In many survival camps and training exercises, knowing how to start a fire is one of the most basic of skills that you are required to learn. It is even more crucial to know how to do so without the use of matches. There may be a moment in your life where you find yourself without matches and in great need of the warmth from a fire. This is what makes a how to guide like this so useful.

Materials You Need                                  

First stage when it comes to knowing how to start a fire is the gathering of materials that you will need. The most basic of things listed here are things that can be found almost anywhere in nature.

1. Tinder: This is to catch the spark that you will produce later. The drier it is, the better, as it needs to help the firewood ignite.
2. Firewood: It is best to gather pieces of wood of varying thickness, with the majority being about as thick as your arm. Also avoid picking up any piece of wood found on the ground, as they tend to be damp.
3. A long bendable piece of wood: This is what you will use to make the “bow” with. It has to be a piece of wood that, while not wet, has some bending properties in it. That means, do not pick up something that is completely dry.
4. Cord: While this is not really found in the wild, living in survival camps teach you how to be prepared. Using the cord from your boots works well.
5. Socket: This is a hand-sized stone that has a small depression on it.
6. A knife for cutting the wood: You will have to cut certain pieces of wood into shapes to help you do this technique. Survival in the wild calls for this all the time.

Start a Fire Without Matches

The technique explained here is the called the bow and drill method. It is one of the more effective ways to start a fire, but takes some practice before it can be perfected.

• Use a flat piece of wood as the fire board and cut a slight depression at the center edge.
• On the opposite side, cut a v-shape into the wood, exactly opposite the depression so that they almost meet.
• Use the stick and cord to make a bow. Make sure the cord is tight.
• Loop the bow’s string around the stick that acts as your drill and place the drill in the depression.
• Put the socket on top of the drill.
• Put your foot on the board to keep it steady and start sawing back and forth with the bow.
• The friction will eventually cause a piece of tinder to ignite, which you can transfer to your fire pit. Blow on the tinder gently as air is fuel for fire.

Precautions and Advice

While survival is a must in the wild, every person must keep several things in mind when starting a fire.

• Try to avoid any sparks from touching you.
• Blowing too hard on your created ember might cause it to die.
• Use the created ember quickly; don’t give it a chance to die out.
• Just as there are countless situations you could end up in, knowing more survival methods to start a fire would be helpful.