Many years ago I used an empty lighter to make fire while in the Army. I was amazed at how many people (besides the ranger 1st Sgt.) had no idea it's still a flint. Popped open a blank (war games), dumped it on my kindling, flick, fire. Coffee.
I just finished the basic bushcrafting course with Coalcracker and I had a great time. Dan and his instructors were great making sure not only that we understood what we were doing but that we could actually do the exercises in the field. Highly recommend Coalcracker courses to anybody interested in the outdoors/bushcrafting.
I keep my spent lighters, remove the bottom. The store cotton balls+petroleum jelly stuffed on one side and other Tinder on the other cylinder. Empty lighters are still useful
LOL I once went on a no-gear survival challenge with a few friends. There wasn’t a lot a great wood for bow drill kits where we were and we played the devil trying to get a fire going. We found an old empty lighter and used the spark to catch some fluff from a flower head and voila! We also used found wine bottles to boil water in. We made cordage from the skin of a black snake that we caught and ate. Whatever it took to make it work. There was a huge cicada hatch that year, too. We weren’t sure if they were ok to eat so didn’t. Found out later they are really good. We’d have come back fatter than ever if we’d known that. I sure got sick of wild onions, haha.
I watched Ted Baird do I very similar video, but he made very fine plastic shavings from the lighter into a little pile, on top of the plastic pile he produced the powdered flint, then he ignited the powdered flint which ignited the plastic shavings. When I thought I saw every firelighting method, low and behold. Simple brilliance ha.
I have seen many bushcrafter youtubers show empty boc lighters where they stuff the inside with cotton for tinder. I used up one & cut the bottom off & stuffed cotton in. Put it in a small bug out kit in my car… after a year or so i am re packing that kit with a couple updates. I gave the old bic a flick & nothing… the ferro rod had oxidized! Just like the one i kept & frequently used to light my bee smoker with. Another thing to swap out occasionally. Glues are also short lived.
Mr Dan you bring back a lot of wonderful memories in my prime I was either in the ocean or mountains I loved camping but no more for health reasons I once left you a text you are truly last of the Mohican the reason I say that is today people want to go high tech what they don't Realize high Tech breaks down you live by one of my old time favorite TV shows Grizzly Adams Yes it may be just A TV show but let's see how many people can live like him I do miss coffee and eggs in the woods if you never had it try it one day and you'll see there is a difference. Keep making the videos.
I'm not even a smoker any more but I carry a bic lighter pretty much everywhere I go. The item is very useful, for multiple purposes! Especially outdoors!
My lighter for ticks died just before this video dinged in my notifications. Gotta pull it back out of the trash. FYI: I saw boxes of small fat wood sticks for sale in my grocery store last night, right next to the grill lighters. I smiled thinking, Dan showed me how to to get that stuff for free.
I've used that method for years while hiking. I use a alcohle stove normally so put just a couple drops on my tinder and strike the spent lighter once or twice and Bingo , you have fire! Easy Peasey and no fussing around.
What I thought was the cleverest part of this video was how you validated the shovel that you have included in this summer's loadout, as per your last video. Very sneaky, young man! I learned something new here, which is why I subscribe in the first place, BTW. I didn't know that the ferro material would burn from a spark ignition source. I always thought that that was why the magnesium blocks with the integral ferro rod had the magnesium in the first place. I've learned, from using those, that magnesium shavings/curls will burn if they're hit with the sparks from the ferro rod, but I didn't know about this trick. All my friends will tell you that I think I know everything and teaching me anything is durn near impossible, so kudos to you, Dan.
🥇🤠🔥👏👏👏‼️ .....just caught the stuff you did with Townsends 3 years ago, seriously cool old-world stuff- the knowledge you need for when you get caught without all that modern gear we all rely so heavily on👏👏👏.
Hi CcB, Good idea bud I showed that to my family a couple years ago. If you have some of those items you suggested PLUS some cotton balls w a little petroleum jelly you might/could get a starter goin. Best regards, Jarrod
I actually have one of those "self ignite fire rod" made of a old clipper. I have drilled the interior of the bottom part and filled with cotton balls. Works great.
That little spark can be used to ignite the vapor from any flammable liquid. Alcohol prep pads and hand sanitizer are two that you should probably have in your kit. I, personally, carry an alcohol stove whenever I plan on going into the woods for a night or more, but, in the case of an UNplanned night out, the alcohol prep pads are always in my wallet and bicycle repair kit (for cleaning greasy fingers).
Mentioned already, scraping the plastic from the lighter, to mix in with the ferro scrapings will get you a flame which will last a few seconds (5 or so anyway). Scrape ferro, plastic, ferro, plastic into a pile. I have a drawer full of spent BIC lighters because, since I learned this trick, I can't bring myself to throw them away. I mark the empty ones, all over, with a sharpy, for ID.
Hey Dan,dig the content/channel! My favorite fire 🔥tip is a small pinch ripped from a cottonball, lit with a spent lighter. I like to twist the end to make a small handle, to hold it with. Some spent lighters can last hundreds of strikes. It saves my lighter from being spent. Keep outdoors, stay in the woods!
Useful to know just in case, and the sparks for lighter work not only with cotton or char cloth but with birch bark (scraping or feather the bark to increase surface area) If need be making some char material with the fire after with like punkwood. Many people would toss them in this state yet some of us, know that it still has some "life" to it.
good one thanks FYI: believe it or now! In Vancouver BC strike anywhere & waterproof matches & lighter fluid have all been banned. Merchants are prohibited from stocking them.
Twist a mop strand untill it twists on itself. Cut the bottom of the lighter off. Remove the lifter of the top drill it out and thread the twisted mop strand throughdownwards. Loosen the treads lightly and strike spark into it. Blow and burn the end. Once burnt you are ready to go. You can buy them made from bullet casing. Look up WW1 trench lighter. You will get the idea. But just a wick, no fuel.
If you are in an area where there is Spanish moss, you can use the moss for tinder, BUT that moss has to be absolutely dry, or it won't work. Spanish moss absorbs water extremely quickly, and sometimes, it seems, just through the air.
Not sure why/how you’d use it, but its good to know you can do this with any broken/empty lighter: Remove the wheel and spring, stretch out the spring a bit, twist the flint into the spring to hold it, then hold the flint in a flame about a minute until it begins to glow a little.. then it’ll go full-on nuclear… you can throw it on concrete (in the dark) for fun, or use it to ignite a stubborn bit of tinder. I guess its usefulness lies in its ability to ignite just about anything.
How about tips on how to dry out tinder if you live in an area with a high moisture content and it's been raining for months or if you're living at a high altitude in the mountains. Lighting a fire in a dry area takes a little bit of work but if the conditions aren't right it can seem impossible to get a fire going for a noob. Oh yeah, no fat wood or easy buttons (fuel/ect). I imagine you have probably made vids on this so I'll look through your collection.
I have done this many times as a teen. You don't need to do it backwards, You could roll it the same way as if you were using the lighter normally. You just have to go slower to not create the spark(Or zip tie the Gas release button). I find it doesn't take as long to make the dust/shavings.
another way i've started a fire using a broken lighter is to use the blade of my knife and scrape my jeans or socks until i've created a small pile of fibers. once you have the pile you can just spark the pile with the lighter and it lights right up.
You could also take your knife and scrape the plastic from the lighter. Then scrape the ferro rod over that. The plastic should catch and give you more time to get a fire going.
Nice video. Yep. I ...lol... I laugh cause of seeing this video...but I save the flint and long mini spring, and striker from every lighter I go through and put it in my survival pack. I have too much but keep saving cause why not. I try to reuse everything ...everything ...,😔 But ya... Save save save. Cause ya never know!
From their First aid kit - Neosporin (or equal), Vaseline, Alcohol wipe, hand sanitizer, even some sun screen lotions, etc., Apply to - Cotton ball, Q-tip, cut/tear off piece of cotton cloth, "dry" paper trash, etc., Use spark from empty or broken lighter - to ignite. No need to make shavings from flint. Remove child guard for better spark. Teaches to create fibers along "edge" for better ignition. For lighter carry 1) use small zip tie to prevent gas leakage. Cut to size and it will slip on and off as needed. Zip bakkies are tougher than sandwich baggies. Can be used for solar ignition. See - David West on RU-vid he is the fire starter master. Great ideas for Scouts!!! 2) Take zip type lock baggie. Cut off zipper. Roll lighter up in baggie. It is now small, tight and waterproof. 3) Shove in pants front pocket with pocket knife and cotton balls, also in same type baggie keep the cotton dry! Keep extra lighters prepared the same way in pack, cook kit, everywhere! They weigh nothing. This is a GREAT project. Simple and provides fire source anywhere.
We use to do this as teenagers. Wed get a pile and lightly wet our cigs wit spit and roll cig in flint powder and smoke a sparkler cigarette while inebriated. 😂😂😂
I don’t understand the YTers love affair with the Bic, do they get them free by the case? The Clipper lighter is a much better choice. Fuel and flint are replaceable plus the whole striker assembly is removable for stand alone use. Oh, and they’re cheaper even at Walmart. The striker assembly is great to put in a micro-survival kit if you are in to those.
@@brettjones8567 You can get a can of butane and refill them though (Less waste), they are really a bowl/bong smoking stoner's lighter more than a general purpose lighter, the circular shape is for tamping bowls down and the flint comes out for an ashing tool.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a clipper in a store. Bic is way more widely distributed, at least in all the states I’ve been in. Edit: that being said, I personally prefer a zippo. Less water resistant and you have to be more mindful about the fuel, but more resistant to the wind and cold, which is important for where I live. Plus they’re almost quite literally bulletproof.
@J.Robert Sergertson Clippers are available at my local Walmart, cheaper than Bics, refillable so cheaper again, striker is removable to use as a stand alone. Just because a YTer says it, doesn’t make it so.
@@evanf1443 I live in Texas and Clippers are available at our Walmarts and most gas stations. They are fillable so no need to buy them as often. Din’t let YTers do your thinking.
You carry charcloth with you in your fire kit. You also need to make a tinder bundle. Easier to use the lighter to spark charcloth. Your flint will last longer.
The most important thing here is to start off with a BIC lighter. All other disposable lighters are junk. The very mechanism you use in this exercise is always the first thing to go on others lighters. Only buy BIC lighters. Seriously, only buy and carry BIC lighters. You're welcome.
@@brookeggleston9314 ah... I forgot about the Djeep. You are right. Djeep is a great lighter. I'll meet you halfway and say, either BIC or Djeep. I've just been a BIC man all my life, and, I'm sure you can at least agree BIC is head and shoulders above any of its look-alikes. No?
@@johnafagerquist8235 Very true! Most of them use low quality butane. It's full of particulates which clog the tube. You end up with a half full lighter that doesn't work!!
Dan hi I would just take this Cigarette Lighter Put together a Bird's Nest and then just strike it, till some Sparks take hold of the nest and blow on it gently Voila!😂 I have a Fire🔥 Why do all that unnecessary work🤔
Thanks - that's a very interesting technique. Makes me wonder if it might be useful to put some "lighter flint refills" in my fire kit. Maybe I could crush them with the pommel of my knife to get that burst of open flame in a pinch, but they'd be much easier to fit into a micro survival kit than a magnesium bar or cotton-based tinder tabs. They're pretty cheap too - I'll have to order some and experiment. :-)
