Steel Wool and other Tinder

[Five Tango]

Ok,I've been building fires a long time.Mastered the bow drill a long time ago but it's pointless to think of it as anything but a parlor trick.Even made fire with a partner and a handrill once(Note pick a partner with good upper body strength and keep the drill warm for him:D). And of course the Blast Match will do a handfull of dry grass with almost zero effort.I have always had a fondness for delaminated Jute Twine but that takes some time and effort.Mulling over a recent Hypothermia thread made me want to branch out to other means like drier lint,vaseline soaked cotton balls etc. but some you tube videos on Steel Wool was an eye catcher.Apparently there is something I don't understand about steel wool.I've tried 000 and 0000 and still can't get it to burn even over exposed flame.So what is it I am missing?I have had good luck with a used Swiffer Duster and a mag block with ferrocium rod.Avoiding the white part and going for the fluffy yellow part yielded some surprising results.Once the yellow fibers begin to melt the white part will ignite and the whole bunch makes a gooey jelly like puddle that burned for quite a while.Used Swiffer Dusters are plentiful,cheap,and very light.If you experiment you might want to do it on a rock as it will leave some sticky residues.But I have struck out when it comes to steel wool.Does anyone actually use it?If so,how?

[JohnHuth]

Maybe you can post something that explains what you do with steel wool to make it tinder?

I've taught fire starting to my son's scout troop and the only way I used steel wool was to put it across the posts of a 9 Volt battery - the fibers glow enough and even flash, and then I put it on dry tinder and get the fire going. That works for sure.

[Five Tango]

Dave Canterbury makes it look simple.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18jxYaSc8QA

[Odd Man Out]

I've done it. There is no trick really. You take a 9 volt battery. Brush the electrodes against the steel wool. The electrical spark heats the iron enough make it glow. Blow on it and it burns hot and fast.

[JohnHuth]

I'll give it a shot and report back.

[Five Tango]

I've done it. There is no trick really. You take a 9 volt battery. Brush the electrodes against the steel wool. The electrical spark heats the iron enough make it glow. Blow on it and it burns hot and fast.
True,but some folks are getting it to burn with ferro rods.I pretty much struck out there and fear I might lose my pyromaniac card............................

[Cobble]

True,but some folks are getting it to burn with ferro rods.I pretty much struck out there and fear I might lose my pyromaniac card............................

Yeah...they cut three corners off of it already...

[Slo-go'en]

If your suffering from hypothermia, do you really think you want to fool around with a 9V battery and steel wool to start a fire? Or have the presence of mind or manual dexterity to do so? Just carry a Bic lighter some Frito corn chips.

[Kaptainkriz]

My favorite method! :)
The trick, if you can call it one, is to blow on it hard and keep blowing once a spark ignites the wool. 0000 works best. Make a long wool turd out of it and start at one end. :)

[Five Tango]

If your suffering from hypothermia, do you really think you want to fool around with a 9V battery and steel wool to start a fire? Or have the presence of mind or manual dexterity to do so? Just carry a Bic lighter some Frito corn chips.

Actually,my primary starter under that scenario is bic lighter and a candle and alcohol stove.Hope to never use ferro rod if the chips were down but lighters can get lost and/or fail.I pack at least two bics and a rod plus some tinder.And I keep the bics in a ziplok.

[FlyFishNut]

I spent some time last winter (killing time actually) and took dryer lint and soaked it in candle wax that one of my kids had left from a kit they never ONCE used.

These fire starters S U C K -

So, let's try a real life scenario and tell me what you would have done: my buddy and I did a trip during a record cold snap. It snowed, the temps reached -10 to -15 and the wind howled. His hands were frost nipped. I gave him hand warmers and my wool inserts, but he really wanted a fire. He packed those long compressed fire stick things, I had some ****ty lint/wax balls and we even poured white gas. The temps were dangerously cold and the wind whipped and we could not get a fire started. (I confess I didn't care about a fire, I wanted to get in my tent and hunker down with my warm woolens, down bag and my candle lantern). Hunker down is what I did. Used my candle lantern to dry my gloves and stayed in my tent for 12 hours to weather the storm, snug as a bug drinking tea and reading.

But, had our lives depended on that fire in those windy, cold conditions - what would have been your ideal starting kit??

[shelterbuilder]

I've used Vaseline-soaked cotton balls and a Bic, and a magnesium block and striker. I play around with a fire piston from time to time, but I'm admittedly NOT proficient with it. I've tried steel wool and a battery, but wasn't impressed with the results - I guess that I wasn't doing it right. I would like to master flint and steel, But the fire bow looks and sounds WAY TOO MUCH like work....

[Fredt4]

Did you have a stove? If so which and what was the fuel?

[bikebum1975]

I've tried a bunch of different fire starting methods. The thing is practice when you're home and don't need them. Steel wool I know works haven't personally tried it yet. Bow/hand drill again not tried them yet. I'm still partial to my ferro I honestly can't tell you the last time I've used matched or a lighter to start a stove be it canister white gas or alcohol.
Flint and steel with char cloth is just plain fun. A lot of any fire starting comes down to prep of your materials practice and sometimes a touch of luck

[Woodturner]

I would like to master flint and steel

I was at a muzzleloader shoot once where one of the competitions was starting a fire with flint and steel. It paid ten places. One of the guys in my camp had flame four seconds after striking the steel. He didn't place. Starting fire with flint and steel is pretty easy.
While char cloth is probably still best if speed in competition is important, charred punk wood also works, and is a renewable resource if out on a trek where char cloth would soon be used up.

[Traveler]

I have found the cotton balls in vasiline to be the fastest and most effective fire starter if I don't have a lighter or matches. A magnesium/striker spark is enough to start them up and they burn rather hot and for a sufficient time to get a wide assortment of materials to ignite. I have yet to fail a fire start with this method over the years. My hiking buddy routinely brings various things to start fires with, including the lint balls in wax and steel wool and battery, and has tried (unsuccessfully) manual methods like fire bows and magnifying glass. None of these seemed to work all that well as compared with the cotton balls.

That said, having a couple of Bic lighters in your pocket makes sense given their low weight and fairly dependable operation. Though it is fun experimenting with various fire source materials.

[Five Tango]

I was hoping to become a ferrocium/steel wool expert as there is at least one YouTube out there that shows a guy using it successfully even after dipping it in water and shaking it off.Beats me how he did it.My bow drill is sycamore and works great if you cheat a little with charcloth in a dry bundle of finely delaminated jute twine.Delaminating jute is a real chore;hence the interest in a dry fluffy Swiffer Duster which so far has proved doable.Nothing beats a lighter -until they quit........

[bikebum1975]

Personally for my money Tango I'd rather just use jute over steel wool. The steel wool ya ask me is more a last ditch method. Gotta find some I know I have it here now you got me wanting to try it lol

[hayshaker170]

My son and I have tried steel wool, magnesium ticks, cotton balls w/ Vaseline, bow and drill, etc. The cotton balls soaked in Vaseline are by far the best.

Most people have a Jetboil which could be used to light a fire too.

[bikebum1975]

Ya know regarding using a 9 volt and steel wool that to me falls under the parlor trick category. There really aren't many things a backpacker is going to carry in the woods that actually uses a 9 volt the other thing why would one be lugging around steel wool in the first place? Unless you're planning some impromptu wood working. Now don't take me being snarky I'm just being realistic here. Again I find it more a neat last ditch trick. If it gets a fire going for ya run with it. There are plenty of more affective ways to get the job done.

[Five Tango]

Personally for my money Tango I'd rather just use jute over steel wool. The steel wool ya ask me is more a last ditch method. Gotta find some I know I have it here now you got me wanting to try it lol

This gentleman on YT has opened my eyes to something called "fire rolling".Never heard about it until today.Just lost my pyro card!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YP8LGyIkXI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kelg189VpY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8FP4GfIKRU

I gotta try this soon!

[Five Tango]

Ya know regarding using a 9 volt and steel wool that to me falls under the parlor trick category. There really aren't many things a backpacker is going to carry in the woods that actually uses a 9 volt the other thing why would one be lugging around steel wool in the first place? Unless you're planning some impromptu wood working. Now don't take me being snarky I'm just being realistic here. Again I find it more a neat last ditch trick. If it gets a fire going for ya run with it. There are plenty of more affective ways to get the job done.

For the record,didn't say anything about lugging a battery around or using it with the wool.Said I failed at using wool with a ferro rod even though I've seen others do it with even wet wool.

[bikebum1975]

Ah gotcha no worries as said wasn't trying to sound snarky regarding it. I know it works have seen it done just not tried it myself. Some of the fire lighting ideas out there really make you go what the?! Lol. It is fun though playing with different stuff. Hats off to ya for getting the bow drill down I attempted it once to much like work lol

[Five Tango]

No problem.I must admit this "fire rolling technique" is something I have GOT to master;the use of paper towel,jute twine,cotton ball,shop rag,yucca leaf-he's got em all down!(note:I had no luck with bow drill until I used a length of leather belt in lieu of string as it gripped the drill "just right" without slipping.Throwing in the towel on steel wool though..........

[bikebum1975]

Funny thing I have offline friends ask if I use matches to light my stoves. I honestly can't tell you the last time I grabbed a pack of matches to light a fire or a stove. Ferro rods I have multiples of them. Couple purchased ones but most custom made

[Another Kevin]

I have never failed to get fire with a cotton ball and Vaseline, ignited with a firesteel. The issue is more gathering enough fuel (and enough dry fuel to get it started well. Once a good hot fire is going you can burn practically anything.)

Sometimes, I find it easier to catch a spark on a piece of amadou, transfer it to the cotton ball or whatever, and blow it to a flame. Amadou also is good for carrying a coal. And of course it's a renewable resource. It's less messy than charcloth, and not as prone to blowing away.

[bikebum1975]

Where do you happen to find your amadou another Kevin?

[Another Kevin]

Where do you happen to find your amadou another Kevin?

Generally on dead timber. Grey birch and beech are the most likely. It's all over the place around here.

You can carry a coal in raw amadou mushroom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL-wZHkQuM), or remove the layer of amadou and use just that. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVlGzFQLSA8). There are multiple videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaW6FjePJk) out there about how to use the stuff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOEaiBZUxgA).

[bikebum1975]

Cool thanks. I've seen it used in videos just didn't know where it was found. Got beech in Connecticut not a ton of birch. Though possible the birch I saw this weekend had some on it have to check now

[shrapnel]

In the summer, I use dryer lint with vaseline - works like a charm, burns for a straight minute. Being a teacher, I have showed students the steel wool (#0000) trick many times. The best technique is to unfurl the wool and pull it apart slightly. A 9 volt works best because the terminals are on the same side. All I do is tap the wool for less than a second and it ignites, blow on it and it will put out serious heat, but it only burns for about 30 sec - must have tinder nearby. It is not the "spark" that ignites the wool, but the electrical resistance in the steel wool fibers, which are incredibly thin. Neat, but not a method I would prefer to use. I use Seymors Fireblox, which are 1in X 1in X 1/2in oil soaked particle board - burns for several minutes. Lighter as primary, ferro rod, secondary, and matches as a third back up. I have bonfires within ten minutes always.