9 Quick and Easy Ways to Start a Fire by Yourself

To survive in the woods, learning how to start a fire is essential. Fire offers warmth, protection, and a place to cook and sterilize tools in an emergency. However, matches and lighters can be fickle—and easy to lose or get wet! In this guide, we'll teach you 9 different ways to start a fire with common (and not-so-common) gear you should have in your pack!

Things You Should Know

Start a fire without a match or a lighter by gathering dry grass, leaves, or sticks to make tinder. Create friction by rubbing a stick against dry wood to ignite a spark.
Rub both prongs of a 9-volt battery against a piece of steel wool to create friction and ignite a spark. Transfer the spark to a pile of dry tinder to start a fire.
Focus a strong beam of sunlight through eyeglasses, binoculars, and or a resealable bag filled with water at a pile of tinder to spark a fire.

1

Steel wool & battery

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Ignite a spark with a bundle of steel wool, a 9V battery, and tinder. First, begin by making a small tinder nest out of dry grass, leaves, or sticks. Grab a 9-volt battery and rub the two circular receiving prongs against a piece of steel wool to create friction. You may need to do this a few times before you see a spark.^{[1]
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- Gently blow on the steel wool to encourage the flame to grow and spread. Carefully transfer the steel wool to your tinder nest, blowing lighting until the tender catches.
- Add larger pieces of dry wood to continue building your fire.

2

Char cloth, flint & steel

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Place char cloth on a piece of flint, quickly striking a blade against it. Build a tinder nest using dry plant material. Take a flint rock and hold it between your thumb and forefinger. Use a piece of char cloth or lightweight tree fungus as charcoal. Quickly scrape the back of a steel striker or knife blade against the flint until sparks fly. Catch the sparks with the char cloth until it glows like an ember. Transfer the cloth to the tinder nest and gently blow it to induce a flame.^{[2]
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- Generally, you can find flint in the Southeast and Midwest along river beds or in limestone. Flint is often a black or grey color with a glassy look on its surface.^{[3]
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- You do not need to use char cloth. However, when striking your blade against the flint, aim the sparks towards the tinder so it can catch.

3

Hand drill

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Create friction with a spindle against a piece of wood. Find a piece of wood to use as the base of your hand drill, also called a fireboard. Cut a small, V-shaped notch in the center of your board with a knife. Place small pieces of bark beneath the notch. Then, place a .5-inch wide stick (spindle) into the notch. Rub the stick between your two flat palms, pressing firmly into the board until embers form.^{[4]
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- Transfer the glowing embers to your tinder nest. Blow gently to create a flame.

4

Bow drill

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Use a shoelace string, roots, or plant fibers to make a long string that attaches to each end of the flexible stick. Find a piece of wood for the base, carving a V-shaped notch with tinder or kindling placed over it. Place the stick in the middle of the notch, keeping it in place with a rock, while moving the bow back and forth in a sawing motion until a flame catches.^{[5]
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5

Fire piston

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A fire piston is a small cylinder that compresses air to create heat. Insert a small amount of tinder or char cloth into the piston. Press the plunger rapidly to ignite the tinder. You may need to take a small stick or a knife to dig the flame out of the piston, transferring it to a bundle of tinder. Offer a slow and steady breath to nurture the flame.^{[6]
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6

Magnifying glass

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Use focused light from the sun to start a fire. Be sure it's a bright day with minimal clouds; otherwise, this method won't work. To create a fire with a magnifying glass, tilt a magnifying glass toward the sun until a small circle of focused light appears. Hold the lens over a small bundle of tinder until it begins to smoke and flame. You may have to try different angles to create the most focused beam of light possible. Blow lightly to nurture the flame.^{[7]
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- You can also use eyeglasses or binocular lenses if you don't have a magnifying glass on hand.
- It may help to add a few drops of water to the lens to create a more intense beam of light.

7

Ice lens

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Use a clear piece of ice to create the shape of a lens. You may need to shave the sides of a piece of ice with a knife, cement, or a stone to create a circular shape. Use the warmth of your hands to melt the ice lens smoothly. Then, hold your ice lens perpendicular to the sun to focus a beam of light on your tinder as you would with a magnifying glass. Wait until you see smoke, then the tinder will ignite.^{[8]
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- Avoid dripping water onto the tinder, as this can prevent a flame from sparking.

8

Resealable bag and water

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Use a resealable bag and water to create a lens. Fill a resealable bag half-full with water. Twist the bag until it forms a liquid sphere, and hold it into the sun. You may have to adjust your angle until you get a steady, strong beam of light, like with an ice or glass lens. Aim the light on top of the tinder and hold the bag steady until the tinder starts to smoke and ignites.^{[9]
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- You can also use urine if you don't have enough water.

9

Potassium permanganate & glycerine

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Potassium permanganate and glycerine create a chemical fire. Grab a flat rock and pour a quarter-size amount of Potassium Permanganate. Add equal amounts of glycerine and wait a few minutes. You can add a couple of drops of water to speed up the process, but wait for the mixture to burst into flames.^{[10]
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- You may want to take a step back for this one!
- You can also use sugar instead of glycerine.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I find flint? What does it look like?

Britt Edelen
BA in English Literature, Brown University
Britt Edelen comes to wikiHow after graduating in 2019 from Brown University, where he studied English and German literature and philosophy. While at Brown he contributed frequently to campus publications and worked in the university’s Writing Center. More recently, he has had several articles published in various journals devoted to literary criticism. During his time at wikiHow, Britt supervised and collaborated with writers and editors to continue producing high-quality content and promote wikiHow’s mission of enabling everyone to learn anything.

Britt Edelen

BA in English Literature, Brown University

Expert Answer

Flint looks shiny and gray and it almost feels like pencil lead. You can find it by looking around rocks. It should be easy to scratch off, but it shouldn't come off in chunks. It should come off in shavings.

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How long do the different methods take?

Community Answer

Using a hand drill takes 30+ minutes. A bow drill would take 5-10 minutes while using steel wool would only take 2-3 minutes. A magnifying glass would also take about 10-15 minutes.

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What if I don't have anything with me?

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Then the hand drill is your best bet. Try to find a base log that already has a small hole, and a pointed stick. That should be all you need.

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Tips

Make sure the wood is extremely dry before attempting any friction methods.

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Cottonwood, juniper, aspen, willow, cedar, cypress, and walnut are ideal for creating your fire board and spindle sets.

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Nurturing an ember or spark into a flame is the most difficult part of starting a fire. Be sure to blow gently during this step.

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Try to save leftover embers and keep them warm to start your next fire fast.

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Warnings

Be aware of sparks and embers that may fly off when creating friction.

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Be sure to put out your fire using water or by smothering it with sand or dirt before leaving the fire site unattended.

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Always remember to be careful when dealing with fire.

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