Common Mistakes When Lighting a Fire

By Daniel Hume
Published on April 18, 2018
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Sorting tinder, kindling, and fuel before lighting the fire will ensure that you have the right materials on hand as the fire starts.
Sorting tinder, kindling, and fuel before lighting the fire will ensure that you have the right materials on hand as the fire starts.
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“Fire Making” by Daniel Hume divulges first-hand knowledge on a variety of fire-making techniques.
“Fire Making” by Daniel Hume divulges first-hand knowledge on a variety of fire-making techniques.

Fire Making (The Experiment, 2018) by Daniel Hume is the story of one man traveling around the world, studying every method of making fire there is. Hume helps readers find every method imaginable to light a fire without a lighter, while giving a descriptive history lesson on the origins and uses of fire in countless cultures. In the following excerpt, he lists the most common mistakes made by those attempting to start fires.

Unsuitable Fuel

It is easy to make mistakes with fuel selection when you are inexperienced or working under stress in difficult conditions. Make absolutely certain that the wood you are collecting is dead and dry, not merely dormant for the winter or recently cut. Remember, when you saw firewood, the sawdust from the middle should float down and not be clumpy. As a rule, dry wood will feel light in weight relative to its size.

Being Too Slow

If you are too slow to add fuel, the fire may burn out before it has spread. There is a balance to strike here. You don’t want to smother the fire and exclude oxygen by piling too much fuel on, but on the other hand there is no need to add twigs one by one. Handle it firmly.

Fiddling

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