You must have seen in movies or animations, more than a thousand times, where stones were used to start a fire by just striking them together.You've might have even tried it one time you were on camping or just for the fun of it but to no avail. And you may wonder is it for real? Or just fiction or a myth.
Well, wonder no more, at ease!. It is for REAL but, yes there's a but. It's not as easy and straight forward as they show it to be.
In this article we'll be going through the processes and whatever That's behind the fire from stones.
First of, just about any stone won't do. But again it's not some magical or mythical stone. The stone you need should preferably be a flint or other stones of the Flint family like quartz, agate, chert, and jasper, which are high in silica content with usually glassy appearance. Though any other stone with sharp edges will do too.
Moreso, in starting the fire, the stone is only a part of the puzzle. You'll also need other materials like tinder, charred cloth and steel, at least for the fire to be feasible.
The mechanism for starting the fire is FRICTION. As you strike the stone against the steel with substantial force, the sparks produced serve as fuel for the fire.
For a flint and steel fire to be successful, you must use very fine, dry tinder. Tinder is a small bunch of kindling, to catch the sparks and start the fire.
Recommended tinder materials are any dead, dry plant material, dried tinder fungus or old, charred cotton cloth.
You can make a charred cloth yourself. Just cut a cotton cloth and put it in an airtight tin or one that has a cover. Punch a hole in the top of the cover. Put the tin in fire, till smoke stops coming out of the hole.
You can obtain charred powder by scraping the burned wood from an old campfire or forest fire, but charred cloth is a better spark-enhancing medium.
Sparks created in this manner are short lived. These materials (charred powder, charred cloth, extra-fine steel wool, or some other spark-enhancing medium) act as a vehicle to hold and spread the heat from the small steel spark.
These are usually placed into the depression of the tinder bundle.
Also high-carbon steel works best because it is soft and produces large sparks easily. Stainless steel is too hard and brittle to be effective.
Pocketknife blades and steel files are two of the most common sources for the steel.
When you see a spark fall into the tinder, immediately give a light puff of air onto the tinder bundle. If the spark has begun to ignite the tinder, a small wisp of smoke will be present, and you should see a tiny glow in the bundle. Continue to blow the tinder into flame. If the tinder does not catch, continue striking sparks.
In bright and sunny conditions, place the tinder bundle in the shade or position yourself so that you cast a shadow over the tinder. That way you can see where the sparks are falling and whether the tinder is beginning to burn.
You can also first break off a corner of the stone to make a sharp edge. The edge makes it easier for the stone to shave off tiny bits of the steel that, with the help of friction, create the needed spark.
Other methods of making fire unconventionally include hand drill and bow drill.
Thanks for reading.