Ferrocerium Rods and Cotton Pads

I don't have too much to write today.

A few months ago I went for a walk with my Dad and Monty into the woods north of Oakville. We sat with a beer and a sandwich and I tried to make a fire with a Ferrocerium rod.



It took me about 20 minutes and wore half the rod away with my knife until we finally got a leaf to light, and to make a little campfire. The trouble was that there were no Birch trees anywhere around which would have solved this issue - a fire would have been had within seconds.

Well, I read often that folks use cotton balls with vaseline to make excellent tinder. I rummaged about and Spring gave me some cotton makeup remover pads. They're small, and even without vaseline or paraffin, they light like jetfuel - amazing.



Try it - you'll like it.



As certain readers have requested, I have created a fairly complete index of Mungo Says Bah posts.

Please enjoy and comment freely!

• Flora: Pinetree Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park - ...
  
• Algonquin Park Camping & Blackflies
  
• Planning for June, 2009 Algonquin Provincial Park ...
  
• A Panoply of Pretty Pictures from the Path
  
• Backcountry Camping in Algonquin Park: Trip Booked...
  
• A Walk in the Valley at the End of May
  
• Beginning to Stir from a Winter Slumber
  
• Edible Backyard Plants - Legitimate and Otherwise
  
• Firewood, Cormorants, Arctic Terns, Seagulls, and ...
  
• Flint in the Post, Paleo Knife in the Box - My Fli...
  
• Planning My Next Camping Trip With Great Aplomb.
  
• 7 Days with Minimum Kit
  
• Where Can I Find a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir™ Air Mattre...
  
• A Long Weekend - Day 1
  
• Indian Fishing: Early Methods on the Northwest Coa...
  
• Come Rain, Sleet or Snow.
  
• Wanted: Flint
  
• Old Camping Resources - Free Online Books
  
• Jack London - "To Build a Fire"
  
• Where Art Thou, Tarp Goodbye Tent!
  
• Tutorial: An Improved Tarp Tent Shelter Design for...
  
• Bushcraft Hobo Wood Stove
  
• The Warming Weather - The Sun and the Snow
  
• Mungo's Bushcrafty Year in Review
  
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• A Panoply of Downloadable Bushcraft E-Books
  
• A Winter Sit in the Woods and Online Resources
  
• Good Curly Feather Sticks
  
• My Warm Military Arctic Gloves, Licorice Allsorts,...
  
• Farley Mowat's "No Man's River"
  
• James Ozan Peacock
  
• An Evening Before A New Boy Arrives
  
• Monty and the Well-Fed Squirrels
  
• A Tutorial on How To Build a Coke Can Stove
  
• If You Go For A Walk in - 20 °C Weather...
  
• Be Prepared for the Ice Storm or Blackout or Big B...
  
• Step 1: Baiting the Squirrels
  
• An Indoors Christmas Celebration
  
• The Shepherd
  
• Happy Christmas Everyone
  
• MREs and a Yuletide Walk in the Valley
  
• A Brief Respite from the Storm
  
• Big List of Bushcraft, Outdoors, Hiking, Nature re...
  
• Stormageddon is Coming - Prepare Thy Car's Emergen...
  
• How to Bake No Knead Bread Unsuccessfully Twice
  
• Walkies Past a Hollow Apple Tree
  
• The Big Bright Full Moon at its Closest Perigee
  
• Fumbling, Awkward, Maladroit Weather
  
• Beagles Eat Bird Food
  
• Soft Snow on the Smelly Fields - Playing with my C...
  
• Bivy Sack in the Winter Snow
  
• Testing my New Nikon P80 During a Walk in the Vall...
  
• Wooden Spoon Carving
  
• Dersu Uzala - Bushcraft Lessons in the Boreal Fore...
  
• Traditional / Ancient Woodworking Skills Videos
  
• Survivorman Season 3 Arctic Tundra Sneak Preview
  
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• A Walk at Rowangarth Farm
  
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• Survivorman Season 3 - Sneak Preview of Premiere T...
  
• Whimmy Diddle
  
• Rogers Rangers
  
• My Tarp, an Igloo, Several Super Shelters, and Mor...
  
• I Went to the Army Surplus Store Today
  
• I Want to Build an Igloo
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 7: L...
  
• A Walk in the Valley - How to Build a Simple Lean-...
  
• A Walk in the Park and the Valley Entrance
  
• A Walk in the Park with Autumn Coming
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 6: E...
  
• Standby for a Mini-Mungo!!!
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 5: M...
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 4: K...
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 3: E...
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 2: M...
  
• Pinetree Lake Algonquin Park Solo Trip - Part 1: G...
  
• Back from Pinetree Lake in Algonquin Park
  
• Okay - Final List for my Solo Trip into Algonquin ...
  
• Adventure Medical Thermo-Lite II Bivvy Sack
  
• Aboriginal Films and Fussing with my Kit
  
• Final Preparations for Algonquin Park Trip
  
• In Memory of the Victims of the September 11th, 20...
  
• Camping and Canoeing: Risk Mitigation - Fear & Loa...
  
• Weight Reduction: Camping and Canoe Kit List for A...
  
• Useful Algonquin Park Links & More
  
• A Leopard Earthball Mushroom
  
• A Walk in the Valley with Spiders & Jewelweed
  
• Evening in the Park, and 22 days, 22 hours, 22 min...
  
• Getting Monty in Shape for our Camping Trip
  
• My Special Friends: Dunkler Shirmpilz & Common Ink...
  
• Count Down to Algonquin Park Camping Trip
  
• Mushroom Identification - Gently Fried in Salt, Bu...
  
• Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Mushrooms Galore!!!
  
• The Great Perseids and the Back Garden
  
• Monty the Beagle and the Peach
  
• Monty the Beagle in the Poppies
  
• I'm Mad About Wool Blankets
  
• White-tailed Deer - Odocoileus virginianus
  
• Valley Vistas and Views
  
• Views from the Valley - Alder, Mountain Ash, Sumac...
  
• Ventures in the Valley
  
• The Common Inkcap (Coprinopsis atramentaria) or In...
  
• Going Down into the Valley
  
• This Weekend in the Valley - Burdock Intentions
  
• Into the Valley - A Familiar Refrain
  
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• A Mini-Mungo On The Way
  
• Sunday Evening Walk in the Park
  
• Movin' to the Country, Gonna Eat a Lot of Peaches,...
  
• Planning For My Next Canoe Trip to Algonquin Park ...
  
• Flora from a Walk in the Park
  
• A Walk In The Park
  
• My Perfect Birthday Day and Night-Vision Fun
  
• Quick Banana Bread - Bannock Practice
  
• Tall Ships
  
• Cooking Rice & Bacon for Camping & Hiking
  
• How to Cook Rice & Preserved Bacon over a Camping ...
  
• How To Start a Campfire in Wet Weather - and Pictu...
  
• A Hike into the Ravine on a Hot Day - Part 3 of 3
  
• A Hike into the Ravine on a Hot Day - Part 2 of 3
  
• A Hike into the Ravine on a Hot Day - Part 1 of 3
  
• Algonquin Park Trip Planning
  
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• "It's The Charcloth, Stupid" - Adventures with my ...
  
• Our Grass Is Growing
  
• Hudson Bay Steel & Flint Fire Striker
  
• Where To Go & Under the Weather
  
• List of Popular Blog posts
  
• The Moon and the Sky and a Plane.
  
• Monty's Walk in the Valley - Fungi and Flora
  
• Tutorial: How to Make Charcloth for Tinder for a F...
  
• Beagle, Grass and Daffodils
  
• Garden Flora Pictures and Latin
  
• Rainy Hike in the Valley
  
• Reflections on Camping Food
  
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• First Springtime Walk in the Valley
  
• Sitting in the Sun
  
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• Plans for Pleasantly Pressing Pretty Plants
  
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• Sunny Dog Days - caniculares dies
  
• Edible Backyard Flora
  
• Breaking a Habit with a Match Coat
  
• The Action Will Answer Your Questions
  
• Picture Gallery
  
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• Rabbit and Beagle
  
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• There's Snow End to the Snow
  
• Snow, Continued
  
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• What's The Price of an Alqonquin Park Camping Trip...
  
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• How To Set Up, Maintain and Use A Tent When Campin...
  
• How To Catch, Clean and Cook a Fish While Camping
  
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• The Lunar Eclipse of February 20, 2008
  
• Happy Valentine's Day, Pinar!
  
• A Nice Cold Hike in the Valley
  
• Snowy Woods - One Foot In Front of the Other
  
• Blanket of Snow
  
• Cheese Croissants and a Brown Leather Sofa
  
• Tired, Cold and Happy
  
• Join the All-New Mungo Says Bah Facebook Fan Page!...
  
• Mid Winter Thaw in the Valley
  
• 2008 Camping Trips
  
• Campfire in the Valley - Again
  
• Into the Wild, Call of the Wild, Wild Hawk, Wild B...
  
• Hot Chocolate in the Woods
  
• Of Each Other We Should Be Kind While There Is Sti...
  
• Wool Hats for the Outdoors - Felt and Shearling
  
• Outdoors, Camping, and Bushcraft and Other Links
  
• Happy Holidays
  
• One Foot in Front of the Other
  
• Photos Taken During a Drive in the Country
  
• A Lunch Time Walk in the Snow
  
• Bushcraft Course with Mors Kochanski - Theory, Fir...
  
• Going on a Nature Walk at Work - Cattails, Juniper...
  
• Videos of Monty the Beagle - Toys, Camping and Eat...
  
• Bushcraft Course with Mors Kochanski - Shelters, T...
  
• Bushcraft Course with Mors Kochanski - A Walk in t...
  
• Bushcraft Course with Mors Kochanski - Jack Mounta...
  
• Bushcraft Course with Mors Kochanski - Driving Dow...
  
• In Flanders' Fields
  
• The Backyard Shed is Varnished
  
• Back from New Hampshire Bushcraft Course with Mors...
  
• Packed for my Camping Trip!
  
• Mora Knife Handle
  
• Plants in the Backyard - Autumn is on the Way
  
• A Quick Roundup of Bushcraft, Primitive and Campin...
  
• How to Make a Tarp Shelter - A Tutorial
  
• Setting Up My Tarp
  
• Thank You For Dropping Bah
  
• The Backyard Shed and Monty the Beagle
  
• Photos From A Walk In The Valley
  
• Making Oven Dried Beef Jerky Which Tastes Better T...
  
• How To Build A Wooden Shed
  
• A Fine Shed, Web Development, and a Bushcraft Cour...
  
• Woodcraft, Primitive Skills and Bushcraft Blogs
  
• A Trip for Two
  
• Boil Down, Simplify, Reduce, Harmonize, Normalize ...
  
• How To Make Chili
  
• The Quiet Places
  
• Saturday Morning Walk in the Woods
  
• Firesteel Rod Handle
  
• Making Beef Jerky In an Oven
  
• Carving A Spoon from Locust Tree Wood
  
• Putting a New Handle on my Mora
  
• Business and Firewood Analysis
  
• Notes on Camping in Algonquin Park
  
• Algonquin Park - Galeairy Lake - Canoe and Camping...
  
• Final Algonquin Canoe Camping Equipment List
  
• Almost Final Algonquin Canoe Camping Trip Equipmen...
  
• Grape Vines, Camping Gear, and Some Business Analy...
  
• Canoe Camping List Item Descriptions continued...
  
• Algonquin Canoe Camping Equipment List Description...
  
• Making a Fire Drill - Fire by Friction
  
• Planning Needed for a Canoeing and Camping Trip in...
  
• Updated Canoe Trip Map
  
• The Holy Consecrated Mungo BBQ
  
• July 2007 Solo Algonquin Canoe Trip Planning
  
• Search For What Mungo Says and Ye Shall Find
  
• Views From Home

Cheers,

Mungo

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