The flicker of the flames, the crackle of the embers, and the comfort and safety it can provide – there’s something innately primordial about knowing how to make a fire.
But, if watching Survivor (huge fan!) has taught me one thing, it’s that people can either make fire or they can’t – there is really no middle ground.
So, whether it’s a final-four fire making challenge, or a campfire in the backcountry, building, starting and maintaining a fire is a very useful skill to possess.
In this step-by-step guide, you will learn how to turn pieces of chopped wood and a single flame into a raging, 3-alarm blaze quickly and easily. You’ll be roasting hotdogs and marshmallows or signalling a rescue plane in no time!
Supplies and Tools
To build a fire, you’ll need a few essential things:
1. Firewood
Dry firewood is best as long as it’s not rotting. If the outside is wet, chances are the inside is still dry.
2. Hatchet or Axe
Any hatchet or axe will do. Just make sure it has a good edge. I usually carry a small hatchet with me when camping.
It’s compact, light-weight and makes chopping large pieces easy. Here’s an Amazon link to a similar hatchet I use (13″ wood chopping hatchet).
3. Knife
You can use a small pocket knife or a burly survival knife – it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s sharp!
I use my trusty Camillus BushCrafter knife. The blade is full tang, the grip is literally bullet-proof, and the edge is razor sharp. Here’s an Amazon link if you’re interested (Camillus BushCrafter 4″ blade knife)
4. Matches / Lighter
Don’t leave home without matches or a working lighter! It’ll be SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult to start a fire with friction or sunlight.
I tend to carry a box of waterproof matches and a backup butane lighter on most trips.
Step 1 - Processing Logs into Sticks
A majority of the time, you’ll be picking up a bundle of firewood before heading to your campsite. The wood pieces by themselves are far to large to start a fire with. Some “smart” people just douse them in gasoline and then light them on fire, a.k.a. the Burning Man method of fire making!
For non-pyromaniacs, chances are you won’t have a jerry-can of gasoline laying around so, you’ll need to process the large pieces of firewood down into smaller diameter sticks. The smaller and thinner the sticks, the greater their flammability.
Follow these steps:
- Hold the log upright with one hand, so that you can see the end-grains of the wood.
- With your other hand, hold the axe and position it to align with the wood grains.
- Firmly and in one motion lift both the log and axe together and tap the ground. The axe should penetrate the wood. If not, continue tapping.
- Once penetrated, lift the axe with both hands and striking the ground repeatedly until the axe fully splits the log.
Take each split half and repeat the process until the split pieces are roughly 1 to 2 inches in diameter.
Pro tip: Use another piece of wood as a hammer to strike the axe head through the log.
Step 2 - Processing Sticks into Feather Sticks
Once you have a pile of 1 to 2 inch sticks, you’ll want to take a few pieces and, using your knife, shave them into “feather” sticks. These shavings can be paper thin and can take a flame and ignite very easily!
Follow these steps:
- Using one hand, hold a stick firmly into the ground.
- With your other hand, take your knife and cut downward with even pressure to shave the surface. Slowly, a thin sliver of wood will start to peel away from the stick. It’s paramount that you only want to cut and shave off a thin portion of wood. As the wood shaves off, it should start to curl in on itself.
- Keep cutting downward until almost the tip, stopping an inch or so from the end.
Repeat the process around the stick, creating more and more wood curls. If any shavings break off, save and set them aside. Once a stick has a substantial amount of shavings, repeat the process for another stick.
Pro tip: Keep feather sticks and any shavings dry. They tend to absorb moisture easily since they are paper-thin.
Step 3 - Building a Fire Base
Before striking a match, you’ll need to build a suitable wood base that will protect and grow your fire.
The key to a good base is a layered approach: Dry, highly flammable shavings at the bottom, thin sticks to catch and hold the flames on top, and larger pieces stacked around to maintain the fire long-term.
There are many different fire base shapes you can build, but the two most popular are the teepee or log cabin kind. A teepee shape exposes more wood surface area and promotes air to be drawn into the fire. A log cabin is more stable and better for windy situations. I prefer a combined approach, building a log cabin around a teepee.
Follow these steps:
- Place the feather sticks in the center of the fire pit, with the curly ends placed next to each other.
- Take any wood shavings and pile them on top of the curls.
- Lay larger sticks on top of the curls, leaving space for you to light the base of the curls.
- Place larger logs around the teepee to protect the base from excessive wind.
Pro tip: To further protect your fire from high winds, stack large rocks or pieces of wood on the wind-ward side of the fire base.
Step 4 - Lighting the Fire
Once the base is ready, it’s time to add the flame!
Follow these steps:
- Light a match or position a lighter underneath the feather sticks, ensuring the flame catches onto the wood curls. The flame should start to rise and spread among the other wood shavings.
- Protect the flames from high winds so that it can spread to all the shavings. The fire should spread to the thinner sticks placed on top.
- Eventually, a pile of embers will collect from all the ignited wood. Some wood pieces may even collapse, however, you can add small sticks on top to keep the fire temperature hot.
Move and reposition the larger pieces so that the fire can eventually spread to them. If you need to add smaller pieces to maintain the fire, add them near the base of the fire. That way it can heat and spread the flames to the larger pieces.
Pro tip: If you have paper packaging or even toilet paper, crumple it up and place it at the very base of the fire and use it to take the initial flame from the match or lighter.
Step 5 - Maintaining the Fire
A roaring fire will gobble up lots of wood but there are a few things you can do to maintain a long-lasting fire without torching all of your firewood.
Follow these steps:
- Transition to larger logs or maintain embers with large pieces of wood. Larger pieces, burn more slowly and will last longer.
- If the fire pit isn’t being used, preserve the firewood when it’s needed – there’s no point wasting wood!
If it starts to rain, don’t freak out.
- Keep adding medium sized pieces of wood to maintain the flames and keep the embers hot. So, unless the sky absolutely opens up and it’s the end of days, chances are your fire will last.
Chop and prepare wood of different sizes regularly to have ample firewood ready should you need it.
If the flame goes out, but embers still remain, you can literally breath fire back into your fire.
- Kneel down and blow slowly and carefully into the base of the embers. This adds extra oxygen to the fire and increases the intensity of the burn.
Pro tip: Be extra cautious when blowing into the fire! Too hard will cause the embers to fly all over the place, and too slow won’t be enough oxygen. Make sure you take your time inhaling and exhaling, and try not to breath in smoke. A lot of people get light-headed because they exhaust themselves or inhale smoke during the process, and there’s a potential of falling into the fire.
And there you have it! Now you know how to build, start and maintain a fire. So, get out there and do it… Practice, practice, practice!
Whether you’re in your backyard or the backcountry, knowing how to make a fire will certainly impress your partner and perhaps even be the flame to a passionate night… [always practice safe ‘fire’ making].
Do you have any fire making tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments below.
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