DIY Fire Starter’s

[iptman]

Others have mentioned these but figured I'd provide a pic for the visual. I use plain old paraffin wax and whatever paper egg cartons I can collect. I've been making them since I was a kid. These 2 1/2 dozen cartons are the best for stacking. I rip 2 pieces off per fire along with a handful of dried pine straw. This combo never fails.

 

[Hermio]

wow seriously dud ??

Yes. Punctuation changes meaning. As an example, "No thanks" means you are not being thanked, whereas "No, thanks" means "no, but I thank you anyway."

 

[HAR]

When at deer camp, the kids go out and collect all the pine or spruce cones that they can, and stuff them into boxes/bags and we store those next to the wood pile. Come fire lighting time, grab a couple cones, lay the fire and it takes off in a heart beat. Birch bark works as well, but pulling birch bark from trees frowned upon here, unless it is found laying on the ground.

When at the maple sugar house, we use BCP's method .... a propane torch....it will get some of the most stubborn wood scraps to burn.

 

[Bison]

Some pieces of small wood and dry bark( left over from the splitting process) and a squirt of diesel lights my fires every single time and has done so for the 40 years i have my wood stove

 

[Kerfguy]

My go-to starters are free and very effective. I stop at the produce department of my local grocery store and pick up a wax saturated cardboard box. I cut the box into squares/rectangles. The cardboard cuts super easy because of the wax. When I’m ready to use, I pick a corner and separate a layer so it’s easy to light. Btw so far as I know the boxes are not recyclable.

 

[jjeff]

More than a few times I've witnessed suburbia type camping couples and families try multiple times and fail at starting camp fires at campgrounds. All I've told them are start with very small sticks and slowly work your way up with increasingly larger pieces it's always worked for me when I don't have my homemade fire starter pop boxes.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Yes. Punctuation changes meaning. As an example, "No thanks" means you are not being thanked, whereas "No, thanks" means "no, but I thank you anyway."

Nah you are over thinking it, it means what it is written ... No thanks. Short for, No but thanks or no thankyou

I understand asking clarification if you didn't understand something because of the way it is written. It is something else to correct the grammar when you understood what the person meant, that will get old pretty quick, so you can stop. If you do so regularly you will simply end up being ignored left and right. I always had difficulties with French grammar growing up (it is my fist language) and guess what, I still do. I am not going to turn that around at my age and spend the effort understanding the complexity of the French language I am a lost cause. I learned English later in life (self-thought) and I am still learning, I know my grammar and punctuation could be a lot better, but it is easier in English, there is odd rules that I never learn and I have hard time getting my head around but the last thing I want is getting corrected every time a write a comment I am not here to get grammars and punctuations lesson. My goal is understanding and being understood and help folks along the way like the majority of folks here. You can correct peoples all you want but trust me it not going to help you or anyone by doing so.

 

[mike0000]

Here’s a few things I use to start my fires.
I save all scrap wood from woodworking projects throughout the year. Junk mail, Amazon boxes, dryer lint, toilet paper rolls Egg cartons, etc. I keep a bin handy that we collect most our daily trash that is suitable for fire starting.
One of my best fireside tools is a very old set of bellows. I recommend getting a set for anyone that heats with firewood. They are great for getting coals fired back up. I use them almost every morning to get the ”new” fire going.
Mike

 

[MTGreen]

Been using a woodstove for ~40 years, 2 - 5 cords depending on how ambitious I am with putting up wood the previous year and how consistent I am starting morning fires ... While I used newspaper crumpled into tight balls along with some kindling in the early years, the last 10 - 15 years I've been using firestarter sticks (e.g. Duraflame), most of which are "Made with wax and a blend of recycled and renewable biomass fibers." However, to get the most bang for my buck, I use a cleaver to lop off a piece and then I cut that in half. For kindling, normally I use the hardwood pieces that fall to the ground during the process of splitting logs and that I store in a trash can. The kindling you see in the photo is the result of recently cleaning up my workshop and finally letting go of scrap pine boards that I was certain I'd someday use for small projects but never did.

And if your luck is like mine you're going to have a use for those boards tomorrow

 

[MacRanch]

We were wondering, what are some of the ways that you guys are making your own fire starter’s. I tried small dried fir cones dipped in wax not good. Now using shredded paper stuffed into an ice tray with melted wax works good! Any other ideas? Thanks in advance for any ideas.

I lose power nearly every time it snows so after years of research, trial and error, I found that cotton balls covered in Vaseline works great.
Soften the Vaseline and dip the cotton balls in it.
It solidifies again soon after. It only takes one to get the fire going.
I keep a jar of them in my emergency (SHTF)closet along with wooden matches with the tips dipped in melted wax (waterproofed).
I hope this helps.