Some thoughts on flint and steel firecraft

A fire. 

After shelter, it is one of the most essential human comforts. Warmth is crucial for survival, but there is more to it.  Maybe the fact that we love to mindlessly scroll on Tok or elsewhere could be traced back to a primeval yearning- to stare into a fire, without a thought or a worry at all, warm and safe.  I cannot know.  That those platforms rot one's brain and hack your mind is a neurological and psychological commonplace, and it is also a commonplace that this is intentional. 

A fire, however, is proven to have a rather wholesome effect on the human mind. 

Now do not get me wrong.  In my EDC, there are matches, a lighter, a ferro rod and a tinderbox.  And flint and steel, although I am getting better at it, would be pretty much my last resort in a emergency situation.  

But just as a fire is more than just a survival necessity, starting a fire always had sort of a ritual character for me. And of course, you should know how to have the capability to start a fire at the tip of your fingers, with as many different methods and techniques as possible. But that is not all there is.  Starting a fire with flint and steel has a certain beauty to it that is hard to fathom.  

To me, it is a form of reconnecting. That is a pretty big word, but I do not apologize.  

For flint and steel success, you need to know where to find means to catch a spark.  You need to know how to (sustainably) harvest tinder conk and process Amadou and/or make charcloth. You need to not only know where the mushroom grows, you need to know the local ecosystem, you need to know how to process the material.  In order to do that, you need to know why it works. If you know why that might work, you are also capable of learning about the medicinal properties of the mushroom. You will also realize that the mechanical properties of the Amadou lend themselves for the material to be used for a leather substitute. And first and foremostly, you learn how to respect and value your resources, for they are rare and precious. 

Then you light a fire with it.  It is not exactly easy, and there certainly was a learning curve involved for me, and still is. I want to be honest to you: I am not always sure whether or not I will succeed.  I do succeed most of the time, and I still do practice a lot.  It is good fun, even though there is still a certain element of doubt involved. 

Getting a fire going that way feels empowering. 

 Please keep in mind that I am a certified fire brigade assistant and that I have permission by the local authorities.  Because a rather essential part of firecraft that few people show you in those cool 15 second Videos on the interwebs, is how to watch a fire, control it, and put it out, and when not to start a fire at all.  How to be able not to set the whole forest on fire. 

And here is the culprit. I guess some of you got a bit infuriated because of what I said, but it actually wasn't meant as an offence. Quite the opposite. 

Most people cannot know. Because we are not just disconnected, we are being actively separated from nature.  Our primeval yearnings are abused in order to profit. And do not get me wrong, I am not a stranger to mindless scrolling myself. 

Lighting a fire with flint and steel, with a fire drill or other friction fire techniques, is not exactly efficient. If you are in a survival situation, and you got other means of lighting a fire, use them.  But it is great to have a Plan B, C and D. And the most important thing is that it is a really valueable means of reconnection- and empowerment. 

Because there is a war going on, not only on culture, but on humanistic values, and the human species per se.  A war for profit. Don't fall for the fearmongering, though.  Just switch off your phone from time to time and maybe get a campfire going, brew yourself a cuppa trailcoffee or tea and breathe a bit deeper.  Take care of your fire, of course, but I trust you do anyway. 

Never forget: To date we still do have a choice to choose a more wholesome activity over mindless brain rotting.  

All the best to you all! 

More traditional firecraft

 Well, a lot of people do keep telling me that there is no point in making fire the traditional way. You can just buy a BIC lighter, right? Fact is, I always carry one, together with a tin of matches and a ferro rod. I am not naive. It is not necessarily a "survival" technique, because, well, you know my stance on "survival" as it is marketed up and down in the media. 

It is a kind of alternative lifestyle these folks cannot understand.  

Thing is, I found a file on the road ages ago, while riding my bike to work. Lit up the forge and forged a striker from it, really fast and a bit sloppy.  

Applied for permission to try out sustainable methods of harvesting tinder conk, got that permission, made a fire brigade assistant permit, experimented with different historical recipes and finally succeeded with making fire. 

I had a beloved T-shirt I wore to rags, until you simply could no longer wear it  (not the cloth in the tin, by the way, this is some denim cloth I found by the roadside), made my first charcloth from it and started my first flint and steel fire.  

I do not need to tell you how to make charcloth, actually, because most of you guys know, but for those that don't, simply take a tin with a more or less tight- fitting lid. You can use the awl on your Swiss Army knife or even a pointy hardwood stick to punch a hole into the lid. Loosely put pure denim, linen or silk rags inside. Take care not to burn it completely. If it is not charred through, no harm done. I always carry the tin with me and you can make charcloth every time you make a fire.  

Like that, see? 

The point is, it is not about a survival situation or efficient super-light camping.  If you want utmost efficiency, sleep in a house, it saves you a lot of inconveniences. 

But it is about showing that sustainability can be fun. Knowledge can be fun. Our society wants you to be afraid, sick and helpless. Making stuff can be really empowering. 

All that stuff was junk. I found it in a place where it would keep polluting the natural world.  I took it and made something from it.  I am not the best smith there is, nor the best at traditional firecraft, and all this doesn't entitle me to anything. But it was junk, and now it is not, it is no longer.  That simple.  

Thing is, we need to heal. We need to remember what was taken from us. Not now, yesterday. Because our society is rampaging headlong off a cliff. That is not to say we should live like mountain people of the 18th century. On the other hand, there is some overwhelming scientific evidence that something along the lines is what we need to do in the future if we want to ensure that complex biological life on the Planet will be possible in the future.  Starting a fire with flint and steel or by friction will not necessarily be the big thing to save us all. It actually looks a bit counterintuitive, and I know it. It is not about the fire, not about the flint and steel, but it is about a certain line of thought that enables you to see resources and creatively solve problems. 

Also, as I said, it is fun, or rather, there is a deep satisfaction in indulging in the process. It can be a ritual. To me, it is a soothing thing to silently prepare the means to start the fire. You understand why our forebears saw fire as something sacred.  

You need to get to know fire.  Sounds esoteric, but actually it is a commonplace. If you don't, you might eventually set the woods on fire.  It can cook your meals, it can warm you when you are cold, it is one of the best entertainments I know of, but it can also burn so hot that you can burn steel, it can hurt and consume and destroy. Never start a fire you cannot control. Always keep some quenching agent handy and please do not start a fire in summer when everything is bone-dry.  I recommend you taking lessons at the local fire brigade authorities. 

Other than that, I hope you enjoy your campfire. Take care, and all the best! 

First flint and steel fire starting success

Today I have reached another milestone in my learning. Just started my first fire with flint and steel. 

 The striker I forged myself ages ago from junk file steel,  and of course I processed the Amadou myself. 

I also used treated Cattail seeds as a fire starting agent. Which worked really awesome. 

Now,  some of the more survival minded folks might say "why bother,  if I can carry a flint and steel set,  I can just as well use a BIC lighter", and yes,  you are right,  but you maybe miss my point here. 

In fact,  it actually is more of a bit of psychological self-care and historical fascination that drives me. It is not as much about the thing or the fact you just started a fire with a piece of steel- it is about knowledge. Of having forged the striker from junk people discarded,  of having processed the tinder,  of understanding the chemistry and the principles,  and the almost alchemical context involved. 

You can lose your lighter,  your matches,  your ferro rod,  but you most argueably will not lose your knowledge. The more you understand the principles,  the more likely you are to not only survive. Survival is not enough. It cannot be a way of life. You cannot exist in Code Black all the time. 

I  do always look for ressources, personally. Everything can be used,  you just need to know how. It is really fun to learn new things. 

Our culture is of course really advanced scientifically,  and that is a good thing. But sometimes I get the impression that we did not grow to that point. We did not keep up with our own pace. So we jumped to that point,  taking a lot of shortcuts. We are just now paying the price for that. 

Processing tinder,  making birch pitch, firecraft, preserving and processing food,  distilling and baking and cooking are the roots of medicine and chemistry. And alchemy. Do not get me wrong,  alchemists maybe were the ones that invented scam. Éa-Nasír is famous for his fake copper ingots until today. 

But what we forget is that it was Maria of Egypt who invented the pressure cooker and the Bain Marie,  and her recipe for the lapis philosophorum and the homunculus most argueably involved making Adamantoplasts and Osteoplasts. 

Well,  that is stuff for a different post. But it also explains why I bother to try as I might to learn stuff like starting a fire with flint and steel. Why you can strike sparks with a file and a stone is fascinating in its own right. Why the Amadou works also explains part of its medicinal properties. 

And this is a really great example for the fact that a lot of things are interconnected. It is a bit like that phrase "by word to word I was led,  work led me to work." . Actually,  that is a scientific principle,  one of very many,  but also sort of a spiritual practice. 

This is what drives me. Sometimes I think it drives me mad,  but I could not possibly live another man's life. Tried that for decades. Was shit. 😉

So,  I had a lot of fun learning it. It was of course also humbling to get there, and really testing for my patience and resilience, and it is but a first step.  But I also learned a lot about learning,  and about patience and resilience and trying not to be a dickhead. 😉

Which is something,  too. 

Anyway,  now I am in for more practice to make the learning sustainable. Which I am really looking forward to.