I have written an article entitled “Spring Equinox – Optical Firecrafts’ Friend” which shows some of the devices that I have used to start an optical fire. While shopping for groceries awhile back I happened to see a vinegar bottle on a shelf and I noticed the spherical shape of the jar that was filled with clear white vinegar. Recognizing the optical character of this vessel I had to take it hope to have some fun with the sun.

Most liquid filled bottles or jars have some air at the top inside as was the case with this bottle so I elevated the neck of the bottle in order to capture the air and pointed it away from the sun to keep it from interfering with the concave properties of the spherical body.

As with all optical methods, tinder is a critical component of the process so I always look for dry dark fibrous material that I have flattened to create a flat surface upon which the light rays can focus. I often give the tinder a slight orbital rotation to generate a larger spot of heat. When you see embers forming, a direct gentle breath is used to increase it’s size until it is big enough to blow into a flame.

In this case I placed my materials on the back bumper of my car at a convenient height to get things started. Of course you will want to gather your fire lay materials ahead of time so that once you have a flame you can apply it to your campfire.

• materials need close proximity to transfer heat while enabling sufficient air flow
• white material is difficult to ignite while dark material lights easily
• the focus from the lens/mirror needs a flat surface to ignite vs. fuzz

So I began to prepare the paper hand towel for lighting.

These paper towels come as tri-fold sheets enabling it to be dispensed successively so after I removed a sheet I proceeded to refolded it into it’s long rectangular shape. I ripped it in the middle and then ripped each half in the middle. I stacked these parts together and rolled them into a rather tight cylinder. This combination of concentric sheets allowed airflow while providing close proximity. I needed something dark upon which to focus so I found a dark dry leaf that I broke down and placed in the core at the end. I later used a black felt-tip pen to darken the outer edge on a subsequent effort that worked great!

Once I began to focus the light from the sun onto the priming leaf, smoke appeared quickly and I have learned that it pays to “wobble” the focus around a bit in an ever-widening spiral because once the initial material is ignited and consumed by the burning light it doesn’t provide on-going ignition so this practice provides an ever-widening area of what I call a critical mass of heat. Blowing on this area while focusing the light from the sun will build and sustain this growing ember. Once the ember is established It helps to hold the tinder bundle above eye level with the ember at the bottom so that as you blow on the ember it preheats the rest of the material and accelerates the process.

These paper towel rolls can be somewhat stubborn to produce a flame in themselves but can be placed within additional surrounding sheets of paper or in a pile of tinder like dry leaves and coaxed into a successful flame that can be built into a campfire.

As always, I encourage you to practice using this method to prepare you for it’s use in an emergency situation.

Why use grass roots for tinder? Each environment that you encounter may or may not have the tinder resources that you need. Survivalists would suggest that as you travel about, collect potential tinder as you go so that you will be prepared when you need to create a fire. Because roots initially contain moisture, they will need to be dried out for several days, so they would be a more long-term prepped tinder.

I decided to take two fire starting approaches: sparks by ferro rod and solar by wallet-sized Fresnel lens magnifier.

When I first applied sparks with the ferro rod it didn’t work. I realized that I needed to fluff out the roots into a wispy ball, much like I would treat cotton or steel wool tinders in order to catch a spark effectively. The next spark caught immediately.

When I used the pocket magnifier I initially got lots of smoke but not a sustainable ember. Although I had compressed the roots for this approach it needed more compression so I twisted the small bundle as if to make cordage into a small ball. That did the trick. I suggest having as much mass as possible with more tinder standing by to supplement the ember once it’s established.

Generally speaking there is a multitude of tinders more readily available but it’s always good to be aware of alternative tinders when circumstances limit your regular choices.

Recently I picked up an ICEE (a.k.a. Slurpee and Slushy) lid and noticed the clear concave surface. I knew that it could possibly make a lens when filled with water. In my early days of experimentation I would try different open vessels filled with water and discovered two things: water should be shielded from wind and the vessel should be stabilized and not hand held so as to avoid ripples that would prevent a usable focal point.

In pursuit of my project I decided to stabilize the lid using a screwdriver. I inverted the lid and placed a long screwdriver shaft through the middle and then taped the edge of the lid to the screwdriver handle. Then I planted the blade of the screwdriver into the ground like a stake. The tilt of the lid provided a hollow in which I poured water to effectively create a lens. Below the cup I located the focal point by placing my hand into the light cast to determine the smallest point of light and feel the heat that it generated. The best time for this effort is at noon when the sun is at it’s highest point in the sky.

I find that my favorite tinder for solar firecraft is dark compressed dry fiber because dark material absorbs heat better, the fibrous material allows air flow, the compressed material transfers the heat and provides a surface upon which to focus whereas light cannot focus on fluffy material. Strangely enough, dry horse manure tinder works well for this.

I placed the tinder at the focal point and shortly thereafter a wisp of smoke began to appear. As I waited for that moment I happened to notice a piece of charred wood close by. Knowing the dark and carbonized nature of this material I broke off a small piece and placed it on the tinder with the edge at the focal point. This expedited the formation of the coal which I in turn blew into a flame.

Once you become more familiar with water lenses it’s amazing what things you will begin to recognize as viable vessels for solar firecraft. Who knew that fast food trash could be used to generate a fire?!

There have been various historical and religious celebrations on this day, but I celebrate it because, for me, it begins the optical firecraft season. The higher the sun is in positioned, the better its’ performance to generate heat. A noon-time sun can be more advantageous when using fluid optics such as when using water in an open vessel placed over tinder beneath it. I have included a photo of some of the various items that I have used to make fire by the optical method. Although this season works best, larger devices such as a page-sized Fresnel lens almost always works as long as there is direct sunlight. Size DOES make a difference when using optics. So whether you reflect light off a mirrored surface, or refract light through a lens, now is the time begin experimenting and practicing, so that you will be ready for an optically generated fire.

Fire by ice optical method

Now that Summer has arrived, the sun is at it’s best for optical fire methods. You can use concave reflectors that you point at the sun and find the focus point where you hold the tinder. Some items that I’ve used include flashlights, soda cans, broken headlights, jewelry, doorknobs, compact mirrors, etc. Also, you can use convex lenses. Some items that I’ve used include marbles, paper weights, magnifying lens, fresnel lens, clear light bulbs, vases, plastic bags, etc. Visit my Contact page and drop me a line with other items that you have used!

I was thinking about how many ways that I have made fire… but really, there are five ways (see Ken’s five fire categories) but each way has many means to accomplish it. Take for instance, the OPTICAL way uses light, but the means to accomplish making a fire include a flashlight reflector, car headlight reflector, silver mixing bowl, modified CD, soda can, makeup mirror, glass paper weight, lens shaped ice, pocket Fresnel lens magnifier, glass magnifying lens, etc.. Also, water filled items include soda bottles, plastic bags, condoms, flower vase bowls, clear light bulbs, and more. The point is to concentrate heat in a spot long enough to cause combustion. It’s really a lot of fun to figure out different methods, and of course, in a survival situation, it could save your life!