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Make a Fire

Learn critical fire building skills, primitive fire making, starting a fire with flint and steel, and making fire under emergency conditions, including rain and snow.

build a fire, survival fire making, best fire making tools

Survival fire making | Old time flint and steel can be a lifesaver

600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

One of the most effective methods of starting a survival fire is also one of the oldest – flint and steel.  Here is why you should consider adding a F&S kit to your survival gear.

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This improvised block rocket stove could be invaluable after a natural disaster strikes.

Build an emergency biomass block stove for $4

507 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Here’s how to make a high efficiency biomass stove out of concrete blocks. This design can be made from debris in the aftermath of a tornado or other disaster.

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Survival fire making videos: What ignition system should you carry?

448 325 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Your ability to start a fire can save your life! The inability can cost it! Here are some common methods, and how well they work.

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build a fire, survival fire making, best fire making tools

Best survival firemaking method | Use cotton balls, Vaseline and ferro rod

600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Here is my go-to fire making method for survival situations and how to use it. My number one choice is a combination of cotton balls infused with petroleum jelly and ignited with a ferro rod.

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Top five reasons to include a ferro rod in your survival kit

541 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

What is the best survival firestarting method? My money is on the ferrocerium (also commonly referred to as a flint or magnesium stick) rod. Here are five reasons you need one.

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Feather sticks make good firestarting materials and they are easy to carve.

Five tips to make better feather sticks for firemaking

600 318 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Suppose you need to start a fire, it’s been raining, and all the sticks are wet. Here’s how to make dry firestarting materials.

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Why bother learning primitive fire making skills? Here are several reasons why

533 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

There are incredibly-effective fire making survival tools on the market. So why invest the time in learning the old-time methods? There are several good reasons why.

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Video: How to find dry fire making tinder in wet weather

448 325 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

The ability to start a fire under survival conditions can save your life. The inability can cost your life. Here are some tips for finding dry tinder under wet, stormy conditions.

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brick rocket stove, cast iron cooking

Brick rocket stoves could help slow Mali deforestation

326 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

In Mali, wood-fueled campfires may be the only way some people have to cook and boil water. Rural residents frequently use small trees that have been replanted in the devastated areas. Here is another option.

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The L.T. Wright Next Gen (top) and Rouge River are great user knives.

How to: Baton firewood with a butter knife

600 366 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Most survival knife reviews at some point show the blade being pounded – or batoned -through a block of firewood. But batoning is not a big deal if you use the right technique. This method is so simple you can baton firewood with a butter knife.

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