Over the holidays, I cut a stockpile of wood for future camping trips. Didn't get around to collecting my favorite tinder; cedar bark and the small dead cedar twigs found close to the ground. Cedar bark burns slow and hot.
I decided to make a fire starter using a tip I read many years ago. It is as easy as cotton balls and petroleum jelly. I said easy, not mess free. Bought generic jumbo cotton balls and jelly from the drug store. Microwaved the jelly for about 1 1/2 minutes, just enough to make it spread easier. There is just no clean way to do it. With one's fingers, scoop about a teaspoon of the jelly and rub it into the ball. The cotton ball starts out about the size of a marshmallow, but working in the jelly, rolling the ball between the finger tips, the size condenses down to about the size of a malt ball. I rolled about three dozen of the balls, enough for several camping trips, and stored them in a small Rubbermaid container.
Test Results -
I took a ball outside and lit it with a butane lighter stick. The ball did not instantly catch on fire with contact from the flame. Took maybe two seconds and then the ball lit up with a good 2 inch flame. It kept this size of flame consistently for 3 1/2 minutes. The ball had another minute of life with a one inch flame before it petered out. Results?
My next lab test for tinder will be the Frito Corn Chip Scoops. Read that they have enough oil in them to get a campfire roaring. Maybe that is the reason the chips sometimes give me heartburn in the middle of the night.
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