One item I always include in my fire kit is a disposable lighter. Why, because using a lighter is an easy and convenient way of making a fire. I know a lighter is no good when the flint is wet but you can blow and wipe it dry and it will function again. What about when the fuel runs dry or evaporates? Well, you can still use the spark from the lighter to make fire if you have a char cloth, cotton balls soaked with petroleum jelly, jute twine or any tinder that will catch fire easily. You can convert your lighter into a sparklite. See my previous post on how to convert a lighter into a sparklite. But you don't need to do that if you have a clipper lighter.
Clipper is a brand name of a lighter that is refillable and world renowned for durability and reliability.
It's just like any disposable lighter.
But it has a removable flint system that allows you to replace the flint. You just pull the flint system up with your fingers.
And you have an instant sparklite. Clipper lighter, a conventional lighter and a sparklite all in one.
Now that winter is just a week away, I find it hard to gather dried twigs to fuel my wood stove. I like to drink coffee when I'm out on the trail. Well, it's actually a trail and a park because there is a picnic grove too. I don't go deep into the woods really. After I come out from work on a night shift, I just take a short walk on the trail and then prepare my coffee. So I modified my hobo stove to accomodate my DIY alcohol stove to boil water.
To be able to use my alcohol stove, I just punch 4 holes on the hobo stove and inserted 2 wires which will serve as a platform for the acohol stove. This way the hobo stove will act as a wind screen at the same time.
This is how it works. The alcohol stove is already fired up but you can't see the flames. I used heet for fuel and the flame is not visible. You will note the condensation forming on the lower portion of my space saver cup. The outside temperature is 34F when I made this test.
It took 12 minutes for bubbles to form on the water. I didn't get a rolling boil maybe because it was also too windy that day. Anyway, the water was hot enough for a good cup of coffee. And yes, I had to refill the alcohol stove too.
Result is not really bad. Maybe I would make a taller alcohol stove so there would be no need for fuel refill. I was also thinking of a way to use solid fuels like esbit solid fuel for example. That would be my next project I guess.
Recently, I have been participating in auctions for used knives at eBay and this is the first one I won.
This is the photo posted on eBay and the seller described it as "with rust spots on the blade" as you can see above.
Well, it turned out that it was gunk after all and not rusts. After cleaning the blade with oil, it was as good as new.
7.25" OAL, 3" blade, 2.6 oz. wt., not sure if blade is 440 or 420HC. It looks like Buck Ranger 112 but very much lighter.
I have been feeling uneasy carrying fixed blade knives when I go on a short hike on forest preserves. I think it's much easier to justify carrying a folder instead of a fixed blade just in case you get accosted by law enforcement officer. That's highly improbable to happen but who knows? As Murphy's law states "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Better be safe than sorry, so for now I would carry a folder instead of a fixed blade on short hikes.
