Flint and Steel Basic Ignition 

I love coming back to this video he made it for me

I have done this and seen this done 100's of times and yet it never gets old. I can watch this all day long. I'm sure you feel the same. Thanks for your videos Dave.

Dave's ability to teach and breakdown info is brilliant. Definatly the best channel on you tube by far..

Dave, thanks for passing on your knowledge! I think it is a rare person who gives so much without putting a price tag on it!

Just wanted you to know what an inspiration you have been. I'm an out of shape 35 year old country boy. You've made me yearn for the days of my woods running youth. This weekend, I took my swedish mountaineering rucksack (bought on your recommendation), tarp, rope, axe and all the things you've taught me and went on a walkabout. about 60 lbs in the pack haha. Made the 5 min shelter, started a fire, and got the 3 first legs of my spider hole lashed together. It was about 100 degrees. Thanks!

Dave, I think that was the best demo on the subject I have ever seen. Simple, detailed and well explained! Well done!

Your patience, knowledge and instruction are a wonderful gift. Thank you for sharing with us.

Best bird nest video I have ever seen! 99.9% of instructors hold the nest above their head and tilt their head back as they start to blow; however they always seem to lean out of frame, missing the action. I have never seen someone actually show the inside of the nest during the blow. Stellar job!

Dave, I have made fires with flint and steel from the time I was in the boy scouts. (A looooong time ago!) This was the most excellent, concise tutorial I have ever seen! Folding the char cloth was brilliant! I learned something today! Thank you!

I'd never worry about bringing back the basics, Dave. Its never a bad thing to revisit such vital skills.

That's admiral of you Dave for taking the extra time to help that young man. God Bless!

That's really good of you to answer the young mans e-mail. One of the many reasons I enjoy your channel so much is because you keep it real brother! If someone is having a hard time getting something, your more than willing to go the extra mile to help. That's how an instructor should be...in my opinion. So keep on keep'n it real bro!

I'm not a novice in the outdoors (and definitely not a pro), and I just learned so many new things from this one basic video. You are a great teacher. Thank you Sir, you have yourself another subscriber!

Nothing wrong with slowing it down and helping out someone getting into it, we were all there before, great video Dave

Thanks Dave. Its never bad to go back to the basics and refresh everyone's skills.

Excellent instructional video for beginners. In 1967 I was in the Scout-O-Rama in Texas and our troop made flint and steel fire every 30 minutes for three days. I was 8 years old and being in that exibit gave me the desire to learn wilderness skills which I have been learning (and using) ever since.

Hey Dave, it's not the fact that you know how to do but rather that you know how to teach that makes your videos so great, Thanks, Pink

I think it is great that you went and done this video again to help a loyal viewer. This video is a great help to anyone new to creating a fire from flint and steel!

Great video Dave, I just picked up my first flint and steel set, and i have watched other video's on the subject but no-one explains things in detail like you do.So it was very helpful information. Thank you. I plan on going out saturday and getting a little practice in.

Thank you for making this. I have been a long time viewer, but I am finding that I am relearning the basics on a whole new level the more dirt time I have. I always learn something from your videos. Peace, Brother.

Thanks brother, for taking the time for a refresher. It does get a bit redundant but it's always good to practice as well. Think I'll go out in the woods today and practice myself. Thanks for all you do Sir!

I use a file, flint and tinder fungus(Chaga) a lot here in Russia. Is it possible to ignite non charred materials with flint and steel, other than Chaga of course? Have tried dry punk wood with no luck. I appreciate and enjoy all the latest basic videos you have put up lately. Regards, Lars

This is THE definitive video on flint and steel ignition. WELL DONE!

Thanks for showing your kindness to this young man, as many would just blow it off as too easy a concept to grasp to make a video on. Much respect, Mr. Canterbury.

I've always said "those who can do, and those who can't teach" you prove that saying to be wrong. Thou are great at what you do and also a great teacher. Thanks again

You're an incredible teacher, Dave. Stay safe and have fun!

great job Dave,we have new people getting into bushcraft every day so it's nice to see you go back and take care of them,have a super weekend my friend,Donald

There is never a reason not to revisit basic skills, it needs to be out there and easy to find for others, and redoing it periodically makes it visible once again and ingrains the knowledge deeper into peoples mind.

we all need to remember the basics every now and then. A strong foundation of knowlegde will support the vast frame work of skills and information learned.Great job Dave. Chip M.

another great video bother, im from Iowa but living in maryland and i have been watching your videos for years now, i really admire everyrthing your doing and one of these days when money is right and my kids are old enough we will be attending your classes and I cant wait till that time comes. you really are a amazing person. thanks for everything you do for all of us, i have already learned so much

Great video dave! Really great clear instructions. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the videos.

Thats too bad, It sucks to see friends "break up" always loved you more though brother. And the fact that you spend your time teaching and helping people rather than being tucked away somewhere is very inspiring.

great job dave for taking the time to help a young man out.

Thanks for the basic series. Even if it's basic knowledge, it's hard to find good advice on how to prepare a bird's nest the proper way. Looks like most people will assume it's so basic that even beginners understand it with no need to explain it further, but beginners end up struggling with the practical application for lack of guidance. I can now go back to practicing with the fire striker I got from a Gaul village I visited last week with my nephew...

This shows two things: Owning the right tools without knowlege dosen´t make you automaticly a pro. You have to learn the Basics and can then go on from there. (This is a rule for ALL tools in the world.) Second: Mr. Canterbury is a great teacher, and he cares for Customers AND everyone else who is interested in the topic. Greetings from germany ;)

Thank you for making this video as well as your other recent basic knowledge videos! I've only recently found your channel, and one of the few downsides to having so many great videos available is that it's not so easy to find a specific one sometimes. I've spent most of the last couple of days going through all your vids. The other night at around midnight it occurred to me that I had spent the previous 12 hours doing nothing but watching your channel, and I don't even do this stuff anymore!

Dave that was very nice of you to put this video out again for that young man

The two people that hit dislike just need to unsubscribe and disappear, I learned lot from this and it's awesome that Dave made this for that young man.

Back when i was 8 or 9 i was at a Pow Wow out on the great plains of the American Mid-West when one of our Commanders began to teach us how to strike a fire with flint and steel. i remember watching the red hot ember begin to flow through the char cloth. His strike had actually produced a red hot chip of the flint that can probably burn through a stack of char cloth. i began looking for a c-striker to discover the details in forging my own, thanks for the explanation of metals.High carbon steel

I was afraid this was going to be too much of a re-hash until I saw you process bird nest materials, something I don't ever recall seeing. So thanks for the video!

Thanks a lot, Dave! Great respect for patiance and details for newcomers. Keep going and good luck on this interesting and non easy way!

Touching the basics again and again is just fine. I watched several videos and read many survival books. Ferro Rod always looked so easy. None of this is easy -not at first. Practice. Practice. Practice.

If the young man was named Luke you were talking about he just posted a video using flint steal went from striking to flame in less than 15 seconds! If that was him Thank you Sir. He's a great young man and watches a lot of your videos we need more kids like him! And people like you willing to take the time to share your knowledge! atb Mark in Texas

Talk about step by step tutorials...Another excellent video Dave. Thanks!

Excellent fire-starting tutorial. One of the best I've seen.

Thank yo so much Dave you have taught me so many great survival tips and how to do things in the wild with heaps of your videos. Thank you for your fine work Brother - Jesse

This is one of the most valuable channels to subscribe to. We all knowmhow is survive in the system, but how many people know how to survive outside the system? Thank you, Dave.

Don’t be too hard in that viewer who most likely pestered you every day. I enjoyed the heck out of this video and learned a lot.

Linen also is a organic fiber that works well for char cloth and has been used for ages. I like to raid my dryer for organic lint, it maybe cheating in that it is not naturally occurring, but it has one huge advantage over processed fabric, surface area! Dryer lint has enormous amounts of surface area on the microscopic level and surface area is what helps spread fire. Thanks for the video

your a great guy dave! thats cool that you help and respond to your fans, thanks for being a great teacher!

I really appreciate the knowledge you are sharing through this channel.

the basics was great... thanks once again for showing us the basics of fire...it helped a lot

Fantastic instructional video. Clear concise and to the point.

Thanks for the review of proper technique on this. Always enjoy a good refresher and truly shows your character to make are you help that gent as well as possible

There is nothing wrong with redundancy...... especially if it will help a youngster, or even an adult learn the basics of bushcraft. Those of us who have seen this a million times, really don't mind seeing it another 2 million; as long as it helps the masses along with their education....... Peace!

a nice thing to include with your firesteel kit might be a small piece of charcoal, it acts as a beautiful coal extender and you can easily replace the piece with the charcoal from your new fire. even powdered it works as a spark catcher like the charcloth, loads of surface area and readily available once your charcloth gets low.

Great video. I learned this with the Boy Scouts Flint and Steel Fire Kit about 65 years ago. My first birds nest was actually a mouse nest I found on a camping trip in Lake Okeechobee.

Its always good to revisit the basics Every time you make a video its slighy different in detail. And people learn slightly differently. thats what makes you such a far reaching teacher. Thanks for the post.

Been watching your vids on a regular basis to prepare for your class this upcoming summer. Within 3 minutes, I hate char cloth ignited and only took 2 swipes. Thanks for sharing this skill

Perfect video. Mr. Canterbury. You can tke it back to the basics without it seeming like it is old military film. Kuddos, sir!

Thanks Dave. I did learn one new thing and that was to fold the char cloth for longer burn time.

These videos are outstanding. Thanks for all the hard work brother!

This is why we love you Brother. You always have time to help all of us from Young rookies all the way up to experienced codgers

I just really enjoy watching Dave do even the basics.

Again. Thank you for another good block of instruction...Much respect brother.

Hello from the UK - love ur vids Dave! Have learned recently that u can also make charcloth on a gas cooker using same principles - just need to reinforce that the white smoke is highly pungent and toxic so needs to be done OUTSIDE and well ventilated. Thanks for all ur vids

Pretty much. The two key things about the rock are that it is, A, harder than the steel or else it will chip and no steel fragments will removed, and B, has a sharp edge on it. The sharp edge is what scrapes a bit of the steel off. These points make it way easier to controll the spark. But if you've ever hit a rock with a shovel, you will often see sparks flying.

Good stuff never gets old... Thanks a lot Dave.

I like you going back over old stuff.. It needs to be kinda repeated over and over.. thats how you learn.

Thanks for going into great detail, it did clear up some things. Thanks for taking the time and doing the video. Having watched several videos, you are providing a lot of good info.

Thanks Dave and Thanks to the guy who was having trouble because it prompted you to make this video and I was having the same kind of trouble and after watching this video and taking the lesson to heart I made it work first with just a piece of char cloth then with a proper birds nest!!!!! It was a heck of a rush Thanks again!!!!!!!!

10 years later, this old man likes you video a lot. Thanks for the explanation

Dave you did a great job on this video. Best one I've seen made

I like these getting back to the basics videos.

Great video. Good to see it again, fresh.

We'll done Dave, very meticulous and detailed explanation. I'm sure the young man got exactly what he needed. Great Vid

Another great video. Answered my question by seeing the char burn longer before andding to the birds nest.

I learn a lot from watching your videos. you make a lot of sense then other people

Awesome Dave keep up the good work , I try to watch every one of your videos .

Thank you. Your efforts to educate are appreciated.

Great vid man. Much respect for helping the young man!

I have been watching for quite some time. I can start a fire any given day. I dont leave home without fire. I sill think this was a great video. I appreciate it.

So freakin' cool that you made a video for a single kid, man.

Dave...just found this one...love it! If not an old guy on a fixed income, I would have loved to take one of your classes. Not able to do that, but I have learned so much from your videos, and have bought all your books. As for that young man's pestering you back then...:-)...Anyone who watches you knows you are the best! Thanks again, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Great video Dave. Back to basics, I like it.

thank you for the kind words and vid for this young man

"If a bird won't lay an egg in it, it's not a birds nest".. great quote!!! very good vid.

Thank You . I also wondered about making char cloth and how to start it. I have seen people start it before but it was from a distance. Now I know how.

Now I finally understand about the char cloth, not as difficult as I thought. Thanks

Excellent video Dave. I so want to try this with my son. I'll have to check out your store to get me a flint and steel kit.

Great video! Thank you for this lesson! Its great to learn basic skills that unfortunately get forgotten in todays world!Greetings from Luxembourg!

its always good to have a review of the basics I liked the vid and it was a good refresher and reminder to me to get more practice in with my kit thanks a lot

Awesome Dave... Nice of you to take some time with a novice. Kudos. Not many in this industry would have, just telling the Sub to look back thru the videos. Something old is new for me even as i have a habit of not refining the material for the bird's nest as fine. Now i know where im wrong.

Great job Dave, as always. Very good tutorial.

You are the man Dave..Thanks for all the vids... God bless you brother

I needed this video also Dave. I had to go without coffee on my last overnighter. NEVER AGAIN! Thanks

Great video and explanation on how use flint and steel

I don't mind the updated/redundant videos...one is none and two is one. lol. seriously though, techniques on so many skills are always evolving so it's good to have updated videos.

Excellent how-to for flint and steel fire starting! Never tried it myself, but am going to try it tomorrow. Always good to have more than 4 ways to start a fire on you,.......just in case.

Good on you dave for making this vid for this young man. May the lord bless you.