As I found myself camping out in a military tent in the woods of the Florida panhandle in Winter, the ability to start and maintain a fire has become a priority to me. Gathering wood becomes a habit. Cutting down trees no longer for the environmentally-unfriendly.
Starting a Fire With Sticks and Friction
This seems to be one of those things that is easier said than done. The video below shows the basic method, however, it is assumed that there is an actual skill to this that is learned through practice. From what I’ve watched, the basic strategy is this:
- Already have your campfire built, with you brush to get it started,
- Get a flat piece of wood,
- Layer some light shaving or dry leaves in the middle,
- Take a sharp or long stick and begin rubbing the tip in the middle of the shaving/leaves,
- Once you have started creating smoke and some ember, take it and bring it to your built fire,
- Apply the embers to your light-dry layer of your fire and gently blow to spread it,
- If you have Fatwood, apply it to any of these steps where shavings/dry leaves are called for.
Fatwood – Fire Lighter – Fat Lighter
I have yet to learn to start a fire by rubbing sticks, nor have I built my first prototype Rocket Stove, but the quest for this power of heat and energy has led me to discover some amazing things. While I was in South Carolina I was shown the wonders of Fat Wood, or “Fire Starter.” The thing that happens is that as a pine tree dies the sap get condensed down in its stump. When these trees fall, or are cut down, the stump begins to dry and becomes incredibly flammable. I couldn’t tell you what I would have done this last month without some Fat Wood.
http://www.survivalmonkey.com/fat-lighter.html
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Fatwood
Rocket Stove – Rocket Mass Heater
After my first week in Florida, I met up with Joshua, a local Ron Paul supporter, in order to head out to a flea market to promote our candidate. On the way to the market he told me about the Church he had started attending, that they spent more time teaching self-reliance than preaching about God. One of the inventions he was most impressed with was a “Rocket Stove.” He tried to explain it to me, but it didn’t really make sense. I got back to the farm and mentioned it to some of the other workers, they said that a lot of people who came through talked about said device. This is when I decided to go look it up on the Internet; this is what I found:
A Commercially Available Version
http://wildstoves.co.uk/rocket-stoves/
Jack Wagner is the Editor of The Free Independent-Sun. Born in Sonoma, California and currently residing in San Francisco, Jack set up The Free Independent-Sun on July 4th, 2009, after sleeping in and not making his usual trip up north for his hometown festivities. He figured he'd do something revolutionary to make up for it. In the Summer of 2010 Jack registered Seraf Media with the City and County of San Francisco as a Sole-Proprietorship. He is dedicated to articulating the finer points of the Revolution in order to bring about a Global Renaissance and Abundant World Economy. He also isn't afraid to get his hands dirty transplanting succulents. 
