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Having the ability to start a fire can make the difference between the life and death of a lost sportsman. Next time you go out in the field make sure you keep one of these homemade fire starters handy.
Vaseline and Cotton Ball Fire starter
This fire starter is easy to make and cost next to nothing, it has the extra benefit of being nearly waterproof.
Simply place a small amount of Vaseline in a microwave safe dish and melt on medium heat only until it begins to run. Place 6-10 cotton balls in the melted Vaseline and saturate them completely. Allow the mixture to cool and place the cotton balls in a used film container.
When you need to use them, take several cotton balls out of the film container and pull them apart. Place the Vaseline cotton ball fire starter under your tinder and light. The cotton ball acts like a wick for the Vaseline and will burn intensely for several minutes.
Saw dust and Paraffin
This is another relatively cheap homemade fire starter. Gently heat some paraffin wax, available at your local supermarket or hardware store, in a coffee can. To do this place the can in water in a pot on the stove, over low heat, heat the water until the wax is melted.
Remove the mix from the heat and slowly mix in sawdust until you have a mix of roughly 60% sawdust and 40% paraffin. Once the mix begins to cool you can carefully take small amounts and roll it into balls or whatever shapes you would like and allow it to cool.
The paraffin and sawdust mix works in much the same manner as the vaseline and cotton ball fire starter, the wax melts and the sawdust acts like a wick, it is also fairly waterproof.
Dryer Lint Fire Starter
Probably the easiest homemade fire starter is dryer lint. It burns hot and fast, needs only a spark to get it going and is lightweight. Take the lint from your dryer and place it in a film container, as long as it stays dry it will be ready when you need it.
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