Ways to light a fire without matches. Using balloons and condoms

While relaxing in nature, sometimes you want to warm up by the fire, cook yourself a warm meal, or desperately need to dry your wet clothes. On a hike, on a picnic, in the fireplace or stove at your dacha, you can light a fire in different ways. But how to light a fire without matches if they are damp or, in case of your forgetfulness, left at home - in the city. It is generally accepted that a woman is the keeper of the fire (hearth), while a man is its breadwinner. It is difficult to predict the situation when he does not have matches or a lighter with him. Therefore, the information given here is needed by a man first and foremost.

There are many ways to make fire. The main ones are: striking a spark, friction, using a lens.

Living fire from a spark

Fire, as we know, starts from a spark. A spark can be obtained using flint and chair(medieval method).

AND using modern flint(friction of two metals).

The difference between them is that the modern version of the flint does not create a spark when wet. In contrast, flint and steel, abundantly soaked in water, successfully strike a spark.

We were taught how to properly light a fire in a snowy, wet forest at school, but not everyone can do it. The simplest rules, as we know, are the presence of a piece of dry wood, the absence of laziness in order to plan dry shavings (the more, the better) - this will take a lot of time. When making shavings, it is better to cover yourself with a tarpaulin to protect yourself from the wind and possible precipitation. When the fire flares up, you can place wet twigs in the shape of a hut, which, when dried, will also light up. Then you can add thicker branches - the fire will gradually gain strength. The only thing left to do is to get fire from a spark.

To create it, you can use special kits that are commercially available or created by yourself. They include: a skein of linen rags or twine for creating rags, burnt flax tinder, a forged chair, and flint.

Flint is a hard silica stone that can leave scratches on glass.

A chair is a metal object in the form of a strip of hardened steel of artistic forging, measuring 6 and 7.5 cm. A 7-centimeter chair is more convenient to use. The steel blade of a knife can serve as a knife.

Tinder is a material that is easily flammable. Natural tinder can be dry grass or wood shavings, birch bark, spruce cones, crushed tinder fungi, pine needles, and even fine dust created by wood-boring insects. The contents of a bird's nest will also work. Tinder can be cotton wool, wax paper, cotton fabric. Burnt pieces of flax tinder or pieces of birch tinder fungus, made using a special ancient Russian technology, are also used.

A piece of burnt tinder smoldering from a spark can be safely placed in the tin box in which it is stored along with the other pieces - it will safely go out when oxygen supply is cut off.

We make fire using flint - steel, flint, tinder

Juniper bark and birch bark are used as tinder. We create a tinder nest - a lump of crushed juniper bark, which we will then put into a piece of birch bark.

Using a stone and a hammer, we extract a spark, holding a piece of burnt labor or a tinder fungus close to the stone at the moment the hammer hits the stone. A spark hitting the burnt tinder causes it to smolder. The smoldering piece is wrapped in a rag or a lump of natural tinder made from juniper (birch tinder fungus or any other aforementioned material), inflated in the palms, wrapped in birch bark and inflated some more. The fire will certainly flare up.

Let's consider a way to light a fire in the forest using the friction method. It can be called the “bow and auger method.”

First you need to stock up on dry moss and create a tinder nest. You should not use paper for these purposes - you are unlikely to achieve anything with it.

Next, you need to build a so-called “fire bow”, carve out a rod or spindle, or drill, that is, that same “drill” - a thick, smooth stick of soft wood (walnut, aspen, juniper, cedar, cypress, willow) 50 centimeters long. , and also create a foundation. Its role can be played by a stone with a smooth depression, a piece of wood (wooden die) of dense rock, or an ordinary tree stump. For this purpose, pine and oak wood is used.

A smooth hole or recess of 1 or 1.5 cm is cut out in a wooden base with a knife. The diameter of the hole or recess in the base must correspond to the diameter of the “drill” rod for a tight fit. A cut is then made in the hole to come into contact with the moss, which will ignite.

Any flexible stick tied with a cord or any rope can serve as a “fire bow”. Insert the rod into the string of the “fire bow”, turning it so that it is in the loop, without tying any knots.

Fire will be produced by friction of the “club” rod against the base.

Place a prepared base with a depression on an island of moss or any other tinder and press it with your foot. Place one end of a stick entwined with a bowstring vertically into a smooth recess in a stone or wooden base. The bowstring is in a horizontal position. With one hand, holding the upper part of the “drill” rod with the help of a piece of bark (so as not to damage the hand), with the other hand we begin intensive horizontal movements of the “fire bow”, holding it by the rigid part - the flexible stick.

These movements resemble cutting wood with a regular saw, and the method itself resembles the work of a modern hand drill.

You should not create friction by rotating the “club” with your hands - this is ineffective.

If the moss nest starts to smoke, you need to take it in your palms and fan the fire harder.

When this happens, we place leaves, dry small twigs or other forest materials on top of the nest in the form of a wigwam or a “pioneer” fire. The fire has caught fire - be careful not to get burned!

The video shows how to make fire using the friction method.

You can enjoy a fire created using the lens effect only in clear sunny weather. With this method of lighting a fire, the concepts of “sun” and “lens” are inseparable. This method of making fire is the easiest, but requires some patience.

A lens can be anything that reflects light: the glass of a watch or glasses, a piece of ice, a metal spoon or ladle, water in transparent cellophane or a balloon, a binocular lens, the bottom of a tin can. These objects focus the sun's rays at one point, which is why ignition occurs. In a dry and bright place, place dry “fuel” - natural tinder or paper - under the lens.

1. WATCH GLASS. To create a lens from two watch glasses, they are put together, water is poured between them and coated with clay.

2. METAL SPOON. As a lens, it is used together with a cauldron - a carrier of soot and a thick 3-4 centimeter rope of toilet paper with an evenly torn end, which is stained with the soot of the cauldron. They create the same lens from a deep spoon, bending it even further to deepen it to focus the sun's rays. Instead of a spoon, you can use a ladle. In bright sunshine, place the end of the soot bundle close to the middle of the spoon and patiently wait for it to ignite. The peculiarity of toilet paper is that it smolders very well. The rope will definitely begin to smolder, and the soot will create an ember - a reliable keeper of the fire.

If you don't have matches, you can light a fire with ice. But this can only be done in sunny weather. So, we select a piece of necessarily transparent ice slightly larger than the width of a brick and form it into a smooth product in the form of a huge tablet or a very thick lens 5 cm thick. To do this, the surface of the piece of ice is polished, warming it with the warmth of your hands. An ice tablet can be obtained by freezing melted snow or clean water from a reservoir in any cup or pot. The main rule is that the shape of the lens is a thick middle and thinner edges. Then we install this kind of lens on a stump, on a stone or any hill and tilt it, directing the ray of the sun passing through the ice lens onto a hill of dry moss or other highly flammable forest materials.

4. WATER IN CELLOPHANE AND BALLOON

These “devices” are characterized by a shorter focal length, therefore, they should be located somewhat further from the flammable object - 1-2 cm.

5. TIN AND CHOCOLATE

The bottom of the tin can is sanded with chocolate or toothpaste to create a parabolic mirror and used as a lens.

Chemical substances

When mixed, rubbed or struck, the chemicals will ignite. You should also adhere to the proportions of these substances.

Component options:

Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and sugar (in a ratio of 9:1);
Cover the potassium permanganate with tinder (for example, a cloth or napkin), carefully drop 2-3 drops of antifreeze or glycerin on top;
Sugar and potassium chlorate (ratio 3:1).

Pour potassium permanganate and sugar onto a dry wooden board (not rotten) and grind it with a stick as you do in a mortar. After 20 seconds, fire appears as a result of a chemical reaction.

The produced fire can be transferred to the original homemade wooden “stump stove”. To do this, you need to cut a thick log into 6 parts and tie these parts in the form of a stump, without tightening them tightly. Then place the thin bark of this hemp (birch bark) in the middle of our “stove” - between the logs. With the fire you have obtained, you can ignite birch bark and safely place a kettle or bricks on the “stump stove” that will warm your home. You will need 10 of these bricks; they can be heated periodically on a miracle stove.

Whether you are a tourist, a hunter, a fisherman, or just a random traveler lost in nature, armed with such information, you will feel much more confident.

Video

The Galileo program is about ways to make fire without matches.

Galileo experiment: Fire by friction.

Experiment in Galileo: potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide.

Do you consider yourself a modern person? Do you really believe that you can handle any complexity or problem? In principle, we can assume that this is the case. But, as practice shows, the average person can be proud of his omnipotence only as long as he does not leave his usual habitat. Shall we check?

Section 1. How to light a fire without matches? Relevance of the issue

The 21st century is just around the corner. We have learned to fly to the moon, with the help of the Internet you can find almost any information, and you can already learn foreign languages without leaving your computer. All this is called scientific and technological progress.

What about simpler, but still vitally important things? Have you ever wondered whether modern man can survive, say, in the wild? Does he know, without matches, or how to build at least a temporary shelter from the rain? As sad as it may be, the answers to these questions will most likely be negative.

In general, if you look at the statistics, it turns out that most city residents cannot light a fire even with a lighter, and they have no idea about the various methods of making fire.

That’s why you shouldn’t forget about survival school. You never know where and when it might come in handy. There is an opinion that every man should know how to start a fire without matches, but women should also listen to our advice today. This, you see, is the most important skill for survival.

Section 2. We list the main ways to solve the problem

How to make fire without matches in the forest? Is this even possible?

It is absolutely clear that any moisture or dampness will ruin all your endeavors. Here, it would seem, there is nothing to argue about. Even a junior schoolchild realizes that in order to make a fire in the forest without matches or using them (at this stage this is not so important), you will need dry rags or leaves; by the way, ropes, gauze, chopped bark or dry moss, etc. Let me note that this is only a minimum set of components. So to speak, the most accessible to the common man.

From a scientific point of view, there are four main methods to solve the problem:

chemical;
textbook (using a lens);
using friction force;
solid.

Now let's talk about each of them in more detail.

Section 3. Chemical method

Probably, from school, some of us remember that a flammable mixture can be caused by the reaction of potassium permanganate and glycerin. If you have access to these ingredients to “cook” a fire, go for it! In this case, you can easily solve the problem of how to light a fire without matches in the field. Just 1 g of potassium permanganate, poured onto previously prepared cloths, and a couple of drops of glycerin are enough. But I would like to immediately warn you: as soon as you drop the glycerin, quickly remove your hand, because the fire will immediately begin to devour the offered “gifts”.

Section 4. How to light a fire without matches. Long, but reliable - a textbook method

Using a lens from glasses, binoculars, a telescope, a convex bottle, an aquarium or other shaped glass, you can focus the sun's ray to create a fire. For example, Robinson Crusoe from the well-known and beloved book from childhood, before getting fire without matches (what kind of matches and lighter could there be on an island?!?), diligently used watch glass.

Section 5. Ready to work hard? Tiring way

You can make a fire, although this is a very tedious and not always fruitful activity. To begin with, a bow is made from soft wood, but a rope will perfectly serve as a bowstring. The “drill” will be any pointed stick. The support should be made of dry hardwood logs, such as pine or oak.

The source material is first cleared of bark. Then you need to drill a hole 1-1.5 cm deep in it and carefully cover it with tinder. The drill needs to be wrapped in a bowstring, inserted with one ring into the hole, and tinder placed tightly around it. Only after this, firmly pressing the drill with your palm, you need to quickly move the bow with your right hand. This should be done perpendicular to the drill. Important: to avoid damaging your palm, place a fabric pad between the drill and your hand; you can replace it with tree bark. After the tinder has smoldered, you need to fan it well and add kindling, which has been prepared in advance.

Section 6. Hard way

For this method, any stone can be used as a material. It is quite convenient to knock out a spark using a steel knife or other metal objects. The success of such an activity is difficult to predict, because everything depends on luck and a very dry base for the fire.

Section 7. “Diligence and labor will grind everything”

You should immediately warn that making fire by friction is the most difficult method. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

In general, there are various methods for creating fire by friction. However, the most important aspect is the type of wood used for the board and spindle.

The spindle is the stick that you will spin to create friction between it and the board. Juniper, cypress, aspen, willow, cedar, and walnut are considered the best materials for boards and spindles. To use wood to make fire using the friction method, as well as, in principle, any other method, the wood must be taken exclusively dry.

Section 8: Hand Drill Method

Honestly, it is the most primitive, but also the most basic and difficult. All that is required in this case is wood, tireless hands and determination.

Build a tinder nest. For tinder, a material that ignites with a single spark, it is best to use:

birch bark;
dry grass;
pine needles;
wood shavings;
tinder fungi (crushed and dry mushrooms);
wax paper;
fluffy cotton wool;
burnt cotton fabric;
fir cones.

Make the cut by cutting a small indentation into the board. It is worth placing a bark under this cutout to catch the ember that arises from friction. Start rotating by placing the spindle in the recess. Typically, it needs to be about 50 centimeters long for this method to work properly. Rotate the stick between your palms until an ember appears.

As soon as a spark appears, quickly transfer it to the previously prepared tinder nest. Blow on it carefully, everything is ready - the fire is burning.

Section 9. Fire bow method

It is considered the most effective way to make fire, which is based on friction. In this case, you will need to use a bow and auger.

Make a tight bow. To do this, pull a rope, belt, or cord around the stick. Then make a hole in dry wood. Next, quickly and for a long time twist the shaft in the hole using the bow. You should end up with a black powder. As soon as a spark appears in it, it must be transferred to the tinder.

Section 10. Flint and steel

In general, it should be noted that this is an old and reliable backup option for those who do not know how to make a fire without matches in the forest or in open areas.

In principle, it is a good idea to always carry flint with you on a hike. After all, matches can get wet and will be useless. Otherwise, you can still get a spark from a piece of flint.

Flint remains the ideal option. In addition, you can always improvise using quartzite and the steel blade of any knife.

But that's not all. According to experts, you will definitely need a charred piece of cloth, which can be replaced with a dry piece of mushroom or birch bark.

Take stone and cloth.
Place a piece of stone between your thumb and forefinger, with the edge protruding 7 centimeters.
Pinch the fabric securely with your thumb and flint.
Start striking sparks. To do this, hit the flint with steel or a knife blade several times; you will see that sparks will fly off onto the fabric, thereby causing a glow.
Place the spark cloth on the tinder and blow gently to start the fire.

Section 11. Using the Lens

In general, all methods based on producing fire using lenses are considered the easiest. Before starting a fire without matches, you just need to focus the sun's rays on a specific place.

Also suitable for this purpose:

magnifying glass;
glasses;
binoculars.

By the way, if you add a little water to the lens, the beam of light will become more intense. Try to tilt the glass in such a way as to focus the rays to a point with the smallest possible diameter. Place tinder in this place, you will soon be able to get fire.

The only drawback of this method is that it only works in the presence of sun. And at night you will have to use other methods.

Section 12. Creative approach

Don't know how to light a fire without matches? Try to do it in an original way - you will have fun yourself and surprise your friends.

So, in addition to traditional methods, there are three completely unusual, but quite effective methods that are based on the refraction of rays.

Balloons and condoms. If you fill a balloon or condom with water, it turns into a lens. True, they should be kept less from the tinder - 1-2 cm.
Fire from ice. Make fire from a block of ice. This method is extremely useful for winter camping. But for the method to work, the ice must be completely transparent and about 5 centimeters thick. Then shape the ice into a lens shape, polish it with your hands until smooth, and use it like a traditional lens.
Coca-Cola and chocolate. You will also need chocolate. Moreover, the bottom of the first should be polished with the second; toothpaste will also work. After grinding, you will get a parabolic mirror. All that remains is to catch the sunlight and place tinder where the rays focus.

The essence of starting a fire by friction is that when any objects (including wood) rub against each other, they heat up. In this case, wood acts as the rubbing surface. Heated by friction, it is able to reach a temperature sufficient to form smoldering tinder, which is often dust from the same wood.

Theoretically, this method is simple, but in practice it requires enormous effort to implement and certain skills.

There are several known ways to produce fire by friction, but not all of them are applicable in real conditions, taking into account the characteristics of the temperate latitudes of the northern hemisphere (corresponding wood and its humidity).

Basic options for making fire by friction

Most often, to produce fire by friction, the following methods are used:

Fire plow. Here, smoldering tinder is created by rubbing a peg against a groove cut into a piece of wood.
Hand drill. In this case, smoldering coals appear as a result of drilling a wooden plank prepared in a special way.
Fire bow. Here everything is the same as in the case of a hand drill, only the drill is driven by the reciprocating movements of the beam.
Fire bamboo. In this case, pre-prepared kindling begins to smolder, sandwiched in half of the bamboo trunk, which is used to “saw” the other half.

All methods of starting a fire by friction have their own specifics and are quite difficult to implement. To confidently make a fire with their help, preliminary training is required.

Fire plow

This is one of the most difficult methods of making fire by friction. However, in the absence of a rope, which is needed, for example, for a fire bow, it becomes acceptable for starting a fire even in the steppe and forest-steppe.

The essence of the method is that when a sharp stick rubs against a groove in a log, the walls of the log heat up, hot dust is scraped off from them, which will then swell.

Dry (but not rotten) soft hardwood wood is suitable for the fire plow. Coniferous wood should not be used for making fire by friction due to the presence of resin in them, which can prevent the appearance of smoldering tinder. However, if there are no deciduous trees nearby, you can try, for example, using pine sticks.

Some people believe that bark can be used as a base to start a fire by friction. But this is not true: fire cannot be produced this way. If you use bark, then birch bark, and then only as kindling.

In order to make fire with a fire plow, you need to follow the following algorithm:

A plank is made, or a flat platform up to half a meter long is made on a horizontally lying trunk.
A shallow groove is cut into the board for almost the entire length of the board.
A peg up to 30 cm long is planed from the same wood, which is sharpened on one side.
The sharp side of the peg is lowered into the groove.
The peg is pressed into the bottom of the groove and thus driven along its entire length in one direction and the other.
Kindling is placed on the smoldering coals formed as a result of friction, or the coals are carefully poured into the kindling rolled up in a nest, and then fanned until a fire appears.

Our distant ancestors made fire in exactly this way - by rubbing one piece of dry wood against another using the fire plow technology.

If you make the peg longer (a little more than two meters), the fire plow can be used by two people, which greatly simplifies the work of the person making the fire. In this case, the person sitting by the piece of wood directs and presses the peg to the groove, and the person standing presses and moves it in one direction or the other. The video shows how this is organized:

Hand drill

This method of producing fire by friction is used mainly in the tropical and equatorial zones, where suitable wood is available.

Algorithm of actions:

A piece of a small branch is cleared of bark and split lengthwise into two parts.
In one half of the side, a “V”-shaped slot is cut, in the narrowest part of which, on the outside of the branch, a recess is made for the future drill.
A drill is made from the same wood, which is a thin stick sharpened on one side, at least half a meter long (with a shorter one, the work will not be so convenient).
A stick with a slot cut out is placed with its flat side on the ground on pre-prepared kindling.
The sharp side of the drill rests on a recess in a stick lying on the ground.
The upper part of the drill is clamped between the palms and rotates with pressure in a motion reminiscent of rubbing the palms during frost. When the palms slide down without lifting the drill from the lower stick, they must be returned to their original place and continued rotation.
The smoldering coals formed as a result of friction inside the crack are carefully dumped onto the kindling and fanned until a fire appears.

This method of making fire by friction was used by ancient people living in hot countries. In modern conditions, it can be simplified by using potassium permanganate, which ignites faster than a rod.

If a tourist has potassium permanganate in his first aid kit, starting a fire will not be a problem. You need to pour a little of this powder into a hole made in a log, press it with the end of a small stick, first covering it with tinder, and make several rotational movements. The friction will cause the tinder to flash and ignite.

An example of such a fire in the taiga in winter is shown in the video:

In our latitudes, it is somewhat difficult to make a fire with a hand drill: it will take a lot of time, effort, and wounds may form on your hands, which can become infected. Therefore, this method is not widely used, unlike the following method.

The video shows how to make a fire in this way in Kenya:

Fire bow and its variation

This method of starting a fire by friction became known as the Indian fiddle, although it has long been used not only in America, but also on other continents.

In essence, this method is the same as a hand drill, only in this case the rotation is carried out not by the palms, but by the bow string, which provides greater speed and, accordingly, higher temperatures. Therefore, it is sometimes called a bow drill.

Externally, the device for making such a fire looks like a bow, the string of which is wrapped around a stick.

The wood used is the same as for the fire plow, that is, dry wood from soft hardwoods, such as alder or aspen. Trees lying on the ground are not suitable for these purposes, as they are likely to be wet or rotten and rotten.

This method also requires a rope, which is often used as laces removed from one shoe. The main requirement for a rope is that it must be strong (hiking ropes are very good for this).

To make fire with your own hands using a fire bow, do the following:

The sushina is being cut down.
A plank is made, or, as in the previous case, the branch is split halfway along the fibers.
By analogy with the previous method, a “V”-shaped slot and a recess are made at its narrowed end.
A drill about 30 cm long, sharpened on both sides, is planed from a separate piece of wood.

The onion is being made. To do this, you can take a curved, fairly rigid stick up to a meter long and tie a rope to both sides. An elastic branch will also work for this purpose, but it will be more difficult to achieve tension in the rope as the bow moves forward, which can cause the rope to slip along the drill.
Take the second part of the split stick and dig out a small hole in the center of it on the inside. The top of the drill will be inserted into this hole.
The string is wrapped around the drill once, the drill is inserted at one end into the bottom board and pressed with the second board from above. Both pointed ends of the drill should fit into the corresponding holes. It turns out to be a bow drill.
The person stands on his right knee and presses the bottom plank with his left foot to prevent it from moving. The bow is in his right hand, and with his left hand he holds the top plate with which he presses the drill.
The bow is set in a reciprocating motion, as when drilling, this causes the drill to rotate in the support. As the “V”-shaped gap is filled with tinder, the speed of movement of the bow must be gradually increased, bringing the temperature at the point of contact of the drill with the support board to the maximum.
The smoldering tinder formed as a result of overcoming the frictional force is removed along with the kindling and inflated until a fire appears. The tinder should be in the form of small black needles: only in this case can you hope for a good result.

I once observed the following picture: a young man attached a wooden drill to a drill and drilled into the center of a wooden board - there was a lot of smoke, but it was not possible to start a fire. A similar situation can be seen in some books illustrating images with a similar scheme. It is not difficult to guess that such a method is doomed to failure, because there is no place for tinder to accumulate, which, among other things, simply scatters to the sides.

This method of making fire, like those described above, is based on the physical phenomenon of increasing internal energy by doing work to overcome friction forces.
In our latitudes it is the most preferable, but it still remains one of the most complex and energy-consuming (mainly due to the high complexity of making a bow) and requires preliminary development.

There is also a “relative” of the fire bow, called a pump drill, but this device is quite difficult to manufacture in survival conditions and therefore will not be considered in this article. The video shows this option:

Fire bamboo

This method of making fire with your own hands, for obvious reasons, is used only in regions where bamboo grows. Only dried stems of this plant are suitable for it.

Fire is produced as follows:

A dry meter-long bamboo trunk is split into two parts.
One part (hereinafter referred to as the first part) is shortened to half a meter and a small through hole is made in the middle with a knife.
On the outside, a transverse groove is made directly along the hole.
From the second piece (hereinafter referred to as the second part) of the split bamboo trunk, a wide sliver about 40 cm long is cut and broken in the middle.
The side of the second part of the trunk is made smooth and its edge is sharpened with a knife - a kind of bamboo blade is obtained.
From the second part of the trunk, shavings in the form of thin twisted ribbons are scraped off with a knife. To do this, the knife blade is held at a right angle to the barrel and positioned across it.
The chips are rolled into a tight ball, divided into two equal parts and placed inside the first part of the trunk directly above the hole (the hole is between them), after which they are pressed on top with a broken sliver.
The second part of the trunk rests against the stomach with one end, and against the ground with the other. The weight of the body presses it to the ground so as to prevent displacement during operation.
The first part of the trunk with kindling and wood chips is taken with both hands by the opposite ends and leans with a groove against the flat side surface (“blade”) of the second part.
The reciprocating motion due to friction provides sufficient heat to cause smoldering in the kindling pressed against the wood chips.
The smoldering kindling is transferred to dry grass and fanned until a fire appears.

I have seen another execution of this method of starting a fire by friction. In it, half a bamboo trunk with kindling lay on the ground (kindling down), and the other half was sawed. But this method, in my opinion, is less universal, since it requires at least two people (one to hold the lower part, the second for sawing movements), the soil must be dry so as not to wet the kindling, and your hands can be damaged by lying on ground stones or thorns.

Like other methods of making fire by friction, this one requires preliminary training. Without such training, a person who finds himself in an emergency situation risks spending a lot of time and effort, while being left without fire.

As for me, in our latitudes the most acceptable option for starting a fire in survival conditions was and remains the fire bow method. Although it requires a strong rope, it allows you to spend less force than other methods, which in an emergency there is always somewhere to use.

Interesting video: bow drill in action

Fire plow in Polynesian style:

There are many interesting ways to light a fire in completely different conditions. But it is not so easy for an unprepared person to get a flame. The combination of knowledge and practice creates valuable experience that can only be gained in the field. Some of the proposed options require willpower and time. And all of them are a consequence of human ingenuity to create usefulness out of nothing.

How to make fire by rolling cotton wool

You will need raw (mattress) cotton wool.
A flat plane on which the rolling out process will take place.
Working board for rolling out cotton wool, without knots.
Prepared kindling for a future fire (small wood chips, firewood of various sizes, dry vegetation).
A very dense and neat rope is twisted from a piece of cotton wool measuring approximately 5 cm by 20 cm. Its width is 5 cm, and when it is rolled out it will be even more. To prevent the cotton wool from unfolding, the viscosity of saliva and rolling between the palms and the board in one direction are used.
The next step is to reinforce it with a new layer of wool of the same size. Regarding the same layer, the same actions are carried out, only the finished bundle is placed in a new layer and rolled up again.
After preparing a two-layer rope, you can begin the process of rolling it between two planes.
Active skiing produces smoke, which should be used to light a fire.

How to make fire by rolling cotton wool with coal

Unrefined cotton wool, coal dust, two planes. One board is static, the other is in motion. A roller rolls between the boards. Fire kindling.
A narrow and long (5 cm by 20 cm) cotton strip is taken, and coal dust is placed along the length in a thin, uniform layer.
The roller is rolled between the palms and the board, secured with the viscosity of saliva.
The harness heats up as it rolls between the boards. Smoldering occurs, which needs to be fanned out and then used for its intended purpose.

How to make fire using dry plant fiber

An armful of dry plants with an elongated, integral stem is collected.
Each stem is processed separately. Thin fibers are separated from thicker, non-processable material. The collected pile is loosened by friction between the hands.
After the pile becomes pliable, it is collected into one bundle. Rolls between palms and boards. The connecting link of the fibers can be saliva, chalk, or coal.
The same ground fibers are prepared. The first tourniquet is rolled into the new plant layer and tied with saliva.
When rolling between boards, all moisture disappears. The ember that appears is fanned and used to further ignite the fire.

How to make fire using ice

You need a polished piece of clean ice without impurities. To do this, a large piece of ice is cut out with an ax or knife.
The excess is scraped off with a knife and sanded with a glove and hand.
Dry tinder for ignition is first collected and laid out on the ground.
Using the sun and polished ice, which acts as a regular magnifying glass, we direct the sun's rays onto the tinder.
We wait until smoke appears, fan it, and put larger wood chips on the fire.
If it’s frosty outside and there’s no way to cut out a large piece of ice for an improvised magnifying glass, a shallow container will come in handy. Water is poured in and time is given for complete hardening. The ice is polished with the palm of your hand, the magnifying glass is ready for use.

How to make fire with water

Using ordinary water and a convex transparent container, you can try to start a fire.
An example of producing a flame using a convex bottle of clean water. You will need some tinder prepared in advance for easy ignition. The bottle is fixed in one position under the rays of the sun, and dry flammable material. After some time, smoke should appear at one point, which will need to be inflated if necessary.
The same method of making fire works with the help of a light bulb, from which the base is carefully unscrewed.

If suddenly there are no matches in the garage, a grinder, a piece of metal, cotton wool or paper will come to the rescue. With the help of sparks produced by a grinder when cutting metal, you can easily start a fire. But most often, the skill of making fire is required in conditions of autonomous survival, that is, on a hike, when the matches are damp and you need heat to dry them. Or at tourist gatherings, when the team is given the task of lighting a fire for a while.

The problem of lighting a fire in camping conditions arises in the absence of traditional fire sources. For many novice tourists this is a problem. In such a situation, it is important not to despair and act using available means. In practice, there are several effective ways that will help you get a fire and light a fire in camping conditions, without matches or a lighter.

Classic friction method

The temperature on the surface of the wood increases due to friction. For this, it is recommended to use soft species: willow, pine, cedar. A wooden rod is made from any branch. Its thickness is arbitrary, the main requirement is strength.

Tinder (dry grass, moss, small sawdust) is located near the ignition zone, but not on it. This is necessary for air flow. The base is a wooden plank, a piece of bark, but with full wood. It is installed on a small hole so that traction is created under the friction zone.

Plow. A groove is made on the surface of the board, and the rod slides along it. It is recommended to make a small hole at the bottom of the latter.
Saw. A notch is made at the end of the board, which is fixed on the surface of the earth. The other performs forward movements until smoke appears.
Drill. The traditional way is to transmit rotational movement with the palms. The best way is to make a small “bow” from a flexible rod and rope. He rolls around the rod, moving it, the friction process becomes more intense.

The disadvantages of these methods are that it takes a long time for smoldering to appear on the surface of the wood. It is recommended to use only as a last resort if other methods are not available.

An alternative is to use steel wire. Improvised handles are attached to its ends, creating an analogue of a handsaw. A log of small diameter is selected and with progressive movements the wire seems to saw it. The metal surface heats up, which causes the tinder to ignite.

Flint is the optimal way to make fire

An alternative to traditional flame sources is a flint. It is made from magnesium or ferrocerium. A spark is formed upon contact with a steel rod or its equivalent. Advantages - the system works even when completely wet, takes up little space, and is often included in camping equipment.

Features of a tourist flint as a tool for making fire:

They are small in size and can get lost. The best option is to store it in a first aid kit.
Short smoldering time for flint particles. This places increased demands on the tinder - it must be perfectly dry, not dense.
Some models have a small container for storing dry tinder. This is convenient if it has rained in the forest and finding dry fuel is problematic.

Using batteries and foil

Basic knowledge of physics will allow you to light a fire if you have a charged AA battery and foil paper. The latter can be taken from the packaging of chewing gum and cigarettes. The essence of the method is to increase the electrical resistance in a section of foil, which causes heating and further combustion of the paper base.

Procedure:

Clean the surface of the battery down to the adhesive layer.
Cut a strip of foil, the width along the contact areas of the power source.
Cut the strip in the middle, forming a thin part.
Apply one part of the foil to the adhesive layer until it is fixed.
Prepare tinder that fits loosely against the thin “isthmus.”
Apply the second constant to the other pole of the battery.

The smoldering of the tinder must be maintained - not blowing on it intensely, but ensuring normal draft.

Solar energy

In clear sunny weather, you can use a natural source of heat - the sun. In this case, the ambient temperature will not matter. The essence of the method is to focus the sun's rays at one point to heat the fuel.

You can use tinder or a thin roll of cotton wool as fuel. It is recommended to treat the end of the latter with soot to reduce reflectivity. Methods of making fire using solar energy:

Magnifier. The best option, as it focuses the rays well at one point. Disadvantage - a rare item in field conditions.
Polished steel spoon. Its “bowl” needs to be leveled so that a concave lens is formed. An alternative is the bottom of a tin can. It initially has the desired shape.
Ice. It should be as transparent as possible. A lens is made from a small piece, the shape of which is similar to glass. Disadvantage: it takes a lot of time to make and is not available in the summer.

In critical situations in the absence of traditional flame sources, there is no need to panic. In your camping kit or environment, there will always be items with which you can make fire.

The video clearly explains how to make fire in a damp forest: