Fire Starting

[shmrck1]

Maxiball
sounds resonable to me, and a lot more easy!!!!!
when i want a fire i want it now
snake-eyes

 

[rusty]

I just tied the method Chief suggested I used my bess unloaded of course.I put the char cloth in the pan closed the frizzen and pulled the trigger it worked no problem on the first try,very easy and practical.rusty

 

[doverdog]

The char cloth in the pan is all well and good but if you have a station for fire starting at a Rondy, that method ain't gonna fly. It pretty much is standard that you have to use a flint and steel. It's not that difficult to do once you get the right flint and steel and char cloth. I use unravelled Jute from a ball I bought at a craft store for tinder. Sub 5 second times from strike to flame are very common.

 

[Huntinfool]

Hi Rusty,

I'm sure it has worked great for 300 hundred years at least. But then again if ya stop to think about it, I doubt very many frontiersmen ever left their guns uncharged for fear of Natives and bears and such.

I've seen a fellow flinter stick a twig in his flash hole to prevent it from firing. I wouldn't recommend this but if ya ever try it always keep her pointed in the right direction just in case.

Plus I wouldn't want to accidentally break off a twig in my flash hole either. I've stuck a tooth pick in there to let the solvent soak the breach a while. But that is a much more controlled circumstance than just whittling a twig to fit your flash hole.

I'll stick with my fire makin' kit unless an absolute emergency. With just a little practice you can become very proficient at makin'fire

YMH&OS
Chuck Goodall
"The Original Huntin' Fool"
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

[Batchief909]

Most times a feather was used to mark a touch hole as the rifle being loaded. I have used my pan at several Rendy firemaking stations, as they expect you to drag the kit out. I agree that most likely rifles weren't unloaded and used as such, but when they say "make fire" you make fire!

 

When they excivate Native American burials that occurred after european contact they find a whole bunch more flintlock firing mechinisms than the other parts present justify. The thought is that the NA came to value the lock itself as a fire starting device, seperate from the gun.

Starting fires with your lockwork has been going on since F&S was developed.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Starting fires with your lockwork has been going on since F&S was developed.

I remember seeing a flintlock mechanism made specifically for starting a fire, but can't remember where I saw it. Perhaps one of the black powder magazines?

 

[tg]

Some gun historians suggest that at times due to short supplies of powder that many NA's may have used their trade guns more for fire starting than hunting or warfare.

 

[Huntinfool]

Hey Claude,

Dixie gun works has a tinder lighter kit with candle holder for $70.00. I love to have one my friend's got one it works real well. Here's the link to it!

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_125&products_id=1220

YMH&OS
Chuck Goodall
"The Original Huntin' Fool"
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

[Claude Mathis]

Hey Claude,

Dixie gun works has a tinder lighter kit with candle holder for $70.00. I love to have one my friend's got one it works real well. Here's the link to it!

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_125&products_id=1220

That's the one!

Thanks, you guys are great! :applause:

 

[Huntinfool]

Hey Claude,
I beg to differ with ya! You Da Man! Thanks for runnin' a great forum!

YMH&OS
Chuck Goodall
"The Original Huntin' Fool"
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

[musketman]

That's the one!

Here is another tinderlighter, complete with externial trigger and springs...

Tinder lighter with stand
1750-1780
Tinderlighter with intact furniture and a self stand.
Iron. H 10.5, W 2.5, L 26.5 cm
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, GUCO 1574

Also GHOST stated:

Starting fires with your lockwork has been going on since F&S was developed.

This can be a good thing for people who have back problems and are limited to the weight their doctor says they can lift and carry...

It's one less thing to pack along, I have to carry a screwdriver (forged) to install flints and such, so I use it to remove the lock from the musket and start my fire (on those trips without my fire starting kit), once the fire is started, I reinstall my lock...

Another fire starting devise that is over looked, the lens...

The first telescope was made in 1609 by Galileo Galilei, the lens was used to focus light and start fires not long after that...

I just found this, it's cool...
Ice Lens

 

[doverdog]

Do you carry a couple of spare lock screws. I could lose a lock screw inside a white plastic bucket. I would hate to think about dropping one on a leafy forest floor. :: :cry:

 

[musketman]

No, been lucky so far, but I can see myself dropping them down a hole or something to that nature... :haha:

 

You ought to check the rest of your gear MM. If that turnscrew is hardened and you are carrying an extra musket flint you already have a full firestarting kit along and do not need to disassemble your bess. Less to "drop down a hole" too!

I have gotten away from using charcloth lately. I've gone to a piece of lamp wicking to catch the spark. You stick the end of a strip in the pan and snap the lock and have the whole end of the thing glowing is a couple of seconds.

You don't have to fumble with that delicate little piece of char, you have a good strip of substantial stuff to hold without burning your fingers.

 

[Wayne Combs]

Ghost,I have one of Ted Cash's tobacco tins I bought back in the 70's,carry my flint and steel in it with the char cloth.Has a lens built in the lid of it.Can't remember how PC it is though.BTW,is the lamp wicking dry or oiled someway.Wayne.

 

[musketman]

I have gotten away from using charcloth lately. I've gone to a piece of lamp wicking to catch the spark.

Matchlock cord would work the same, wouldn't it?

 

Wcc, I don't know anywhere that Ted Cash's tinderboxes are not accepted as PC. There are a bunch of those things that are origional and I think he copied one for his pattern.

I think he makes a round tube for a match type wick to fit in. You can pull the glowing wick into the tube to snuff it out. They used to call them tinder tubes. I saw one in a gatalogue the other day I think. Been intending to get one just to say I have it. Another useless toy.

Match cord ought to work better than a lamp wick MM. You probably have yours saturated with nitrates to the point that it glows by itself without putting sparks on it! We were having a time with guys saturating their tow with nitrates and cheating on fire starting contests down home. We finally started furnishing char and tow. They'd hit that stuff with one spark and it would look like a filling station had blown up!!

I just buy plain old lamp wick in six inch lengths at the hardware store. I think you can even get it at Wally World.

 

[musketman]

We were having a time with guys saturating their tow with nitrates and cheating on fire starting contests down home. They'd hit that stuff with one spark and it would look like a filling station had blown up!!

That would put the odds in their favor... :haha: