What you actually NEED for doing a lot of repeated heating of water in this scenario is something that used to be in pretty much every kitchen, but, again ironically, something that is disappearing from kitchens in the age of the microwave.
Survival – The Douglass Field S (Survival) Lighter
UPDATE! As of right now, I cannot recommend this lighter AT ALL.
The Ultimate, Modern Tonteldoos?
For a mere $30 or so you can be the first on your block (almost assuredly) to own an updated, waterproof, titanium tonteldoos!
Emergency one-person survival stove- the best choice is alcohol, 91% of the time.
So, we have trail equipment stores, hardware stores of various types, liquor stores, drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, boating equipment stores and marinas as possible sources if you’re afoot on your own. That’s pretty versatile. I don’t think any other liquid fuel comes close, unless you’re willing to use automotive gasoline, which requires special stoves and a lot of ventilation and there’s still danger.
Firebirds turn out to be real. Maybe.
Honestly, I would have guessed that this is about as likely as starfish making musical fiddles out of shells to serenade each other under the water.
The gist of the article is that they claim to have confirmed something fairly common in Aboriginal lore, that some “birds of prey” in Australia take burning twigs from an active fire to another site, attempting and sometimes succeeding in spreading the fire to a new location in order to flush out rodents and other prey.
David West – Primitive Fire
I have no idea how many videos he’s posted, they seem to go on forever, but they are a rich mine of information that is vital to those who put a high value on being able to create fire in as many circumstances as possible, and spending leisure time browsing his videos is both enjoyable and time well spent.
Survival – quartz and steel firemaking
This opens up whole new possibilities for using quartz, though. Using a hardened steel spike in this way leverages the whole weight/momentum of a much larger stone to apply force to a tiny area of steel, and doesn’t rely on creating and maintaining an edge on the quartz. Looks like a much more effective technique.
Survival – The Importance of Fire
While I was being told about this, standing around in our kitchen, wearing only shorts and a t-shirt since I hadn’t gone out yet on a Saturday, I reached in a pocket, pulled out a lighter and flicked it into life. No, I don’t smoke, I just understand that fire is really that important. I could have just as easily produced a knife or a flashlight, and I have an electronic compass in my casual watch and another in my phone. That’s lounging around the house, not going anywhere. When I’m leaving the house I carry more. If I’m driving or walking more than a block or two, much more.
Possibly the beginnings of a lead, a clue- fire, smoke, evolution, cooking
Possibly the beginnings of a lead, a clue- fire, smoke, evolution, cooking
Survival – Making fire without technology (or tools!) turns out to be easier than anyone thought
There’s a new, relatively easy way to make fire entirely with “primitive” (or found) materials, and it’s much, much easier than any other method I’ve seen over the decades.
Anyone who knows something about the subject of primitive fire-making will probably consider that incredibly unlikely, and possibly an outrageous statement. After hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of years of making fire with primitive materials new techniques simply don’t appear out of nowhere. Indeed, it’s very possible that this is a very, very old technique… even, just possibly, the first and oldest technique used by our ancestors to make fire at will, that it was very nearly lost in recent times, and is just now becoming known again.
National Geographic “Origins”, “Spark of Civilization”, another swing, another miss
I stayed up the other night (despite being very tired) to watch the premier episode of National Geograpic’s new series “Origins”, entitled “Spark of Civilization”, which promised to enlighten us as to the importance and origins of our use of fire as a species, a subject I find fascinating.
Book – Survival Hacks by Creek Stewart
In the 21st Century it is spectacularly difficult to get completely away from trash. If you’re in the suburbs, or rural areas, or even the trails and parks that pass for wilderness in most people’s experience you’re bound to have access to some of the junk that these hacks utilize, and might be very, very grateful for some clues as to how to use it someday.
Survival – PC Kills- on the water too
It seems that the same insane “PC” mindset that has decided, against all and ongoing evidence, that the best way to deal with terrorists and pirates is to render all of their potential victims as helpless as possible has invaded into life at sea. I’m very, very sorry to hear it.
Knives in Space… 1
I don’t mind going into more detail about any or all of this, at least what I know and can find out about the subject, in fact I’d rather enjoy it, but my personal interest is even more about the future, and especially the key question of how useful and necessary knives are likely to be for those leaving the planet in the decades and generations to come… or not.
The Urban/Suburban EDC/Get-Home kit list
I’m a firm believer in versatility. The more detailed the scenario, the more specific you get in trying to predict the future, the more likely you are to be wrong, so I believe in just generally enabling yourself to handle more situations as they come up. Knives, flashlights, and multi-tools are among the most versatile tools there are, and can make you a whole lot harder to kill in a “collateral damage” sense. Insulation, water carrying capacity and the ability to make fire are almost universal needs.
Aquarium tubing as survival gear
This is an odd survival item in that I’ve never had any use for it in an urban or suburban or even rural environment, only in the woods and mountains, but for there I find it indispensable. I never go out for more than a day hike without at least six feet of aquarium tubing, preferably eight or nine feet, and I’ve used it for more decades than I care to count.
The Ubiquitous Bic Lighter much improved, the Exotac fireSLEEVE
I was recently reminded of this… I was posting about it in another venue where I thought they might want to know (since the discussion touched on Bic lighters for survival) and, of course, realized that I had nothing at
Exotac titanium nanoStriker
This is NOT A REVIEW, just a comment. I haven’t had the thing for long enough to wring it out, and, well, despite the assertions of some “experts” that some ferrocerium rods spark much better than others, so far to
The Tondeldoos/Tonteldoos reflects a rate of technical change…
I was looking further into the tonteldoos, and for the first time came across the spelling “tondeldoos”. Google Translate recognizes both as Dutch, but from my search results I suspect that “tondeldoos” is Dutch and “tonteldoos” is Afrikaans, at least
The South African Tonteldoos or Tondeldoos. No, seriously.
Recently I learned about a South African version of the tinderbox called a “tonteldoos” or “tondeldoos’ (as Dave Barry says, “I am NOT making this up”), which apparently dates from the late 19th Century and the Boer Wars. I guess