40 Minutes of Flame from an Altoids Tin: DIY Natural Fire Starter

If you can’t get a fire started over the top of this; you’re in big trouble. This is just Douglas fir resin with some cedar curls and together this mixture lights easily and puts out a serious amount of heat. There is nothing too surprising about that, but I was stunned at how long it burns in the tin. I tried two full length burn tests after letting the tins cool and the sap harden; and the first tin burned for 41 minutes, and the second one burned for 36. The entire tin puts out hot flames until the last three minutes, at which point it is struggling and not much stronger than a candle flame.
Between the heat and burn time, you could definitely get even a very poorly prepped fire started by putting this underneath your kindling, and closing the lid to snuff it out once you are confident that your fire is stable.
If you let it burn down to the point where there is still resin in the tin, but all of the shavings are charred, it is much more difficult to light the next time. However, simply heating the tin and mixing in some more curls refreshes it and it should be good to go for the next fire.
The wood shavings serve two purposes. The first is to catch the spark and create the initial flame to melt the resin. The second important function is that the wood shavings act as a wick. Tree resins will burn on their own, but burn much better with flammable wicking materials mixed in. You can make this work with fresh sap by mashing it into your wicking material, but it works much better if you can liquefy it first.
I chose wood shavings for these tests, but shredded bark works very well in this role too.
I will still be carrying petroleum jelly cottonballs in my fire kits, but the fact that a tin can be restocked indefinitely with natural materials and perform this well makes this another good reason to carry as small tin like this one; and I haven't even started playing with glue yet.
I am a huge fan of fatwood too, but for the size and weight of a full tin of sap and curls, I’m not sure you could get the same heat output and burn time out of it.
I used Douglas fir pitch for these, but I am sure that you could substitute other conifer resins and bark or wood shavings in other areas of the country. I would love to hear how long your tin burns for.
Materials Used:
Altoids Tin
Douglas fir Resin
Western Red Cedar Shavings
Music: Luca Stricagnoli - The Last of the Mohicans (Guitar)
• Luca Stricagnoli - The...

[@Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival]

I believe that evergreen pitch /sap /resin is under utilized and under understood as a resource for firecraft. Thanks for pointing out once again it's usefulness.

[@kylewilshusen9898]

Far North Bushcraft And Survival i agree completely

[@waytodude486]

Lonnie you and NWP have really slowed down on your awesome videos lets step it up a notch. Your fans want more! LOL

[@Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival]

@steppenwolf I agree. Evergreen pitch is extremely useful medicinally as well but is little understood and relatively unknown in bushcraft/survival circles. A certain episode of "Dual Survival" comes to mind. I never seen it personally but heard that Dave C poured gun powder into a wound and lit it in order to prevent infection I assume. I will not say that that action reflects on Dave C's lack of bushcraft /survival knowledge because it was a scripted TV show designed to heighten interest and viewership through dramatization of events. But I will say that that act was utterly and completely stupid and irresponsible when something so simple as evergreen pitch was most likely nearby which would have not only stopped almost all infection possibilities and help to reduce pain but would also help speed recovery and rapid healing of the wound.

[@UTClans_UTZ]

My family was making medicinal salves and soap from the Pino'n tree many years before the term bushcraft came into existence .

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Lonnie. I'm looking forward to working with it in other ways too.

[@rokhnroll]

I think you just re-created an ancient siege weapon ! nice work NWP always a pleasure to watch your videos.

[@nwprimate6416]

😅 I had the same thought when I was moving the bubbling tin. "Don't spill this on yourself!"

[@UTClans_UTZ]

For some reason , I'm reminded of your handmade berry basket and nettle cordage . An individual could carry this fire for miles in a torch configuration for 40 minutes or more while feeding the flame . If this makes sense . Thanks for a very enjoyable video .

[@nwprimate6416]

I love that idea. 👍

[@robvegart]

For some reason in all your videos you have that guitar jig playing and everytime I hear it, it makes me want to go out and do bushcraft!

[@guns4funcajanajustin]

That snapping sizzle of sap. With a black cloud that hovers above. Good stuff brother

[@nwprimate6416]

Poetry buddy. 🙂👍

[@MrScreaney]

Yeah, I think the idea of using the tin as a container and as a firestarting platform is genius. Thank you for the informative video!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@jacquiblanchard3131]

Very nice, Brian. Evergreen sap is an amazing resource. It's so easy to find around here too. I think we need to make a candle like this. Thanks so much!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Jacqui! I saw you posting about this on BCUSA. 🙂

[@bcwoodsman876]

That Douglas fir resin is great stuff. I have a ball of it stuck away in each of my fire kits. Good video!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy! That smell too!

[@WayneTheSeine]

Brian..... I think it was Einstein who once said, "simplicity is genius" and all of your videos are truly remarkable videography.....simple, yet filled with eye candy, ear candy and most importantly......valuable information. Brilliant!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Wayne! 🙂

[@davidharvey5672]

I can only be jealous of your abundant resources over there. The great thing is it's water proof too. Thanks for sharing.

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks David. It really is an amazing place.

[@HalfQ]

Mounted to a stick, it would give some great late night reading light. Super cool.

[@nwprimate6416]

Very cool idea!

[@ahorseman4ever1]

Great video! I have collected pitch for years. I have what I call my pitch pot that I have used for fire and glues. The thing I like about your videos Brian is the way you tie in b roll and the subject and choice of music too. Your one of my favorite channels .

[@nwprimate6416]

I appreciate that Blake!

[@Taromovies]

there is no question about that it burns the long and good, really good mixture! i think it's always good to have some resin on store, so ist easy to prepare a fire starter like you did or to make glue with ashes and some seed or other plant fibers, thanks for sharing my friend, take care, Taro

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy! I am going to get started with making glue soon, so that should be a lot of fun.

[@kylewilshusen9898]

Great video, but I’ve come to expect no less from you! Keep ‘em comin’!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@pacificbushcraftandfirecra6358]

Ahhhh... the flames are so relaxing. Burn Baby Burn! A excellent concoction of flammable goodness my friend! TFS

[@nwprimate6416]

Concoction...perfect! 👍

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

Many claim birch bark as a suburb wet conditions fire starter, it doesn't come close to fat wood and some good gooey pitch. Your mix is right there with fat wood.

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy. It's tough to beat the heat and burn time of some good pitch, whether it's a glob of good, or some resin soaked wood.

[@JungleJayAdventures]

haha nice! I love the cut off in the backing track when the flame went out. Clever. Another great video from the Fire Wizard...

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@JungleJayAdventures]

No worries. Keep up the great content.

[@ladeda7033]

Wow. How did i miss out? Not using this idea for a good camp torch. Thanks for the that demo and reminder. Pitch is solid fuel.

[@johnearhart8811]

Thanks ...I have been using Pine Sap for several years as a fire starter, but never in a tin. Put it in a zip-lock and took it out. Worked great. Thanks again for a different idea.

[@nwprimate6416]

I still have some in a bag in my kit too, but I'm really liking the tin approach lately.

[@mattias6139]

Fantastic tip!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Matthew!

[@seanthomasdowd]

Brilliant as always

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Sean!

[@thomasgold-1000]

That is a fantastic tip, thanks for sharing! Great to see a new video of yours... 👍

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Thomas!

[@ladeda7033]

Good idea. A bit smokey but a fun little campfire trick when back packing. And with a leaky tree near by i think i will make a couple of these camp candles and have em ready.... For schooling the young folks. Thanks!

[@broketackle]

What’s up Primate. Nice vid as always bud. We use the yellow pines here in Florida. Some people call it fat wood. We call it lighter knot. Hope you well bud. Be safe out there. Keep on burnin!!!!

[@nwprimate6416]

Hey buddy! No pines in my woods but the same firs that make this sap make some amazing fatwood too. I grew up here and had no idea until I was in my 30s!

[@broketackle]

Hell yea bud. That’s why your the fire master. Love your videos Primate. Always teaching us how to make fire. Thanks bud. Be safe out there!!!

[@SurvivorMetalMan]

Awesome mixture! Definitely a great combo!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@SmooreMC85]

Yay more content! And congrats on channel growth! I liked how you could see the sun come through the leaves overhead, to shine on the ground. We could see it move a little bit in the timelapse!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy! I don't think I can remember a sunnier November than this one. It's supposed to be raining or snowing everyday by now.

[@SmooreMC85]

@@nwprimate6416 yep! The times they are a changing! the better half and i have picked a much lighter house color to paint within the next five years, are pricing out a small solar array, redoing the landscaping to introduce drought tolerate and CO2 absorbing flora around the house, and installing a water collection grid. See the weather in northern California. Thats us in the PNW in 10 to 15 years. Be prepared for a massive amount of immigration from California to Washington, and just assume that property values, and thus property taxes, are going to go through the rough when it happens. i could of course be over stating things, but a resounding amount of the actual scientific community says this is pretty spot on :/ But a lovely video as always, and again, i'm going to push for more content. You've got a fabulous editing, music selection, content - your videos got it all!

[@mrForestBeard]

Nice torch :D

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@DonnaConrady]

Hey, nice to see ya Brian . . . or rather, your hands :)) Nothing compares to the wonderful smell of cedar and pitch chunks to spark up a fire. Although I did grit my teeth when I saw you light up the entire tin. I mean, I'm not a real minimalist or even stingy but I do practice using only what is needed. But I realize you did it for the effect and I'm content with that (I'll always give you an opinion, even when you don't ask for it hehe) Thanks Brian, Take care and ear scratches for Lupo, Donna

[@nwprimate6416]

Hi Donna! Great point about conserving resources. For a casual fire, just a little dab would do it. I've been looking at this tin approach as having potential for an emergency situation like an fall into cold water. I like the idea of just being able to light the tin and throwing whatever random sticks you can find over the top. I appreciate and look forward to your opinions, so consider them officially asked for. 🙂

[@20p65s]

Strong work once again.

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@BeefT-Sq]

"A sense of life is not a substitute for explicit knowledge." -Ayn Rand-

[@hemansr3893]

At one point, after you added the wood shavings, it almost looked good enough to eat!!! :>)>

[@nwprimate6416]

Beaver candy.

[@hemansr3893]

@@nwprimate6416 good one!!😆😅😂

[@kylelusk8994]

I was looking foreword to this video from this mornings IG post! Very nice my friend

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@waytodude486]

NWP nice video great information. Your slowing down with getting videos out hope your not getting bored. lol

[@nwprimate6416]

😆 Not at all, just been branching out and posting more over here instagram.com/nwprimate/

[@waytodude486]

@@nwprimate6416 I'll go check them out. Thanks

[@davidf4958]

Pine and fir sap and resin are great. Your glue making should be an education for all of us. A buddy shared some turkey feathers for arrow fletching and I am making the glue right now. This time the glue will be fir resin, white ash from the fire, and cattail fluff. Wanted to use cedar resin, but it is too difficult and slow to collect. Look forward to your videos!

[@nwprimate6416]

Nice! I'm still totally new to using it as glue, but look forward to playing with different binders and applications. Do you wrap the fletching too, or is glue enough to secure them?

[@davidf4958]

Well Brian, keep in mind this will be my first arrow. The fletching will be wrapped with sinew first at the front and back end. After the sinew dries, the glue will be applied as waterproofing. If the glue looks bad, a clear pitch and alcohol combo will be used instead. I hoe to finish the glue tomorrow and will see. Thanks for asking!

[@nwprimate6416]

How did it go?

[@davidf4958]

Good Morning, we will find out early next week. Busy with honey dews now (Wife says "Honey do this, honey do that.") The sap is filtered and reduced; it was too runny. White ash added and cat tail fluff is drying. We will see if it is as strong as charcoal and plant fiber. But the unfiltered particles turned it black, so there will be another batch coming. A pine is oozing sap near here and hopefully it will be harder and require less reduction.

[@davidf4958]

Hello Brian, made the glue with white ash, fir sap and cattail fluff. It is pretty good, but a little more brittle than crushed charcoal. Maybe it needed more white ash. Will try a batch with pine pitch a bit later. Thanks for your interest, and especially for your top notch videos!

[@patrickgermond2750]

Great video!

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks buddy!

[@thomasleebrown3136]

I'm impressed; thank You !

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks Thomas! 🙂

[@robbabcock_]

Awesome video! Hopefully I can find similar resources here in Montana.

[@nwprimate6416]

People have been trying it with pine pitch and it seems to work well, so that might open up some options for you.

[@robbabcock_]

I'll have to have it a try, @@nwprimate6416

[@nutthrower4415]

Merry Christmas, Missing your vids, hope alls ok. Looking forward to your return,

[@nwprimate6416]

Merry Christmas buddy! Just posted a new one. 🙂

[@zebedyharris2928]

Awesome videos bro... completely off topic but what camera do u use and is it any good in lowlight? Thanks, keep up the awesome videos 👍

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks. I use a cheap point and shoot Canon (SX610 HS). Videos do tend to get grainy when it gets dark, but I don't have anything to compare it with so, I'm not a person to ask. It was pretty dark in the woods at the end of this video if this helps...kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYfLY6pjba-Kn7s

[@adrianlugo4760]

Saludos buen video y buena técnica eh idea resina de Pino con algo de llesca supervivencia al natural gracias por tus videos

[@nwprimate6416]

Gracias! 👍

[@adrianlugo4760]

@@nwprimate6416 gracias a ti por tus vidéos y conocimiento

[@zoltanvonsomogyi7272]

Can t wait till you do a show about pitch glue. I've seen it done with black charcoal, but I see people here talk about grey ash. Wonder which is best? Hmmmm...

[@davidf4958]

Greetings Zoltan. My previous glues were pine sap, crushed black charcoal from the fire and pulverized plant fiber. But a Native American did this and another asked why he did not do it the Indian way with cattail fluff, so I will try that. And the white ash is an experiment since it is going on an arrow and might look better. Let us know how yours turns out. Fun stuff!

[@zoltanvonsomogyi7272]

@@davidf4958 I'm going to try pulverized Elk poop for the fiber, lol. It's all over the place here 😁

[@davidf4958]

Lucky you - northern USA or Europe? You certainly know about sinew from the tendon of the hind leg or back strap. Might work well from elk. Let us know how it goes.

[@zoltanvonsomogyi7272]

@@davidf4958 actually, I'm in the mountains of central Arizona. Huge elk are everywhere here, as well as an assortment of Yucca plants, which at a friction fire enthusiasts dream plant. It's very nice here!

[@gonagain]

Did you move? Just wondering because it's not raining. Only kidding!

[@nwprimate6416]

😆 The rains showed up late this year, but it's been pouring now for days.

[@gonagain]

@@nwprimate6416 , you could come visit us in Montana, but bring your coat.

[@nwprimate6416]

@@gonagain That would be awesome. I've visited near Kalispell in the summer before and it was amazing.

[@gonagain]

@@nwprimate6416, anytime, but for your sake make it when the weather is nicer!

[@AJ-sr8pq]

Great tip! BTW what was it you were using as your scraper?

[@nwprimate6416]

It's a piece of a planer blade; excellent striker.

[@AJ-sr8pq]

@@nwprimate6416 thanks

[@73FORGE]

41 minutes is the time to beat? 😉

[@nwprimate6416]

Yes! Paint can? 😅👍

[@MostWantedOHA]

nice use of Natural materials rigth there ,remindes me of years ago when i first started w/ primitive fire . found out clam shells will crack and spill resin if left to burn out , thanks for your tyme , was kinda wondering how you have been since ive not seen any videos as of late ...''''

[@nwprimate6416]

The voice of experience! 👍😅 I'm doing fine. I've been posting a lot more often on Instagram than KZbin lately. Here's a link if you're interested. instagram.com/nwprimate/

[@fire_x_friction8820]

I keep a good amount with me always in my fire pack.

[@nwprimate6416]

Smart man!

[@linklesstennessee2078]

Good video NWP

[@nwprimate6416]

Thanks LT!

[@usernick8928]

Alright fine, I'll start eating altoids again for the tins...

[@nwprimate6416]

😅👍

[@patrickgermond2750]

Two thumbs down on this video? X wife and her soy Boy? :)

[@nwprimate6416]

😅