Making A Fire Without Matches

One of the most important emergency skills that people can learn is how to build a fire without a lighter or matches. This basic skill could come in handy in many emergency situations as fire could be the key to having safe water to drink, keeping warm, and even eating.

If you are trying to start your own fire there are two things that you will need to remember. The first is having the right material, this doesn’t just include wood, at times it might also mean having leaves or smaller pieces of wood that can light up faster. The second important thing is that in most cases fire is going to be the result of friction, so these techniques will depend on you being able to generate enough friction for a fire to be lit.

1. Fire Plow Method

For the fire plow method, you will need two pieces of wood. The first one will be a softwood that is relatively flat, while the second one will need to be a flat piece of wood with an angle head. From there what you will want to do is make a small groove on the outside of your fireboard wood. Then you will hold the plow wood at a 45-degree angle and start moving it up and down the base wood. If you do this fast enough there will be enough friction for burning coal to be formed.

2. Hand Drill Method

For this method, you will need a flat softwood or dry wood that can catch on fire easily. You will also need a longer rounder wood that will act as your spindle. The spindle should be slightly sharpened on its edge. From there you will make an indention in your softwood and place your spindle inside. Then using both hands you will quickly place both hands on the swindle and start rubbing them back and forth. This will cause the spindle to rotate fast and it will generate a flame.