Well im not that great at starting fires and i was wanting a good fire starting tool that fits in my pocket. I hear a tinder box is pretty good for this. i want to be abel to make it. Now i have some flint but i have a very very hard time getting sparks out of it. any suggestions?

thanks

Hey, that just gave my tracer ammo idea!


Wrap the rock with sparkler wire, load into pocket, lite, windup and throw!

I find that scuffed up natural flint and a flattened match shaped piece of steel works very well for me.
You can always just use a magnifying glass for getting dried glass and the like smoking, and you only need a small one, problem is that requires sunlight...

ok easyest thing to carry when u have flint and steel bring dryer lint the stuff that u get from that little screen in the dryer a coulple sparks on lint you got yourself a fire and it is really easy to carry

I know that the fire drill is better. I have made one and it works OK. im not that great with it but oh well. I just want to try flint. My flint is natural i think. bought it off rock guy. I get the best sparks by hitting 2 pices of flint together. but the sparks never bounce off the flint. they just stay real close the the rock and never leave it.

By the way a tinder box is just flint in a box right? i did not put too much resurch into it, i could find out on my own but its quicker too ask you guys


thanks

oh thanks

Good stuff to cram in a tinder box would be char cloth...
simple to make and will catch the least spark from flint and steel
Take an clean empty metal can with a tight fitting metal lid. If you use a paint can make sure its absolutly clean and free of paint . Poke two holes one in each end.
Cut scrap 100 percent cotton blue jean material into 3" squares. Stuff about half a pound in the can and seal the lid. Lay it on a fire and burn til it stops smoking.
Take it off and wait about 2 hours before removing the lid. What you have is nice black burned cotton.
Stuff catches a good spark.
Have fun.
Hawk

I don't like either flint and steel or bow drill.  That's just my opinion - it's not for any particular reason.  Hand drill for me, cattail stalk drill, willow/clematis hearth, with maybe clematis bark, honeysuckle bark, pounded willow bark, &c, tinder.  I have managed to get an ember, and consequently a fire, in very cold, rainy conditions.  It's quite difficult to begin, but once you get going.
 Charcloth is good for sparks, not so good for fire-by-friction embers.  My personal tinder box is just a piece of folded birch bark, now quite old, with a wooden end and lid.  Inside, there is some dry grass and (often) fresh Norway maple leaves - just like Oetzi, the Glacier Man.  I use it to keep the tinder in, keeping it dry and secure.  Very important.  I just use a sort of quiver (again, birch bark) for my fire-sticks.  Keep a few extra sticks in there as well, a couple of more robust willow wands (although I find cat-tail a more reliable drill.
 Douglas, just experiment some.  Fire is not made in any sort of analytical way, and you will find he best way for you - once you have, you won't care whether it fits in your shirt pocket or not.

I just remembered another great way of starting a fire - the much neglected fire-plough.  This is probably my second favourite.  I haven't had much practise, so I'm not great with it, but it is smaller and more portable than the drill, and produces a larger ember than the hand drill (but not the bow-drill.)  I think I will carry a fire-plough set together with my hand drill in my survival kit.