Bushcraft Survival Australia - How To Light A Fire Using Flint And Steel

[@woodlandsnorth]

Very nice demonstration. I've never tried flint and steel.

[@TyCampbell666]

Paper bark can also be used as char cloth mate plus if you have a pre burnt piece of timber that has small cracks and pits on the char area it can also take a spark 👍👍 awesome work

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Yes, all natural tinder's work well as char if not cooked too much, some better than others. Thanks for watching

[@bushcraftbrotherhood9621]

Wow! loved your content mate! Great to see another Aussie bushcrafter!

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks for the nice comments, really appreciated. Another couple of video's are soon to be uploaded.

[@pjriddell]

Great audio and instruction thank you.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thank you for the positive feedback.

[@Riverbugger]

G-Day Mate, love the videos. Look forward to seeing some more of your kit and what you carry in OZ land. Love the hat as well!!! Is it an Akubra Territory? Thanks again.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks for the positive feedback. Will be doing a kit video soon. The hat is one of my old army hats made by Akubra.

[@ryburn83]

thanks for doing this very much appreciated

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

My pleasure, I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for watching

[@kimbullock475]

Hey Buddy,just found your channel.Awsome... I live in QLD. Cheers Kim....

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks for the positive feedback Kim, more video's on their way as i find time. Im based in NSW but spend a lot of the year in the NT with the army.

[@callumlahey-dillon4302]

Great video

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks Guys

[@legilnnine]

You can also char rotten wood. It works as well as char cloth. Soft spongy rotten wood works the best but I've used rotting wood from old sheds etc. BTW - great video. Thanks.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks for the feedback. I've charred a few different types of wood but not rotten wood so will have to give that a go.

[@PAULNAT]

Nice clip, I am just getting into flint and steel, I made one at a Blacksmith course I done, it works great, I use char cloth and charred puck wood. Keep up the good work.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks Paul, a video of charred natural fibres is on the list of things to do. Thanks for the positive feedback

[@sovereignaussie8627]

Great to see another vid, looking forward to more :)

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks again for the positive feedback.

[@craigallen1168]

thank you for sharing much appreciated

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

My pleasure, I appreciate the feedback.

[@GlizzyWax]

Hey mate thanks for the content! Would be great to see a "where to start" video for the complete beginner. Ive started learning cordage and researching kit essentials but if there is anything else i should be looking at immediately would love to know. Hooroo.

[@christopherbennett4559]

Great video mate thanks God bless.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Thanks for watching….much appreciated.

[@waveman0]

I would never use the spine of my knife except in an emergency, that and the fact that I rarely carry high carbon steel knives anyway preclude their use anyway. I always carry a dedicated striker, my prefered type is the "C" type, though I have got a Old Nordic one incoming and I think it will become my favorite. It is the pinch type, or nordic style use where you use it in a pinch rather (which saves you knuckles) than how you did in the classical style in the clenched fist style which doesn't save your knuckles. Char cloth was traditionally only ever used around home and rarely at camp, at camp they used charred punk wood or other natural materials, though now in the 21st century we can enjoy char cloth 24/7 AFAIAC I produce it all the time and use it all the time. Bugger what the oldtimers did. It makes life so much easier when dealing with flint and steel and is mandatory when fooling around with hard to use devices like fire pistons. Flint is problematic here in Australia, it is not abundant, and we cannot just find it laying on the ground. We are regulated to buying it, I buy it of viceroybooks, a really good Ebay retailer who gives me a good price and great knapped flint with sharp edges that spark great.

[@bashkillszombies]

In all my years born and bred in Australia I've never seen a single piece of flint, ever, in the wild. I question its existence.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

You have hit the nail on the head. Flint is very hard to find and much rarer than people think. Even in the UK during the Mesolithic period when flint was abundant and traded it is hard to find now. In Australia quartz is very common and I have seen chert deposits along the roads between the QLD and NT borders. Anything with a high silicon content will work for sparks with steel, but flint knapping is another story. Thanks for watching.

[@bossybill7437]

I expect you can also use crushed up charcoal but getting it to hold in your tinder bundle could be a problem.

[@KKoKoRR]

"We don't need a fire any larger than that" (11:52) Good point, most people unnecessarily makes a huge fire and uses big logs for boiling just one cup of water and I hate it. Also that people say how they love the nature, but this is wasting and damaging the nature

[@TwoPlusTwoEqualsFive32]

It could be argued that that fire is a bit big also. I have boiled 1 liter of water on my firebox stove mini which is no bigger than a fist by feeding it twigs. It's amazing how little energy you need to get water to a rolling boil.

[@KKoKoRR]

yea boiling water was just an example but this fire is made for getting warm and big flames is important in this stuation. that fire is good enough for warming and he doesn't waste his sources.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

The fire was a little larger for demonstration purposes. The first few minutes of putting the first layers of kindling on to get the fire going and to "take hold" always (in my experience) produces flames that are initially larger. Within 10 minutes the fire has died down to a smaller conservative size.

[@geoffgeoff143]

You are lucky to be able to do that in your state. In Qld, all land is either private or conservation park.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

A sad state of affairs in Australia. Sad that we could not be more like Scandinavia where they have the “right to roam” and looking after the environment is the norm.

[@geoffgeoff143]

Perhaps they also respect the environment more. In Qld, cattle graziers have locked most crown land that is not national park. Then, we are not allowed to light fires in national parks. Very sad.

[@EndlarStudios]

What if you don't have char cloth or a tin?

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

You can use natural plants fibre's as well as other 100% cotton material and stick them to the side of the fire under the hot ash so that they char a little bit but not burn….you have to watch it carefully. You can also put it near the coals and pull them off before they start to burn. It won't be perfect but there will be patches that charred without burning. There are also different varieties of tinder fungus you can use with flint and steel but you need to dry and prepare these ahead of time.

[@sovereignaussie8627]

I quite like charring natural materials like dead tree fungus (cant remember actual name) etc... as it is a renewable resource out in the field.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

Natural materials are great. I intend on doing a video on that in the near future.

[@BradGryphonn]

12 months late, but thanks for the great video.

[@brendanclarey9841]

Nothing beats a beasty fire with 24hr logs to calm my sole heal my body and bring me back to earth. I like ur vid and i like a big fire.

[@BushcraftSurvivalAustralia]

👍 What the fire is needed for is important to consider. Is it for cooking, boiling, keeping you warm all night if you don't have any warm clothing, tool making etc. Clean up the next morning should also be considered so that large unsitely unburnt pieces of wood are not left....considered poor fire etiquette in bushcraft circles. From this, the type of wood and the size of the fire can be gauged and a thoughtful clean up leaving minimal trace can be planned. You don't need a big fire if you are only cooking a meal and don't need it for warmth. Thanks for watching.

[@NoBSSurvival]

Nice. That is different to how I have seem most people use it. I might give it a try. One thing tho. That was not tempering. Tempering is when you relax the steel with heat. It sounds like you were hardening which is different. I have not heard of people using mild steel before. Which I think what most fencing is. I might have to try and make a mild steel striker sometime.

[@mercedesunicrnver2258]

Go Aussies I'm an Aussie