Jumper Cable + Pencil = Fire

Start by shaving down an area on each end of the pencil to expose the lead. Then clamp on the positive and negative jumper cable clamps, one on each shaved area. Be sure the clamps are touching the pencil lead. Place the clamps and pencil on top of your tinder bundle, clamp the other ends of the cables to the car as you normally would, and turn on the engine. The electricity from the cables will turn the lead into a red-hot ember and the wooden pencil will erupt into flame in about 2 minutes’ time. Use the flame to ignite your tinder bundle.

9-Volt Razor Hack

As mentioned above, batteries can be used in all kinds of different ways to make fire. Another way is using the very thin blades from a disposable razor to short-circuit a 9-volt battery. A tiny spark will fly when a blade touching the positive terminal is crossed with a blade touching the negative terminal. The correct tinder at this intersection, such as char cloth or thin shreds of tinder fungus, can be ignited with little effort.

You can use nearly any metal or wire to short-circuit a low-voltage battery, but it must be extremely thin in order to deliver positive results. Also keep in mind that repeated attempts can drain the charge from your battery source.

Mylar Emergency Survival Blanket Lens

First, trim out the interior of the plastic lid so that it is just the rim that snaps onto the container. This circular rim will tightly hold a piece of Mylar placed over the top. Pierce a hole in the side of the container and insert a hollow tube or ink pen. This allows you to suck the sealed Mylar into a convex parabolic shape that can create a solar ember in direct sunlight on suitable tinders such as punky wood, agave pith, deer poo, char cloth, and tinder fungus (chaga).

 

The Fire Pick
Start by carving a small divot in a piece of wood or stick about half an inch in from the end. Then, split the stick on that end, all the way into the divot. Next, using your knife, fill the divot with shavings from the guitar pick, which you make by scraping your knife at a 90-degree angle against the pick. Finally, slide the pick into the split until the edge of it is buried in the shaving-filled divot. Now you can ignite the small shavings using a spark from a flint rock or ferro rod (a manmade, flint-like metal), and they will in turn ignite the pick. Voilà — fire with a guitar pick!

Gum Wrapper Fire

Start by trimming the wrapper to an hourglass shape. Simultaneously touch the positive and negative terminals of the battery with the foil side of the wrapper. The electrical current will converge on the thinnest part of the hourglass shape and ignite the wrapper to flame. If the battery is too weak to bring the wrapper to flame, consider adding a second battery for more electrical current. Be sure to have a good tinder bundle ready because you’ll only have about 3 seconds of flame!

What do you think of these tips? Do you have any strategies for surviving out in the wild? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below!

Article Source: Art of Manliness