First wet fire

[Squall]

I've never really built a fire in less than ideal conditions until last week.  It had been raining off and on since the night before, and when it tapered off last Thursday afternoon, I got the urge to go out and at least give it a try.  Everything was good and wet, so I started out trying to do a feather-stick, and failed miserably.  Every time I started to make some progress, Id end up shaving off all of the coils I'd managed to accumulate, so I gave up and just made myself a nice pile of shavings from a handful of sticks after I shaved off the outer wet bark.  Had a few pieces of wood from a fire a week or so before, and one of them had ended up on top of the others, so was only wet on the top side, so I batoned it into kindling, and about six smaller pieces.  I used a small piece of dryer lint to catch the spark from my ferro rod, and it was off to the races.  I know by some standards, this isn't any great accomplishment, but for me, this is the first proof I've had that I've really progressed from the guy that needed an aim flame and a fire starter on a dry hot day.  If I'd thought ahead, I would have taken a few pictures of the materials and tinder pile before I started, but I guess you'll all just have to take me at my word. [/URL][/img] ][URL=http://s50.photobucket.com/user/Squall_Loire3/media/IMG_20141106_135131061_zps04ebcc91.jpg.html][/url]

[wolfy]

Good for you.....I'll bet you learned a couple of things in the process, too.  THAT'S what it's all about!

[MnSportsman]

Good for you.....I'll bet you learned a couple of things in the process, too.  THAT'S what it's all about!

Ditto!



  The more ya do, the better at it ya get!



  Keep at it & "take the hill!"



Thanks for sharing your doin's with us!

[Kevin]

Well done, Squall! The sense of accomplishment in laying, striking and maintaining a wet-wood far is well worth the attending smoke that often follows! This will only make your fire skills all the better in more accommodating conditions. In keeping with my possible psychosis and fixation on the material, I'd suggest keeping a goodish batch of good fatwood in your kit for rainy days (or all days, if you have a serious affection toward finding and using this wonderful wood .

Again, congrats on meeting and beating a typical woodsman's challenge!

Kevin

[Yeoman]

Great job. Feels good to make progress on a skill doesn't it.


"Learning is an interuption of the failure process." - Me

[Squall]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys; yeah, It was a nice feeling. I'm thinking its time to try my hand at making charcloth, and seeing if I can locate some flint or chert or quartz by the river next.  And then the bow drill.  And then practice until using them all successfully is the norm rather than the exception.

[Punty]

  This goes along with what I have learned over the course of hte last year since I started down this road....

   "It's never quite that easy."

   Ever see the movie "The Edge"?  You know the role that Anthony Hopkins plays?  He's reading that survival book and finds it very interesting. He learns a lot, like how to make a compass with a needle and silk.

   So, he uses that trick with the needle, and it works, except they end up going in a big circle because of his metal belt buckle.

   It's just not that easy.

   Which is why things like starting your first wet fire feels like an accomplishment..... .because it is!

   For the record though....shavings are shavings....they don't have to be on the stick to work, the fire doesn't care. You can still use them...but curls are not as easy to start with a ferro rod as people think, either, until you do it yourself.

   What I do, is I actually shave off some of my ferro rod so as not to ignite it, and let it sprinkle onto the shavings like cinnamon, THEN I strike the ferro rod. Usually works....not always.

[offtrail]

When I make fuzz sticks I brake them off so I have a lot of little ones, not just one big one. Wet weather and starting a fire can be a pain in the @ss even for the skilled outdoorsmen . That's why most always carry fire starting material. You never go into the woods without some type of fire starter in your pack, just that simple. It's fun to learn fire starting skills but in real life your not going to spend hours trying to get a fire going when you need the fire now. Bowdrill fires are fun to learn when you have plenty of time and in a pinch could save your life. But I would never want my life to depend on my skill to start a bowdrill fire. My bowdrill skills are no better then the material I have available at that time. My favorite fire starting method is flint and steel with charcloth or man made or natural material. It's a heap more reliable then the bowdrill...for sure! Good luck on improving you fire skills, keep us posted on your progress.

[madmax]

Way to go.  The cool thing is you are never done learning.