Firestarters on the cheap

[ElderPromethean]

Critter, I think cassidy is underestimating the usefulness of tongs. Talk about using the wrong tool. Seriously though i'm joking, please god in heaven i dont wanna wake up to you smothering me to death one night.

[purplemutantas]

I recently made some tinders out of cotton balls soaked in Murry's beeswax pomade. The pomade is just beeswax and petroleum jelly. The balls light up fine with a spark from a ferro rod. They burn really well. I was thinking of trying the pomade with cotton pads.

[nehathocloe]

Just tried this tonight. Like a couple of the other comments, I couldn't get it to light with a ferro rod, but it lit right up with a match and burned for almost six minutes. Gonna try putting something in the wax to maybe make it more flammable, and easlier to light with a ferro rod.

[jimgam730]

good vid. but, i'd like to know why youtube made it age-restricted? i saw or heard anything that would make it that way.

btw, you said they could be lit with a ferro rod, but didn't see you doing that. could you post another vid showing them being lit with one?

[houseoffire72]

Tried some cotton balls half dipped in wax, worked great:) burn time about 10 min. looks like your method will be easier for storage. Thanks for the video Im going to try it. Keep posting vids God Bless:)

[Set2Survive]

I have a request. You and Rob put your heads together and see what kind of gear you could put together from his site that would cover all of your long term survival bases, but the stipulation is... Do it for under $100 bucks, nothing that a beginner cant use efficiently and it has to be lightweight and easily transportable. I just want to see if you can do it, because I've had people ask where to get gear and I point them to his site but they dont have tons of cash they can part with.

[mem7048]

"Primitive thumb drill!" LMAO!! Cool idea, I am gonna try it with a beeswax/paraffin mixture.

[homeagent]

they look delicious ;]

[tekknorat]

@homeagent was exactly my thought. I'd hold them for potato chips and eat them :D

[watchthisonemore]

I just tried a pre-lubed patch from a muzzle loader and it fired right up...not sure of the burn time.

[pbucc72]

those are good to use to make chard cloth/cotton

[JimboJitsu]

cool  vid

[mightywombat]

I wonder if you could add some naphtha to the beeswax in order to make them somewhat more flammable. I'm tempted to try that. You might actually get something very close to a Mini Inferno pad.

[50L1DF0X]

I tried this today and made 15 of them for a start to see how they work. So far I haven't been able to create a flame with a flint/steel but good ol' Bic's and matches seem to work fine. Flame burned very well for what adds up to six cents a firestarter and about five minutes of burn time on average with each one.

[mcritel1]

Does the wax melt in the summer time? I know I have carried candles before and they have melted in my pack in the summer time. Just wondering if there was enough wax to get on stuff.

[4BearWarrior]

Good video. Going to try this.

[OldManGlitch]

Steve, aren't you giving a friends product a run for its money here? This is very similar to a product Dave sells on his site.

[woodcrafter76]

@OldManGlitch I don't think so. Mini-infernos are easier to light with a ferro rod and more compact. I use these for everyday fires, and carry the mini inferno in my emergency kit. - Steve

[Diasis]

@OldManGlitch That may be true, but some of the international fans of Dave can't quite justify the $30-40 shipping - so a cheap alternative in between larger purchases is a good plan.

[spr00sem00se]

if you mix a bit of oil with the wax you get a real winner, i discovered it whilst trying to wax-oil a piece of cotton as a waterproofing test,



[kwilham]

I've done that and played with it some and add some beeswax and then broke a corner flat back on its self laying on a rock and got a 11min. burn time .

[pipeheadOR]

Sweet. I use left over wax from our tealights and homemade wicks from my wife. I put a couple cotton balls in the left over tealight tin with a short piece of wick in the middle. Drizzle the melted wax over the cotton and it will burn for 30 min. Good use of crap we'd throw away. Thanks for the vid Critter

[formatC2]

I made a video about those firestarters almost 5 months ago and I don't even have 300 views, you post it on the 2nd and the 3rd you have almost 600 views....

I guess your channel is more popular than mine :p

[SouthernBushcraft]

ahh the good old thumb-drill fire.. haha

[gwsears]

Very good idea Steve! I've used these cotton pads with vaseline but it never dawned on me to try waxing them. Obviously a lot less mess to make & use and due to the flatness of the pads you could store quite a few in a tin or tube more compactly than waxed round cotton balls.

Thanks for sharing.

Happy Trails...

Larry

[jeffreyrenglish]

Definitely good idea! Got to go pick that stuff so I can make some!

[sniperbait1]

Now I gotta go out and make some thanks alot :)

[photopuppet]

Why is this video age restricted ?? Good though thanks, going to try making some of these. :)

[myrdulf]

I've done the same kind of thing with dryer lint & wax.

[markshmily]

Great video Steve... I wish you'd make more vids.. they're pretty cool brother.

Great tip!

[SurviveN2]

Good info to know, thanks for sharing. Take Care :-))

[TheRATPT01]

Yellow mini inferno....

[snappydog357]

would you consider these a wet fire??

[snappydog357]

I swear those look like fried taters.

[CaptainFur]

Thank you, great tip!

[Uriel1816]

Good tip, thanks.

[MBlackford100]

Very cool Steve! I see you have mastered the primitive thumb drill... Any storage / carry suggestions for those fire starters?

[2kargarage1]

Where's ROB?

[teamhunley]

Great idea

[CdnLifeguard71]

Nice one Steve. I've already got the rounds, will have to pick up some wax. The vaseline does get a bit messy at times

Nate

[MrColoradosurvival]

you can use regular cotton balls and put them un a altoids can with more wax and it re-soaks the cotton ball when you put it out and it works just like a candle

[karenchakey]

Very Cool! nice to see you back again. These will be easy for me to make!

[kphifer1]

I may have missed it, but can those be lit with anything besides a flame?

[johncajunmanbrown]

Debit=esbit

[johncajunmanbrown]

I often use a cotton ball and Vaseline Plus twigs in my debit Pocket stove. Will these waxy things leave wax on my stove?

[bayoumetal]

great idea,,will a farrow rod work on them??



[WORRO01]

Thats a great idea. Thanks for this info. Thumbs up.

[StatenIslandPrepper]

great, great, Idea thanks for sharing Brother,,,!!!!!!!!!!

[TheOutdoorsmanJoe]

they are pretty good I have put them under water totest them and then lite them up

[WorldStove]

great idea.. and nice space saver too. real nice you do this with your kid

[mooseyou2]

Steve do you have a youtube channel?

if not you should

i like watching your videos (good info) on other peoples channels

[Iam1uglyguy]

Cool, thanks...you in Ohio too?

[timochio1953]

Hey brother ..great idea...what do you do,just scrape down a candle?

Or where do you buy the wax.

[woodcrafter76]

@timochio1953 You can buy parafin anywhere they sell canning supplies, or just melt a candle.

[bigjohn20081983]

@timochio1953 Gulf Wax Paraseal Canning Wax is what i would use works great for candles i have made in the past you can buy it in most canning supply areas and it comes in a box w/ if i rember right 4 maybe 5 bars of wax in it and it runs about 3 bucks US. bees wax maybe a good option aswell if you can find some reasonable

[MrCableguyken]

THUMBDRILL....I love it!!



[nightember]

They remind me of the inferno firestarter, just cheaper. Thanks for the vid.