DIY Cool Cheap Firestarter

I've done a couple posts on firestarters and a DIY version of my cotton balls in vaseline kit.  Ordinarily I wouldn't go over such well trod ground, but I saw this video on another site today.  I thought it was so cool that I would try and share it with all of you.

I know what I'll be making next weekend.

Airplane Survival Kit: Pics

After my last trip out of state I spent a lot of time thinking about making a better airline kit.  I haven't seen much information on the forums or on the sites about them, so I figured I would work on my own.

This is what the basic kit looks like.  The main bag is in my new Camelbak Mule 3L.  To the right is a good pair of walking shoes, to the left is a Columbia fleece jacket and a good Camo shell jacket to go over. I also made sure to bring good clothes, not pictured.  Clothes will vary a lot depending on what area you're going to, that's why I didn't put much emphasis on them here.  Also, one would hope that you bring appropriate clothing to begin with, whether or not you're building a kit.

Hat, gloves, two jackets, neck gator, pack above, Nalgene bottle...

Stainless steel bottle cup, extra pack strap, water purification drops, flashlight, extra batteries, Buck folder, Gerber multi-tool, 40ft of cordage, first aid kit (a simple one: neosporin, alcohol wipes, ibuprofin, asprin, antihistamines, gauze, bandages, good tape), duct tape x2 (without the tube they're the size of a AA battery), chapstick x2 (for lips and fire starting), emergency blanket, waterproof matches, Camelbak Tabs (electrolytes), flint and steel.  I didn't have a poncho, I need to add one or a small tarp for shelter building.  Also not shown, extra socks/underware, other clothes.

One of my discoveries that led to making this kit was the cool folding flint, steel, and magnesium fire starter I found at a local hiking store.  It folds and fits into a small pouch, it was fairly expensive ($30), but is very nice quality from a company in Alaska called Kodiak.  Folded and in the pouch it's not too big, about the size of my thumb.

The second discovery that led to this kit was a pre-made emergency kit by the same hiking store.  It's a simple emergency kit that they fit into a Nalgene bottle.  It was a decent but meant only for short term outdoor emergencies (granola bar, emergency blanket, first aid kit, gauze and tape, water purification drops, and 10ft of cord).  I thought this was such a cool idea that I picked one up and then modified it.

One of my biggest concerns with the Airline kit was how to package it and keep the different items from being damaged in my checked bags and not taking up too much space.  The Nalgene bottle was a really good idea, nearly all of the smaller items fit inside the bottle, with the cup fitting on the bottom.  The Camelbak tabs, first aid kit, knives and multi-tool were the only small items that didn't fit inside.  Then, I used my neck gator as packing at the top to keep everything from rattling around.

With the 3L bladder collapsed, and with the added bottle, that gives me an easily packed 4 liters of capacity. The clothes, shoes, and jackets I was already packing, so that's nothing extra.  I used the Camelbak Mule pack as a carry on along with my laptop bag, so overall this kit added very little to my pack out but added a lot of capability.

For those of you with travel plans, I hope this gives you some ideas.  Thoughts or suggestions always welcome, as usual.

The Traveling Wrinkle

So, my recent travels have given me a few things to think about.  I mean, how much good does all your prepping do if you're thousands of miles away from them?  And what can you bring with you through airport security?  You can't even take fingernail clippers or lighters on the plane.

Survival tin: Survivalist Boards, Altoids Tin

There are all sorts of links online for survival tins, either premade or directions for making your own.   I'll probably be making a generic one in the future, to put in my checked bags.  I thought about making one for this trip, but didn't have time to put together a good one.  Plus, I don't know where to go, have no knowledge of the local wild life and fauna, so what would I put in one?

So, what do you do?

Here are a few of the ideas I came up with:

• Bring warm clothes and a decent rain jacket.  Maintaining body temp is a key to survival.  Hypothermia is a real risk in any climate if you get wet or have no protection from the elements.
• Pick up some water as soon as you land.  Obviously you can't bring much with you on the flight, but you can get a couple big bottles at almost any gas station.
• You can put a good knife, a first aid kit, and some cordage in your checked luggage.  You need to do some research on what the knife laws are where you are going, a Rambo survival knife might not be the smartest option.  I opted for a good little folder just to be on the safe side.
• You can pick up a few staple food items when you land.  Trail mix, jerky, etc.  Personally, I didn't get much because, like the water, I can't take much back with me.
• Pack good shoes and socks.  And maybe a foot care kit (tape, vaseline, moleskin, etc.)
• You can pack a couple lighters in your checked bags, or get a couple at a gas station.
• Cash.  Carry plenty of cash.  'Nuf said.

So, in a true survival situation you should have the basics covered.  Maintain core temperature, hydrate, first aid, start fires, and have a few food items.  It's not a BOB, it might not get you as far as your stock pile back home, but will hopefully be enough to get you through a short term survival scenario.


(Or you can be lucky like me and have a super-massive Sports Authority right next to the hotel.  It has a huge hunting section, I picked up a badass camo shell jacket today.  Score!)

Gear Review: Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow

Ok, so I'm going to start by acknowledging that this isn't really a practical survival knife.  I know that.  It's double sided blade means that it isn't very practical for shaping wood or skinning game.  All great 'survival' knives are full tang, good hilt, thick grip, and almost always one sided.

The Shanghai Shadow popped up on Amazon's little scrolling panel "Customers who viewed this also viewed these".  It was so cool looking, and fairly inexpensive, that I wanted to check it out.  Along with a couple more 'practical' survival knives I added this one to the shopping cart.

It came in this week and I wanted to give a quick review and later on a little more depth.

This is a very cool looking knife, that's why I picked it up in the first place.  I mean, look at this thing, it just screams "THIS IS... SPARTA!!!"

The knife is weighted extremely well.  The balance point is right at the cross bar, which makes this knife feel incredibly light and fast.  It came with a nice edge, not as sharp as it could be, but a couple minutes with a wet stone and it'd be in great shape.

Ok, now a couple of complaints about it.

There is this huge chunk of unshaped metal between the handle and the blade.  It didn't turn out that great in the photo above, but believe me this is a huge eye sore.  I'm not sure why they didn't shape it down to the cross bar (which is also much thicker than it probably needs to be).

Second, the sheath holds the knife securely but looks cheap.  It's just one big chunk of plastic.

Third, from the photos on Amazon I thought this was some kind of Karambit style knife.  That is, that the loop was for a finger, to help keep the blade secure in the hand.  However, this is not the case as far as I can tell.  With how long the handle is, there's no way to put a finger or thumb through without having an awkward grip.  See the two photos below.

The next photo is a comparison between the Shanghai Shadow and a Karambit I picked up at a local Martial Arts Supply store.

The Karambit is a knife that has some serious history in Asia and in Asian Martial Arts.  The loop is for the pointer finger (most novices put their pinkie through it, have the blade facing up).  This knife is meant to be an easy to use self defense knife.  By putting the index finger through it, you form a fist comfortably around the knife.  Anyone who can throw a punch suddenly has a very dangerous self defense technique.

So, the Shanghai Shadow isn't a very practical survival knife, it's not a particularly practical self defense knife.  What is it?  What is it good for?

I pondered over this for a while.  I mean, I had the knife, now what was I going to do with it?  It seemed such a waste to just toss it in a drawer and forget about it.

After a while I came up with a fairly AWESOME use for this thing.  It might not make the best knife, but it would make one hell of a spear head.  Split a nice thick piece of wood about six inches down.  Take off the handle of the Shadow and put it in the split.  That blank section above the handle and the thick cross bar make easy points to secure the head.  Add in another splice or two a couple inches down and you have one hell of a spear.

Look!  I fixed it!  I took off the handle, wrapped it with 8 feet of 550 cord, and I have a ready-made Spear Kit!  That big blade, double sided, makes a perfect hunting spear head.

Forgive the sloppy wrapping job, I followed some very good instructions but whipped it up pretty quick so I could do this post.

To wrap your own knives, check out this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwkp9Tx6OdI

Fire Starter DIY

When I was in Boy Scouts we had this really easy fire starter recipe, cotton balls and vaseline.  These are pretty popular with hunters, campers, and anyone else who needs to make fire in uncertain elements.  Basically, these act like mini-lanterns, the vaseline heats up and acts like oil, then the cotton ball is like the wick that burns the oil.  They burn in almost any condition and will easily stay lit long enough to get a fire going.

A lot of people douse the cotton balls in the vaseline and then put them in an old film container or something similar.  I don't know about you but I generally don't have film containers sitting around and if one of them popped open in your bag it would be quite a mess.  So I came up with my own variation of this time tested fire starter.

Jercol's DIY Firestarter:

Paper bag

Ziploc Bags

Cotton Balls

Vaseline

Total cost was about $2 (I already had the Ziploc bags) and will make plenty of kits.

Cut the paper bag into three 5x6 rectangles.  The cotton balls I bought were huge so I cut them in half.

Take a cotton ball, rub it in the vaseline until it has a fairly even coat, and put it on the first piece of paper bag.  Do this six or so more times until the paper bag has a nice line length-wise.  Then roll up that piece of paper like it's a big cigar.  Some of you might have more experience at rolling than others, I don't judge.

Make another fire starter 'cigar and put both on the third piece of paper.  Then roll the paper with the two cigars inside it.  Put the whole package into a ziploc bag and you have a nice little fire starter kit.  If you want to add some rigidity you could put the cigars into a toilet paper tube, you probably have a few of those rolling around, then put it in the ziploc.

What I like about this kit, rather than the film container version, is that you have a very large number of fires you can start with it.  You've got twelve individual cotton balls, twelve fires, plus three good sized pieces of vaseline soaked paper.  Rip the paper up into some smaller pieces and you've got quite a few more fires.  Plus, with the ziploc bag (I usually double bag them), and the paper soaking up the excess, you don't need to worry as much about it spilling in your pack.  

It's a simple, cheap, and reliable fire starter kit.  Throw these in your BOB or GHB and you're ready to light the fires.

Enjoy.