Fire is so cool, so much fun and so essential for an outdoors person to understand and be able to use proficiently. In an emergency, we need to be able to make fire. So, anything that helps up make fire is a good thing, well, as long as we’re in control of it!
Tinder is the basis for most fires, so having good tinder is a must when it comes to easy fire lighting, and this article from lonesoulsurfer shows you how to make the easiest tinder. There’s a video further down that shows you just how well this stuff burns!
There are a lot of different ways to make tinder for my flint and steel igniter. One of the most popular is char cloth. It’s pretty easy to make and does a great job of lighting easily. The biggest problem with it though is it can be fragile. I wanted to find something a little more ridged for my survival kit.
The following is a simple but very reliable tinder that you can make in about 3 minutes. It burns hot and lasts for over 3 minutes.
Step 1: Getting Lint
Steps:
1. Locate the dryer – it is usually in a place called the laundry :).
2. Open the lint draw and remove any lint available.
3. Lay the lint out flat on a piece of paper.
Step 2: Adding the Wax
Steps:
1. Light a candle and tip sideways to build-up some wax
2. Drip the wax over the lint
3. Turn the lint over and drip some more wax on the other side
4. Let the wax dry a little and squeeze the lint into flat balls.
Step 3: Try One Out
That’s it really. Find a small, dry container to keep your tinder in, and it should last for months, probably years!
Now you’ve made some, you’re going to want to test it. I did, and the results can be seen in the video below. The tinder lit pretty much as soon as I got a spark and burnt for over 3 minutes! I was seriously impressed with how well this worked and how easy it is to make.
NOTE: Lint is made up of cotton and man made fabrics. Synthetic fabrics can be dangerous when on fire as they can release some funky chemicals. It won’t be a problem as you don’t have to blow on the tinder to get it started. Just make sure your face isn’t directly above the smoke and use outside.
You can see the original article from lonesoulsurfer HERE
Remember that you’re responsible for being safe while making this and then using it.
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