Building your own Fire Starter “What Does it Take?”

Whether you’re out camping or trying to stay warm in the winter, a fire can be hard to start without a fire starter. Of course, flint and steel is the most trustworthy, foolproof way of starting a fire, but if you don’t have any available, fire starters are the next best thing. The purpose of a fire starter is to get the fire burning quickly no matter the conditions. You can buy them in the store, but it is just as easy to make them. Fire starters also make great gifts for scouts and scout leaders, campers, or anyone who has a fireplace.

Here are a dozen different ideas on how to make your own:

1. Take an empty egg carton and fill each cup 2/3 of the way full with sawdust, pencil shavings, shredded paper, charcoal, pistachio shells, or dryer lint. Pour melted paraffin or candle wax over the top and let it set. Cut or tear apart the cups.
2. Roll cotton balls in petroleum jelly until they are completely covered and saturated. Store them in a plastic container. Use two or three of them at a time to light your fire.
3. Put cotton balls in melted wax until they are fully saturated with wax. Pull them out and let them dry, and store them in plastic containers.
4. Melt wax in a double boiler. Line cupcake pans with paper cups and fill each cup about halfway full, and put a wick in each. When the wax is almost dry, press a pinecone into the top
Homemade Fire Starter Tutorial – The funniest bloopers are right here
5. Roll up newspaper and tie it with twine every few inches as you will need to cut the rolls into two or three inch strips. Holding the ends of the twine, dip the newspaper into melted paraffin.
6. Take small used candles (used birthday candles or stubs from taper candles) and roll them in waxed paper. Twist the ends closed.
7. Tie a piece of twine around a charcoal briquette. Holding the ends of the twine, dip the briquette in paraffin.
8. Stuff dryer lint into toilet paper or paper towel rolls. Roll it up in wax paper and twist the ends to close.
9. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay pinecones down. Put the pinecones into a 225 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the pinecones inside for at least 2 hours. This is to dry all the sap. Line two shallow boxes with foil and fill one with sawdust. Dip your pinecones into the wax three or four times to make sure it is completely coated, then immediately roll them in the sawdust. Put them in the other box to dry.
10. Cut a cotton cord into 1” strips and dip in paraffin wax. Let them dry and store in a plastic container or bag.
11. Save your old cardboard. Cut it into 3”x3” pieces. Dip them in wax and let them dry. They stack easily for storage.
12. Wrap a dozen wooden matches together with a piece of twine or dental floss. Soak the wooden ends into paraffin and let them dry. This will make them waterproof and make them burn longer. Lightly dip the heads in the wax to waterproof them as well. To light the matches, strike them on a rock.

Melt your wax you use a Double Boiler!

Be sure that you when you melt your wax you use a double boiler that is made specifically for wax, since wax is highly flammable. Note that old crayons don’t seem to work well when making fire starters.

If you melt down old candle wax, your fire starters will give off a nice scent. If you’re making fire starters as a Christmas gift for people to use in their fireplace, you can find a nice holiday scent that will liven up the room.

For those who are campers, you may want to pack a pencil sharpener with your gear. You can use it to easily shave pieces of wood and make kindling on the spot.

Having a nice fire to sit around is great. Starting it isn’t always so easy. If you take the time to make firestarters, you won’t have to struggle the next time you build a fire.