14 Ways to Make Fire Without Matches

This video shows numerous ways to start a fire without matches. Mixed between some that most of us know — fun with batteries and steel wool, ferro rods — we have plenty of oddball stuff that’s not as commonly known.

This first one was new to me. Combine old ashes with some cotton, and roll it between two boards until friction does its thing and an ember is formed. That’s what you see in the photo above.

Number two is one you do NOT want to learn by accident: Spontaneous combustion of oil-soaked rags.

Then there are the primitive methods such as the fire plow and fire saw.

The guy has a sense of humor. Amid his panting and grunting while trying the labor-intensive methods, he quips that “Four years of making YouTube videos has not prepared me physically for this.”

Even the most experienced survivalists among us can probably find something to learn from this video. I especially like the way he shreds jute to make tinder.

Enjoy.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.