Flash Contest - win a Viking Firestarter

[Elleth]

Eric posted his fire starters for sale, and I spoke up for the prettiest of the lot if no one else did. No one else has, so ... to the contest block it goes! This is especially for the new members starting out their kits, but anyone's welcome to join in the fun.

merf-viking-firesteel-eric-c.jpg (23.72 KiB) Viewed 16007 times

So here's the deal - best autumn-themed post to this thread before noon Eastern 10/19/2016 wins the firestarter. It can be a picture in kit, a reminiscence about an especially nice autumn trip or lesson learned, a seasonal recipe - whatever strikes your fancy.
Fair warning though - I might use your piece in the MERS fall newsletter coming out around Thanksgiving.

[Eric C]

To be clear on this, it is just the fire striker. There is no flint or char cloth included. I need to find a good supplier for those items so I can offer a complete set.

Elleth: Good idea for this contest, btw.

[Taurinor]

I can provide some charcloth and a sparking rock (maybe flint, but more likely Quartz, because that's what's common around where I am) for the contest, if the winner doesn't mind the prize coming in multiple packages.

[Manveruon]

Aw man, I was THIS close to snatching that striker up, haha! This is an awesome idea, Elleth! I will absolutely be participating, because it just so happens that I will be doing a somewhat impromptu garbed hike this coming Monday, so it works out perfectly!

And speaking of contests and prizes, Greg, if you're watching, I still owe you a portrait! Hit me up, my good sir!

[Le-Loup]

I am NOT entering this video as part of this contest, in fact I will not be entering this contest at all. I love the idea, but I already have plenty of fire steels, & a "Pilgrim's" needs are far greater than mine. BUT, having read the posts here, I think a little more knowledge about traditional fire lighting may not go astray.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Regards, Keith.

[Taurinor]

I am NOT entering this video as part of this contest, in fact I will not be entering this contest at all. I love the idea, but I already have plenty of fire steels, & a "Pilgrim's" needs are far greater than mine. BUT, having read the posts here, I think a little more knowledge about traditional fire lighting may not go astray.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Regards, Keith.

I very much enjoy/appreciate those videos of yours, Keith - I've watched them multiple times as part of my own learning to find/process/use punkwood as tinder. While charcloth may not be the be the most period-appropriate (if we can apply that term to ME) method of catching a spark, I've found it can be helpful as a starting point for learning how to use flint and steel, just because the modern way of generating charcloth results in such a consistent product.

I'm working on transitioning to using charred punkwood exclusively, and I think that's a good goal for anyone who wants the most realistic experience possible. I like to use charcloth like training wheels, though, and if the hope is that this prize goes to someone starting to put together their kit, training wheels may be appropriate. No offense meant to any newcomers, of course!

[Le-Loup]

I am NOT entering this video as part of this contest, in fact I will not be entering this contest at all. I love the idea, but I already have plenty of fire steels, & a "Pilgrim's" needs are far greater than mine. BUT, having read the posts here, I think a little more knowledge about traditional fire lighting may not go astray.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Regards, Keith.

I very much enjoy/appreciate those videos of yours, Keith - I've watched them multiple times as part of my own learning to find/process/use punkwood as tinder. While charcloth may not be the be the most period-appropriate (if we can apply that term to ME) method of catching a spark, I've found it can be helpful as a starting point for learning how to use flint and steel, just because the modern way of generating charcloth results in such a consistent product.

I'm working on transitioning to using charred punkwood exclusively, and I think that's a good goal for anyone who wants the most realistic experience possible. I like to use charcloth like training wheels, though, and if the hope is that this prize goes to someone starting to put together their kit, training wheels may be appropriate. No offense meant to any newcomers, of course!

I get your point, BUT, charring plant tinders directly in the fire produces a tinder that is every bit as good as charred cloth baked in a tin, & personally I think it is better in all respects than the charred cloth.
Regards, Keith.

[Taurinor]

I am NOT entering this video as part of this contest, in fact I will not be entering this contest at all. I love the idea, but I already have plenty of fire steels, & a "Pilgrim's" needs are far greater than mine. BUT, having read the posts here, I think a little more knowledge about traditional fire lighting may not go astray.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Regards, Keith.

I very much enjoy/appreciate those videos of yours, Keith - I've watched them multiple times as part of my own learning to find/process/use punkwood as tinder. While charcloth may not be the be the most period-appropriate (if we can apply that term to ME) method of catching a spark, I've found it can be helpful as a starting point for learning how to use flint and steel, just because the modern way of generating charcloth results in such a consistent product.

I'm working on transitioning to using charred punkwood exclusively, and I think that's a good goal for anyone who wants the most realistic experience possible. I like to use charcloth like training wheels, though, and if the hope is that this prize goes to someone starting to put together their kit, training wheels may be appropriate. No offense meant to any newcomers, of course!

I get your point, BUT, charring plant tinders directly in the fire produces a tinder that is every bit as good as charred cloth baked in a tin, & personally I think it is better in all respects than the charred cloth.
Regards, Keith.

I'm sure it is every bit as good, especially when an expert like you is preparing it! When I find and prepare punkwood... not so much (but I'm working on it!). Charcloth also ships very well, which is not a concern for Middle Earth, but it is for the purposes of the contest

[Le-Loup]

I very much enjoy/appreciate those videos of yours, Keith - I've watched them multiple times as part of my own learning to find/process/use punkwood as tinder. While charcloth may not be the be the most period-appropriate (if we can apply that term to ME) method of catching a spark, I've found it can be helpful as a starting point for learning how to use flint and steel, just because the modern way of generating charcloth results in such a consistent product.

I'm working on transitioning to using charred punkwood exclusively, and I think that's a good goal for anyone who wants the most realistic experience possible. I like to use charcloth like training wheels, though, and if the hope is that this prize goes to someone starting to put together their kit, training wheels may be appropriate. No offense meant to any newcomers, of course!

I get your point, BUT, charring plant tinders directly in the fire produces a tinder that is every bit as good as charred cloth baked in a tin, & personally I think it is better in all respects than the charred cloth.
Regards, Keith.


I'm sure it is every bit as good, especially when an expert like you is preparing it! When I find and prepare punkwood... not so much (but I'm working on it!). Charcloth also ships very well, which is not a concern for Middle Earth, but it is for the purposes of the contest

Fair enough
Regards, Keith.

[Taurinor]

This is not a contest entry, but I wanted to get the topic back on track. It would also be a shame for the time window to expire without anyone putting anything up (maybe an extension through the weekend would help some folks?).

An Autumn Adventure or A Learning Experience

In November of 2014, I went on my first camping trip in ranger fashion. I had assembled the beginnings of a kit, read many of the conversations on the forum, and even convinced a buddy to come with me (who was sensible enough to bring modern gear). I thought I was prepared.

I was not.

I had chosen to attempt my first overnighter at Caledon State Park, which is on the southern bank of the Potomac River. The park has a primitive campground that is only accessible to visitors by hiking the trails or by boat. Since my kit did not include a canoe, I walked the 3.5 miles of trails with my gear on my back and turnshoes on my feet. This was mistake number one, but I wouldn’t know that until the next morning. I hadn’t done a lot of walking in period shoes, and the trails were gravel. Fresh, well-maintained gravel, consisting of rocks with a lot of sharp corners. As anyone who has spent some time in leather-soled shoes will tell you, this is not a good combination.

When we got to the campsite, I encountered problem number two – my tarp. I was living in an apartment at the time, and while I had practiced setting up a shelter in the living room, this is not the same as doing it in the field. To make matters worse, campers at Caledon are required to set up on sand tent pads to protect the rest of the land. This makes it pretty simple to drive stakes, but it’s not so good for convincing branches to act as uprights for your shelter. It also meant there weren’t many handy trees to use for tying off ridgelines.

Not to be deterred, I decided to fashion my tarp into a bedroll and sleep under the stars, since I knew it wasn’t supposed to rain. To this end, I laid out my tarp and blanket and fashioned myself a primitive sleeping bag, directly on the sand of the tent pad. Mistake number three. Leaf litter and topsoil will suck the heat right out of your body if you don’t pile up some leaves or pine needles to build an insulating layer, but they’ve got nothing on sand when it comes to heat conduction. I prefer the cold, so despite the wind off the river I was fine with the couple of layers of wool I was wearing until I settled in to sleep. After an hour or so on the ground, I was fairly certain I was going to die.

Finally around midnight, I swallowed my pride, pulled out my backup emergency blanket, and crawled into my friend’s pup tent, where I spent a fairly miserable night, but did not die. The next morning, I hiked gingerly back to my car with bruised feet, and had a few blood blisters to show for it for the next few months.

It wasn’t all bad, though! I managed to pack my gear in and out fairly comfortably – I even ended up carrying my friend’s modern sleeping bag due to some packing issues on her part. I started not one, but TWO fires with flint and steel (night and morning), boiled water in a pipkin without having it explode, fed both myself and my friend oatmeal for breakfast.

Should I have been more prepared for that first trek? Yes. Did a lot go wrong? Yes. Did I want to do it again once I got home and warmed up? Yes!

I learned a lot of important lessons from that first time out, lessons I possibly should have learned from books or YouTube or what-have-you, but learning them the way I did certainly made them stick. By going to a state park with a designated campground and bringing a friend with modern gear, I also was able to keep myself from getting into serious danger.

The moral of the story is (in my mind) “Be safe, but get out there!” There’s always going to be a learning curve, so do everything you can to minimize the danger, but be ready to accept some discomfort and frustration. The safest thing to do would be to stay behind your computer screen and imagine what it would be like to explore this hobby, but where’s the fun in that?

(If you want to read the “after action” report I wrote right after this trip and see a couple of pictures, you can find it here.)

[Manveruon]

Hah! Thanks for the write-up, Taurinor! What's really amusing about your post is just how similar your experience was, in some ways, to my own first overnight trek. I too thought I was prepared, but the reality proved to be something different entirely than the theory. I also felt like I was going to freeze at night (though I was in a hammock rather than on the ground), and I too wanted to get right back out there and do it again afterwards... well... maybe in a few months, haha.

Anyhow, Elleth, if you would be interested in extending the contest at all, I would still be interested in participating, if I can. I bailed on my day hike this past Monday, unfortunately, but I was considering trying again for next week. Not totally sure yet, but I was considering it.

[Elleth]

Oh absolutely, let's kick it another week on and see what comes of it.

[Kiriana]

Great contest unfortunately I can't enter anyway because we actually received two wonderful steel Strikers from Eric at our recent Southeastern moot and believe me they are awesome!!!!

[Eric C]

Great contest unfortunately I can't enter anyway because we actually received two wonderful steel Strikers from Eric at our recent Southeastern moot and believe me they are awesome!!!!

Thanks! You and Erich actually got my first two successful firesteels. I've improved some on them now.

Now a note to new members about kit. Maybe you're concerned that you have too much modern stuff in your kit. I like our Chieftain's (Andy's) idea. While we need to strive to improve our kits, Andy wanted folks to get into the woods. If you have plastic nocks on your arrows (as I do), so what, get out there! To this day, my quiver is the leg of a pair of jeans that I used the other leg to sew on and make a strap to hang it across my back. I'm hoping to make a leather quiver soon, but it works. So if you are concerned that your kit isn't authentic enough for a pic or two, don't sweat it. POST THE PICS! WIN A FIRESTEEL!!!

[Elleth]

Seeing as how there's no interest at the moment, I'm wrapping this up. I've asked Eric to forward me the firestarter, and I'll spend some time this winter adding some goodies to make a nice little package. Expect to see it come around again some later season.

Happy travels, all.