The discovery of fire is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. The discovery of the wheel transformed ancient civilizations and advanced them to the modern era. We still use wheels and fire, too.
Fire is one of the key elements to master for every outdoor enthusiast. The fire at the camp will not only be used for obvious reasons, cooking, disinfect water and warmth,but also for socialization. Stories will be shared around it, and bonds will be created.
The Triangle of Fire
To understand how fire works, we should look at the triangle of fire. Three components, oxygen, fuel, and heat, guarantee a successful fire. We cannot have a fire if any of these factors is missing. Heat is necessary to initiate the chemical reaction of combustion. It can be generated from various sources, including friction, sparks, or flames. Fuel is any material that can burn, such as wood, paper, gasoline, or gases. The type and amount of fuel influence the intensity and duration of the fire. Oxygen is the oxidizer that reacts with the fuel during combustion. It’s typically supplied by the air, but other oxidizing agents can also support fire.
In order to help the fire start we usually tend to use tinder. Tinder can consist from natural materials like cattail, dry grass, birch bark, fatwood, and others. It can aslo be manmade. Can either be bought from a store or we can make it at home, with simple materials. Three of my favorite tinder types to make are char cloth, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, and jute twine bundles. In this article, you will find details on making a jute twin tinder ball.
After cutting the string pieces at the desired length you start to untwist them one by one. The string consists from three folded strings,so you have to separate them. Then, you continue to untwist every piece individually,untill it turns into very this fiber,like hair.
When you have finished, you will have very thin fibers.
Place them in your palm and try to shape them into a ball, like the one shown in the picture below,
Your jute twine tinder ball,is ready to stored in your fire kit. You can use it next time to start your fire.
This project is very simple to make, and it will take about twenty minutes to make one good sized tinder ball.You can always store some jute twine in your fire kit and use it accordingly,either for extra piece of cord or to make tinder.