Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Fire

lakota cookfire.gif
mrclark.aretesys.com
     
     For protection, warmth and cooking, having fire is essential.  Making fire is an essential skill.  More and more I hear or should say overhear conversations in the circles I travel.  I hear skill building being laughed off as a waste of time.  Many people assume they can have fire easily.  Fire and fire making is as easy as flicking your BIC.  FIRE is passé.



     Early man did view fire as magical.  It was hard to come by.  When there are no more BIC lighters coming to the shop by way of a long sea voyage in a Conex and the fires of social upheaval have died out, rubbing two sticks together is hard work and waiting for lightning to strike makes for a late supper.
     Fire making is an essential skill and stocking fire making tools is an essential task.  Disposable butane lighters can be purchased in bulk.  If you are able to make bulk purchases, Amazon is an outlet www.amazon.com/Wholesale-Disposable-Lighters.  Also,

     I found these just from Google today.

     Keep storage of these lighters in mind.  Cool, and dry and air tight are key. 

     Another way to start a fire quickly is to use fire starters.  But you still need a spark.  Fire starters can be made and purchased www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=3735311

     I fell into a yard sale deal one Saturday when a woman was cleaning out her husband’s area in the garage.  I hope he doesn't miss his 1950s and 60s Zippo lighters in their original boxes, but he didn't take very good care of them as he kept them in a rusting coffee can.  That was a well spent $5!  Add to this cost the price of three packs of flints at $2.99 per six and two cans of lighter fluid, another $6, one can for filling now and testing the lighters and one for storage, and I have two dozen fine refillable fire makers.  

      I suggest if you prep, you should look into more than one way to start a fire. Harbor Freight keeps a good stock of magnesium fire starters on hand at a reasonable price.

      Also in the prep closet, with the mess kits is a fire striker kit that was made for me at a powwow years ago.  I bought two more kits and gave one to my son in the Marine Corps as a gift for making that third stripe.  He told me later he had his men out in the field for a test and all the marines were patted down to have their lighters and matches removed.  My son was questioned about the ‘rock’ in his pocket; he told them it was his lucky rock.  It passed.  The fact that it was a flint rock and the fancy Goth thing around his neck was an iron fire striker and the handkerchief was just the right kind of fiber to get a good fire started, made the new sergeant look like a warrior god to his new devil dogs!  Fire is magic, when you are cold and hungry.    
  
           Fire is good to have, get ready and learn to build your own.

1 comment:

quaintjunk said...

Don't know what's going on here with the wonky template, but the info is still there, sorry.