Flint striker that lasts for year

Flint striker – to start
a fire without matches

An effective wilderness survival fire starter is an artificial flint striker. There are a number of different shapes and designs available on the market.

I prefer a flint striker called the Swedish FireSteel. It's a simple, strong sparking stick and it last for years. To use it you scrape hard to produce a shower of sparks to catch your fire.

Tinder

First you will need some tinder to start your fire. The tinder must be absolutely dry and fluffed very well. The finer and dryer the material used the better. It should only take a spark to ignite!

There are a number of things you can use for tinder. Dry leaves, fine dry grass and bark, cloth fibers, paper or any another inflammable material.

Use your knife to turn dry sticks and pieces of bark into powdery tinder. Prepare your tinder carefully it's very important to the success of the fire making process.

Ignite

Place the sparking stick at the tinder. Use a knife or the attached edged tool and draw it slowly downwards over the sparking stick. Hot sparks are produced. If you have prepared you tinder right it will catch fire. Shield your fire area.

When the fire is becoming established. Add slowly more tinder, then thin sticks of wood and build your fire up gradually.

Congratulation you have succeeded to start a fire without matches!

Recommendation

swedish firesteel

If you are not used to a flint striker I recommend you to make a first test with fluffy paper. Dry fluffy paper is very easy to ignite. You can't fail...well everything is possible. But if you make some test with paper you will improve your skill.

Trust me, to ignite a fire with an artificial flint striker you need some practice. But don't give up, you will succeed.

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Flint striker – to starta fire without matches

Flint striker – to start
a fire without matches