which involves using the string of a simple bow to work the drill.

saw: basically rubbing a stick longitudinally along a larger piece of wood. Sometimes a membrane or rope is used as the saw instead.

plough: a flatter stick is rubbed back and forth at an angle against another piece of wood. This was used in the movie Cast Away.

The frictional methods all involve readily available materials but are all hard work.

I’ve never made fire from bush materials, but the bow-drill would be my choice from that lot.

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

And if I remember correctly, you have to use a hard wood and a soft wood in the right way for it to happen.

I think I’d have to eat my roadkill raw.

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

I certainly couldn’t.

Not me, and I’ve tried.

We had a challenge once at my sister’s bush block when she still had one. We were going to do a big bonfire. She offered a prize for anyone who could start the fire using only natural materials that were lying on the ground. Being a sandy place with no natural rock apart from limestone brought in for the driveway it was impossible. We tried making bows etc, but would have needed proper tools (or flint tools at least) to make them neatly into just the right shape. Couldn’t make a good enough bow just using bare hands, I had no pocket knife.

We had one hour and nobody managed to do it.

OTOH I might be able to collect some dry tinder and use my glasses to focus enough sun to get it smouldering.

buffy said:

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

And if I remember correctly, you have to use a hard wood and a soft wood in the right way for it to happen.

The ignitable stuff is sometimes called punk wood. It’s very soft & part rotted, it can be pulled apart by hand.

Tamb said:

buffy said:

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

And if I remember correctly, you have to use a hard wood and a soft wood in the right way for it to happen.

The ignitable stuff is sometimes called punk wood. It’s very soft & part rotted, it can be pulled apart by hand.

So that is the bit on the ground? And you have to use a hard wood as the twirly one?

I’ve never tried it but I wouldn’t know where to start with the flint method.
So I’d probably die in a ditch of exposure surrounded with hardwood sticks and bits of softwood with little holes in them.

Bubblecar said:

OTOH I might be able to collect some dry tinder and use my glasses to focus enough sun to get it smouldering.

…a hip flask of whisky would help too.

buffy said:

Tamb said:

buffy said:

And if I remember correctly, you have to use a hard wood and a soft wood in the right way for it to happen.

The ignitable stuff is sometimes called punk wood. It’s very soft & part rotted, it can be pulled apart by hand.

So that is the bit on the ground? And you have to use a hard wood as the twirly one?

The fire I saw started at Tjapukai was a piece of hardwood with a indentation in it on the ground. The punk wood was placed in the indentation and a sharpened stick was used to make the friction.

Practice makes perfect. An experienced fire maker with sticks can make a fire within minutes. It looks so effortless and quick. There are many short YouTube videos to show you how.

Tamb said:

buffy said:

Tamb said:

The ignitable stuff is sometimes called punk wood. It’s very soft & part rotted, it can be pulled apart by hand.

So that is the bit on the ground? And you have to use a hard wood as the twirly one?

The fire I saw started at Tjapukai was a piece of hardwood with a indentation in it on the ground. The punk wood was placed in the indentation and a sharpened stick was used to make the friction.

Oh, I see. The punk wood was like tinder. I think I’ve seen (on TV sometime) it done with bits of fine dry grass in that spot.

buffy said:

Tamb said:

buffy said:

So that is the bit on the ground? And you have to use a hard wood as the twirly one?

The fire I saw started at Tjapukai was a piece of hardwood with a indentation in it on the ground. The punk wood was placed in the indentation and a sharpened stick was used to make the friction.

Oh, I see. The punk wood was like tinder. I think I’ve seen (on TV sometime) it done with bits of fine dry grass in that spot.

Similar idea & function, yes. Fairly easy to find in the Aussie bush.

PermeateFree said:

Practice makes perfect. An experienced fire maker with sticks can make a fire within minutes. It looks so effortless and quick. There are many short YouTube videos to show you how.

I had a look at a few of those a while back. They all seem to use a pocket knife (or similar approved) to strip the bark and shape their sticks. Having access to some sort of woodworking tools is vital IME.

to be fair though, many people struggle to build a fire with firelighters and bagged firewood … so a couple of fragile embers at the base of a worn out hole isn’t going to do much for them

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

Practice makes perfect. An experienced fire maker with sticks can make a fire within minutes. It looks so effortless and quick. There are many short YouTube videos to show you how.

I had a look at a few of those a while back. They all seem to use a pocket knife (or similar approved) to strip the bark and shape their sticks. Having access to some sort of woodworking tools is vital IME.

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

PermeateFree said:

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

Practice makes perfect. An experienced fire maker with sticks can make a fire within minutes. It looks so effortless and quick. There are many short YouTube videos to show you how.

I had a look at a few of those a while back. They all seem to use a pocket knife (or similar approved) to strip the bark and shape their sticks. Having access to some sort of woodworking tools is vital IME.

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

party_pants said:

I had a look at a few of those a while back. They all seem to use a pocket knife (or similar approved) to strip the bark and shape their sticks. Having access to some sort of woodworking tools is vital IME.

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

Yes, knowledge and experience would be essential.

Bubblecar said:

OTOH I might be able to collect some dry tinder and use my glasses to focus enough sun to get it smouldering.

I couldn’t do that because my glasses correct myopia.

PermeateFree said:

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

Yes, knowledge and experience would be essential.

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page
Rich with the spoils of time did ne’er unroll;
Chill Penury repress’d their noble rage,
And froze their nuts off.

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

party_pants said:

I had a look at a few of those a while back. They all seem to use a pocket knife (or similar approved) to strip the bark and shape their sticks. Having access to some sort of woodworking tools is vital IME.

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

That is something I can do. Make knapped edge stone tools.

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

OTOH I might be able to collect some dry tinder and use my glasses to focus enough sun to get it smouldering.

I couldn’t do that because my glasses correct myopia.

Same here. Maybe the lenses combined might work.

Michael V said:

party_pants said:

PermeateFree said:

The stone-age was around for a lot longer than the iron-age. Plenty of chert or flint, etc., around to find.

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

That is something I can do. Make knapped edge stone tools.

Noted. I’m taking you with me next time I’m planning a place crash on a deserted island

:)

party_pants said:

Michael V said:

party_pants said:

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

That is something I can do. Make knapped edge stone tools.

Noted. I’m taking you with me next time I’m planning a place crash on a deserted island

:)

plane

Bubblecar said:

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

OTOH I might be able to collect some dry tinder and use my glasses to focus enough sun to get it smouldering.

I couldn’t do that because my glasses correct myopia.

Same here. Maybe the lenses combined might work.

no

Does anyone want to borrow a lighter? there is a half dozen on the desk.

sarahs mum said:

Does anyone want to borrow a lighter? there is a half dozen on the desk.

Nah I’m good.

sarahs mum said:

Does anyone want to borrow a lighter? there is a half dozen on the desk.

You wouldn’t need a lighter if you were a chain smoker.

Anyway these days you could just borrow some flames from a nearby bushfire.

Bubblecar said:

Anyway these days you could just borrow some flames from a nearby bushfire.

Risky

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

Yeah, have you ever watched Survivor?

Divine Angel said:

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

Yeah, have you ever watched Survivor?

no

dv said:

sarahs mum said:

Does anyone want to borrow a lighter? there is a half dozen on the desk.

Nah I’m good.

The flint would be handy.

I only found out what an x-ray attack is because the chess.com analysis of my games showed that this was one of the weakest parts of my game: I only successfully effected an x-ray attack 22% of the time

dv said:

I only found out what an x-ray attack is because the chess.com analysis of my games showed that this was one of the weakest parts of my game: I only successfully effected an x-ray attack 22% of the time

Once you master this technique… the sky’s the limit

dv said:

Divine Angel said:

Dropbear said:

I doubt most people could make the friction method work if their life depended on it .. it’s very difficult to do.

Yeah, have you ever watched Survivor?

no

It’s not so difficult if you take your time preparing the tools. The horizontal wood needs to be long enough to put your foot on & the depression needs to be the right dimensions to cradle the tinder.
The hard part is having the stamina to keep the friction going. It’s better with two people.

Technically you could start a fire with an xray attack

party_pants said:

Michael V said:

party_pants said:

Yes. I think you would need to master the basics of stone tools (and where to find them) before you could master the bow-drill technique for making a fire.

That is something I can do. Make knapped edge stone tools.

Noted. I’m taking you with me next time I’m planning a plane crash on a deserted island

:)

Nup. I don’t want to be involved in a plane crash.

We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning.

Divine Angel said:

We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning.

it’s a good slave but a poor master.

old jungle saying.

So is there a way that does not involve the two traditional means of making fire.
If you were on a deserted island sitting down near the beach shucking oysters and eating coconut meat besides a pristine fresh water creek meandering into the sea and you thought, I wouldn’t mind cooking a fish for dinner.
Is there any plausible ingenious method to get a continuous self sustaining heat producing chemical reaction going?

dv said:

How many of you could make a fire using materials found in the bush?

Follow-up question: what method would you choose if you had to?

Some popular ones:

Percussive using flint (or similar) and pyrites (or similar). One disadvantage is that suitable materials are not abundant everywhere.

Frictional methods include:

drill: basically rolling a stick inside a hole in a larger piece of wood, back and forth between the hands. A variant of this is the bow-drill, which involves using the string of a simple bow to work the drill.

saw: basically rubbing a stick longitudinally along a larger piece of wood. Sometimes a membrane or rope is used as the saw instead.

plough: a flatter stick is rubbed back and forth at an angle against another piece of wood. This was used in the movie Cast Away.

The frictional methods all involve readily available materials but are all hard work.

I’d use the Mongolian “smudge pot” myself. Wait for a fire to start elsewhere then carry it around in a small clay pot filled with moss. A bit heavy to lug around, but better in the cold and the wet.

fire piston.

Peak Warming Man said:

So is there a way that does not involve the two traditional means of making fire.
If you were on a deserted island sitting down near the beach shucking oysters and eating coconut meat besides a pristine fresh water creek meandering into the sea and you thought, I wouldn’t mind cooking a fish for dinner.
Is there any plausible ingenious method to get a continuous self sustaining heat producing chemical reaction going?

You should be able to light a fire from the coconuts and possibly a piece of the tree as an anvil.

Peak Warming Man said:

So is there a way that does not involve the two traditional means of making fire.
If you were on a deserted island sitting down near the beach shucking oysters and eating coconut meat besides a pristine fresh water creek meandering into the sea and you thought, I wouldn’t mind cooking a fish for dinner.
Is there any plausible ingenious method to get a continuous self sustaining heat producing chemical reaction going?

You could painstakingly grind a rock face into a parabola shape, and polish it smooth, so that when you add a little film of water it reflects enough sunlight into the focal point to ignite some dry coconut husk.

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

Samsung phone.

Peak Warming Man said:

So is there a way that does not involve the two traditional means of making fire.
If you were on a deserted island sitting down near the beach shucking oysters and eating coconut meat besides a pristine fresh water creek meandering into the sea and you thought, I wouldn’t mind cooking a fish for dinner.
Is there any plausible ingenious method to get a continuous self sustaining heat producing chemical reaction going?

I suppose it depends on what else is handy. On a small island you might be hard pressed to find anything flinty but you might have some coconut trees.

but if you don’t want to use flint or rubbin’ then another shot might be if you are lucky enough to be in the presence of naturally occuring materials that are going to react exothermically. If you are lucky enough to be near a saltpetre deposit and a sulfur deposit (again, not likely on a small island) then you can make a basic explosive that you can might be able to ignite by banging rocks.

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

short-circuit the battery and hope it catches fire, or beak it open and dunk the lithium in water.

party_pants said:

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

short-circuit the battery and hope it catches fire, or beak it open and dunk the lithium in water.

what if you don’t have a judge or a bird handy???

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

Do millennials use apps more than other people?

dv said:

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

Do millennials use apps more than other people?

Please dont ruin a good stereotype with logic.

dv said:

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

Do millennials use apps more than other people?

Old people use programs.

buffy said:

dv said:

gaghalfrunt said:

If you were a millennial you would probably have a fire lighting app for it.

Do millennials use apps more than other people?

Old people use programs.

Or in some cases, pen and paper.

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

dv said:

Do millennials use apps more than other people?

Old people use programs.

Or in some cases, pen and paper.

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

You could probably use a pen and paper to start a fire.

buffy said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

Old people use programs.

Or in some cases, pen and paper.

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

dv said:

You could probably use a pen and paper to start a fire.

We didn’t start the fire.

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Or in some cases, pen and paper.

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

Not when you use mytax and most of the pertinent information is already there waiting for you.

Witty Rejoinder said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

Not when you use mytax and most of the pertinent information is already there waiting for you.

I’ve just completed my tax return on-line today, which was the reason for the comment.

Like many recent apps, the “simplification” just makes life difficult when what you want to do is not that simple.

You could mix iodine with aluminium filings and add a drop of water to the edge.
A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)
Mixing potassium permanganate and glycerin (or antifreeze, if you’ve got access to that) will cause the mixture to spontaneously combust, but it may take a few minutes.
If you’ve got access to an unfired bullet, you can remove the projectile and use the propelland to start a fire, though it’s not very safe.
Any of the hypergolic rocket fuel/oxider mixes would also work, but you might have trouble finding them (and handling them — they’re notoriously toxic.)

There are a few ideas for you.

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

dv said:

I couldn’t do that because my glasses correct myopia.

Same here. Maybe the lenses combined might work.

no

BUT …

What if you filled the lens with water?

I think this would work best if:

*the lenses were pretty large and round *there was no correction for astigmatism (my glasses would not work alas) *the sun is high in the sky

This last is because obv, the lenses would have to be horizontal so the water didn’t leak, unless you want to make a kind of cup out of clay or something.

The sun doesn’t get high in the sky except in the Tropics and subtropics.

The point is that lenses that correct for myopia typically have an inner surface that is more curved than the outer: filling with water to a flat surface creates something akin to a lens that would focus the sun’s light to a point. Of course water has a different index of refraction from glass or optical plastics so I’ve no idea how well this would work in practice.

btm said:

You could mix iodine with aluminium filings and add a drop of water to the edge.
A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)
Mixing potassium permanganate and glycerin (or antifreeze, if you’ve got access to that) will cause the mixture to spontaneously combust, but it may take a few minutes.
If you’ve got access to an unfired bullet, you can remove the projectile and use the propelland to start a fire, though it’s not very safe.
Any of the hypergolic rocket fuel/oxider mixes would also work, but you might have trouble finding them (and handling them — they’re notoriously toxic.)

There are a few ideas for you.

great, all we have is a raw fish and some coconuts.

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Or in some cases, pen and paper.

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

Or you could just do it online in thirty seconds because most of the fields are already filled in…

There’s always the tried and true brake-fluid and pool chlorine.

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

dv said:

dv said:

Bubblecar said:

Same here. Maybe the lenses combined might work.

no

BUT …

What if you filled the lens with water?

I think this would work best if:

*the lenses were pretty large and round *there was no correction for astigmatism (my glasses would not work alas) *the sun is high in the sky

This last is because obv, the lenses would have to be horizontal so the water didn’t leak, unless you want to make a kind of cup out of clay or something.

The sun doesn’t get high in the sky except in the Tropics and subtropics.

The point is that lenses that correct for myopia typically have an inner surface that is more curved than the outer: filling with water to a flat surface creates something akin to a lens that would focus the sun’s light to a point. Of course water has a different index of refraction from glass or optical plastics so I’ve no idea how well this would work in practice.

you might need a layer of fresh water covered with a layer of saltwater and make an apochromatic lens.

Witty Rejoinder said:

There’s always the tried and true brake-fluid and pool chlorine.

If you’ve got access to these things you can probably get a box of matches or a cigarette lighter. We’ve been talking about how to start a fire without manufactured materials.

dv said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

Or you could just do it online in thirty seconds because most of the fields are already filled in…

Rev had millions in dividend imputation credits* to apply towards his meager pension so it wasn’t quite so simple.

*may not be true

dv said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

There’s always the tried and true brake-fluid and pool chlorine.

If you’ve got access to these things you can probably get a box of matches or a cigarette lighter. We’ve been talking about how to start a fire without manufactured materials.

You’re no fun.

Bogsnorkler said:

btm said:

You could mix iodine with aluminium filings and add a drop of water to the edge.
A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)
Mixing potassium permanganate and glycerin (or antifreeze, if you’ve got access to that) will cause the mixture to spontaneously combust, but it may take a few minutes.
If you’ve got access to an unfired bullet, you can remove the projectile and use the propelland to start a fire, though it’s not very safe.
Any of the hypergolic rocket fuel/oxider mixes would also work, but you might have trouble finding them (and handling them — they’re notoriously toxic.)

There are a few ideas for you.

great, all we have is a raw fish and some coconuts.

You mean your coconuts aren’t filled with KMnO₄ and glycerol? Shameful!
Both those compounds are extensively used in wound treatment, so you’d have them in your first aid kit.

btm said:

A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)

Nah, I’ve done it with an approx 70mm diameter glass.

dv said:

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

Here’s a video (one of many) of a shirtless man lighting a fire with reading glasses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P38dHE6FoDQ

Bogsnorkler said:

fire piston.

SCIENCE said:

Bogsnorkler said:

fire piston.

Do you think you could make one?

dv said:

dv said:

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

Here’s a video (one of many) of a shirtless man lighting a fire with reading glasses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P38dHE6FoDQ

Do you have to be shirtless? I mean I have the glasses but I would prefer to maintain a modicum of dignity.

dv said:

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

Looks like I’m wrong. This site: https://www.trueprepper.com/magnifying-glass-fire-starter/ claims that the best lens they used to get a fire started is only 1.8 inches diameter.

sibeen said:

Do you have to be shirtless? I mean I have the glasses but I would prefer to maintain a modicum of dignity.

I’m afraid so yes.

btm said:

dv said:

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

Looks like I’m wrong. This site: https://www.trueprepper.com/magnifying-glass-fire-starter/ claims that the best lens they used to get a fire started is only 1.8 inches diameter.

I got in trouble for it at school. I got a magnifying glass for my birthday and took it to school.

btm said:

Looks like I’m wrong.

respect

dv said:

sibeen said:

Do you have to be shirtless? I mean I have the glasses but I would prefer to maintain a modicum of dignity.

I’m afraid so yes.

LOL

party_pants said:

btm said:

dv said:

“A magnifying glass would need to be at least 20cm in diameter to start a fire (so spectacle lenses won’t work.)”

What?

No. I’ve personally started fires with hand lenses less than 10 cm across.

Looks like I’m wrong. This site: https://www.trueprepper.com/magnifying-glass-fire-starter/ claims that the best lens they used to get a fire started is only 1.8 inches diameter.

I got in trouble for it at school. I got a magnifying glass for my birthday and took it to school.

Frying ants at big lunch?

dv said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

buffy said:

Which can be surprisingly efficient in some circumstances…

Like when completing your annual tax return, for instance.

Or you could just do it online in thirty seconds because most of the fields are already filled in…

Except when the fields that are not filled in have no explanation of what they actually want, and the on-line assistant can’t help because they aren’t trained in that, and when you actually get to speak to someone they can’t tell you if that information is required or not, so what used to be a 30 second job takes most of the day.

Witty Rejoinder said:

party_pants said:

btm said:

Looks like I’m wrong. This site: https://www.trueprepper.com/magnifying-glass-fire-starter/ claims that the best lens they used to get a fire started is only 1.8 inches diameter.

I got in trouble for it at school. I got a magnifying glass for my birthday and took it to school.

Frying ants at big lunch?

Yeah, we got tired of that so decided to see if we could light a fire instead.

dv said:

btm said:

Looks like I’m wrong.

respect

You’d be able to bask in a similar glory if you gave up on Corbyn.

party_pants said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

party_pants said:

I got in trouble for it at school. I got a magnifying glass for my birthday and took it to school.

Frying ants at big lunch?

Yeah, we got tired of that so decided to see if we could light a fire instead.

You see how suddenly it becomes plural, a subconscious attempt to spread the blame for the fire, for the total loss of K Wing.

Witty Rejoinder said:

dv said:

btm said:

Looks like I’m wrong.

respect

You’d be able to bask in a similar glory if you gave up on Corbyn.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/28/election-boris-johnson-tories-labour

No. no, it going to be all right. Polly reckons that even if Labour lose the Tories will then destroy themselves, leaving Corbyn to march to an inevitable victory in five years time.

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Frying ants at big lunch?

Yeah, we got tired of that so decided to see if we could light a fire instead.

You see how suddenly it becomes plural, a subconscious attempt to spread the blame for the fire, for the total loss of K Wing.

I had friends at school.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Yeah, we got tired of that so decided to see if we could light a fire instead.

You see how suddenly it becomes plural, a subconscious attempt to spread the blame for the fire, for the total loss of K Wing.

I had friends at school.

ladifuckingda

dv said:

sibeen said:

Do you have to be shirtless? I mean I have the glasses but I would prefer to maintain a modicum of dignity.

I’m afraid so yes.

Only if you are going to YouTube it.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Yeah, we got tired of that so decided to see if we could light a fire instead.

You see how suddenly it becomes plural, a subconscious attempt to spread the blame for the fire, for the total loss of K Wing.

I had friends at school.

Loouxry

what is school

what is friends

SCIENCE said:

what is school

what is friends

SCIENCE asking the big questions.

I’ve made fire by polishing the convex base of a Coke can and using it as a mirror. You often find them in the bush. Does that count?

I’ve also made fire by dipping the corner of a rag in petrol and holding it next to an electric fence, with a screwdriver jumping to the rest of the fence, creating a spark.

Again… All things commonly found in the bush.

Rule 303 said:

I’ve made fire by polishing the convex base of a Coke can and using it as a mirror. You often find them in the bush. Does that count?

Cave. Concave.

Can’t f’n believe I got that wrong.

;-/

Rule 303 said:

Rule 303 said:

I’ve made fire by polishing the convex base of a Coke can and using it as a mirror. You often find them in the bush. Does that count?

Cave. Concave.

Can’t f’n believe I got that wrong.

;-/

Too much polishing.

Peak Warming Man said:

Rule 303 said:

Rule 303 said:

I’ve made fire by polishing the convex base of a Coke can and using it as a mirror. You often find them in the bush. Does that count?

Cave. Concave.

Can’t f’n believe I got that wrong.

;-/

Too much polishing.

I was watching dobson polish telescope mirrors last evening. lot of work.

Rule 303 said:

I’ve made fire by polishing the convex base of a Coke can and using it as a mirror. You often find them in the bush. Does that count?

I mean you could find a cigarette lighter in the bush but I think it is clear enough that’s not the kind of thing I mean…

But I’m impressed that you managed to do that.

Not being experienced in such things, I had a look into it and I was surprised to find many “survivalists” talking about relying on things they find off the land and specifically mentioning starting fires the “stone age” way. They then go on to describe starting a fire which invariably requires the use of a metal knife.

I did find one where they used quartz as the striking stone and a softer stone as the one being struck. I’ve been to places where there is plenty of quartz lying around so that might be an option. I am unsure of the material of the “softer” rock because I only really skimmed over it and the page was formatted terribly. I think maybe their web designer was from the stone age…

I just wait for a fire breathing dragon or, like, Ghost Rider to come along.

Arts said:

I just wait for a fire breathing dragon or, like, Ghost Rider to come along.

Or this bloke:

furious said:

Arts said:

I just wait for a fire breathing dragon or, like, Ghost Rider to come along.

Or this bloke:

He’s dead.

sibeen said:

furious said:

Arts said:

I just wait for a fire breathing dragon or, like, Ghost Rider to come along.

Or this bloke:

He’s dead.

So is Ghost Rider…

furious said:

sibeen said:

furious said:

Or this bloke:

He’s dead.

So is Ghost Rider…

ok, so we still have the fire breathing dragons…

Arts said:

furious said:

sibeen said:

He’s dead.

So is Ghost Rider…

ok, so we still have the fire breathing dragons…

My Kraken doesn’t like them. They give her heartburn.