An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/117940
| 29 Survival Fire Lighting This is the second of a three part series looking at a small selection of survival skills. All the skills presented here are linked to the basic survival principles; Protection, Location, Water and Food. The two things you need for this part are: dry tinder and a source of heat. Tinder and fuel types were covered in the last issue. Here we���ll focus on how to get that vital spark. The main methods used are: magnifying glass, electricity, flints, and the friction methods; fire plough and bow. by Cpl Paul Millar Magnifying Glass The lens can come from glasses, binos, cameras or telescopic sights. Angle the lens to concentrate the suns rays onto your tinder. Once it starts smouldering, gently blow on the tinder until flames appear. Fire Plough Cut a straight groove in a softwood base. Using a shaft made from hardwood with a blunt tip and a lot of pressure, plough the shaft up and down so that it pushes out small fibres of wood. Gradually the friction ignites the wood fibres. Electricity Flint A battery from whatever equipment you have lying around is the best available source. Use a bare wire or steel wool to join the terminals and produce a spark. Usually found in an artificial form in a survival tin, the real thing is hard to come by. Scrape a piece of metal against the flint in a downward motion onto your tinder. Fire Bow You���ll need: ��� Socket; used to hold drill in place. ��� Drill; 2cm diameter, 25cm long, hardwood. ��� Base; softwood, roughly square, around 2cm thick. Carve a depression around 2.5cm from the edge with a ���V��� shaped notch to the edge. ��� Bow; type of wood doesn���t matter, just use cordage that won���t break. ��� Place tinder under ���V��� notch. Use the bow to rotate the drill while applying pressure with the socket. This creates friction and heat, which in turn lights the tinder. ��� When you have ��� ��� the tinder lighting, gradually add kindling and then the fuel. Once you try to start a fire with a friction method, you���ll always carry a lighter with you. The type of wood is key with the friction methods. Experiment with different types. Next issue: Shelters Everything shown here is not to be practised without instruction. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine