I discuss fire methods using gum wrapper foil that generates enough heat to cause the paper substrate to burst into a flame.

One method that I learned recently uses two AA batteries and staples that can create a red hot point to ignite tinder so I decided to try it.

Apparently prisoners can purchase AA batteries at a commissary for various personal electronics. Staples can be acquired from various printed material.

To begin, one battery is held upright with the second battery Inverted next to it while placed on a metal surface. This creates a circuit in series that produces 3V. In prison, that metal surface might be the top of a sink or toilet. I used an Inverted stainless steel cup.

For convenience I used a rubber band to hold the batteries together. Next, I straightened out one side of each of two staples and used masking tape to mount one on the topside of each battery.

Then I tore off a piece of toilet tissue and placed the jagged edge between the staples so when I rotated the batteries together to touch the ends of the staples they became red hot and ignited the tissue paper.

The masking tape and rubber band are modifications of mine that make this method alot more manageable. The staples get hot to hold but the masking tape helps to buffer the heat while stabilizing them on the battery poles.

It took a little practice to use successfully. I prefer the gum wrapper foil method better but it’s good to know an alternative method when materials might be limited.

The solar cigarette lighter uses a parabolic mirror to direct the sun’s rays to a point of focus where the tip of a cigarette is held in place by a retractable arm or bracket. These lighters are produced in metal or silverized plastic. The cigarette holding arm can be a hinged bracket or a spring mounted wire (as shown in the photo). In lieu of using the lighter as it’s manufactures intended, alternate tinders to start a fire can be lit by moving the bracket to the side while holding the tinder by hand at the point of focus.

 
The flint-less lighter uses a hair-thin platinum wire or grid of wires to ignite it’s fuel. Platinum wire when exposed to methyl alcohol fumes and other flammable gases creates an exothermic reaction that causes it to glow red-hot thus causing ignition. These lighters can come as a wand for stove burners or lipstick style canisters as shown in the photo. It’s quite a phenomenon to behold. If you acquire either style, you may need to pass the filament through a flame or touch it to a lit cigarette to burn off any residue in order for it to be activated more easily.
 
 
 
The “Shepard’s lighter” or “trench lighter” is a flame-less lighter that uses a charred cotton cord to catch sparks from a flintwheel striker. Where a modern lighter uses lighter fluid with a wick or a nozzle for butane gas, a cotton cord that is charred at the end is similarly positioned to catch the sparks produced when the flintwheel is struck. The result is an ember that is enhanced by blowing on it and then touched to a cigarette. It was used during WWII to light cigarettes without a flame, thus reducing visibility to the enemy when lit.

There are more lighters on my “to-get” list. During WWII Japanese soldiers had a brass fire piston that they used as a lighter. Dunhill made a flint-lock lighter with an actual fire pan for gun powder. There are also battery powered lighters, the most recent model having the appearance of a thumb-drive that is charged via USB port. In the interest if obtaining more specimens for my collection I would enjoy receiving any comments regarding your favorite lighters and how they work.

It was a rainy day so they had to use an umbrella to keep the tinder dry and they decided to run the engine to support their battery during the pencil heating process. The time from clamping the pencil to producing a flame took less than 1 1/2 minutes. They transported the initial flame over to the campfire ring where they proceeded to build their campfire for the day.

I am proud of their achievement and was delighted that they captured it by video using a cell phone for our enjoyment. Click on the photo to watch the video… it’s amazing!

This is all good if you don’t want to be seen, but what happens in the field when you drop some equipment on the ground? When breaking camp or leaving a blind, will you leave with all of your equipment? To compound this potential hazard, imagine being in an emergency situation, under stress, in a hurry, and in dim light. The best tools to have would stand out from the surroundings. There are now blaze-orange camo patterns that are undetected by color-blind animals that are being produced primarily to keep hunters from being mistaken for game, but I’ve recently seen this applied to a hunting knife which in my opinion is brilliant (in more than one way).

So, consider acquiring emergency and survival tools in bright and contrasting colors so that they can be found fast in a time of critical need.

Well, I finally produced my first video illustrating how to make fire with an empty flintwheel lighter. I have added a video page to the site to host future video productions. I have chosen Metacafe to post my videos, and they say “The higher your video’s VideoRank, the more exposure it will get on Metacafe. So forward the link to friends, make sure they watch the video to completion, tell them to forward it to friends, have them rate it 5 stars… spread the word!”… so, please watch it through at Metacafe and rate it FIVE STARS to increase it’s viewership. – Thanks!