Lesson 2: Making the most of your firesteel (man-made tinders)

welcome to lesson #2. I'm going to show you the easy way to use your firesteel using as little effort as possible. At this point I will be using man-made tinder (cotton wool) as it can be considerably easier to ignite, compared to natural tinders, when learning to use your firesteel.

Step 1: Fluff up your tinder
This refers to the first lesson, about applying fuel, ignition and oxygen. By fluffing up your tinder you are allowing the oxygen to move more freely and thus, making it easier to ignite.

Fluffy cotton wool!!!

Step 2: Get a grip!

Holding your firesteel and striker correctly will make a world of difference. If you hold them too loosely you will not be able to get enough pressure to create a strong spark. Hold the striker in your dominant hand and the steel in the other. i.e if you are right handed, place the fire steel in your left hand and visa versa. If necessary, hold the steel as well as the handle to apply steady pressure

I'm right handed!

Step 3;: Pepper

This step is fairly simple. Just scrape some shavings off of your firesteel using the striker, making sure they land on your tinder. It will look like you have sprinkled shiny pepper all over it. Don't worry if you create a few sparks when you do this, with luck they'll land on the tinder and create a flame.

sprinkles!

Step 4: Strike

This final step is the one that counts. Place the striker over the tinder and lock your hand, arm and wrist to stop it from moving. Place the firesteel under the striker and point it towards the base of the tinder. Apply pressure and draw the firesteel towards you fairly quickly.
If you did this correctly, you should have burning piece of cotton wool and a grin from ear to ear.
If you don't, fear not go back a few steps and try again.

Using this technique and a little practice, you will become a master of the firesteel in no time at all.


To demonstrate the whole thing from start to finish, i've made a little video for you. Enjoy