Winter will soon be around the corner and looks to be a wet one. Made some fire starters/helpers for times when kindling will be damp and hard to light. First sliced up some red stringybark into long strips. Cut strips of the inside of the bark.

Next melted a cheap chinese candle in a saucepan on the stove.

Soaked the stringybark strips in the melted wax while it was good and hot.

The stringybark strips after cooling ready for use.

Time for dinner. Another batch of chestnuts to be roasted along with some steak over the coals. Lit my fire spill/tinder already described in a previous post with flint and steel. Now the third fire the spill has lit and still has plenty of life to it.
Tried out one of the waxed fire starters which lit easily and can see will be useful at campsites with damp kindling. The still burning spill can be seen in the lower of the photo. Best thing I have stumbled across for a long time. Saves a lot of work.

The final setting on the fire drum which was a chance to try out my newly restored cast iron kettle for its first boil.

The fire lighter tapers are quite effective, light to carry in a rucksack for those wet winter camps. Being soaked in wax should be reasonably water protected as well.

Next melted a cheap chinese candle in a saucepan on the stove.

Soaked the stringybark strips in the melted wax while it was good and hot.

The stringybark strips after cooling ready for use.

Time for dinner. Another batch of chestnuts to be roasted along with some steak over the coals. Lit my fire spill/tinder already described in a previous post with flint and steel. Now the third fire the spill has lit and still has plenty of life to it.
Tried out one of the waxed fire starters which lit easily and can see will be useful at campsites with damp kindling. The still burning spill can be seen in the lower of the photo. Best thing I have stumbled across for a long time. Saves a lot of work.

The final setting on the fire drum which was a chance to try out my newly restored cast iron kettle for its first boil.

The fire lighter tapers are quite effective, light to carry in a rucksack for those wet winter camps. Being soaked in wax should be reasonably water protected as well.