XXXX,
I have been a reader, and sometimes commentator, of your blog for some years. I have read all kinds of ideas on what should be carried for all kinds of bad things happening scenarios. One thing I have rarely seen mentioned is the simplest and cheapest fire starter around: a magnifying glass.
I have been a reader, and sometimes commentator, of your blog for some years. I have read all kinds of ideas on what should be carried for all kinds of bad things happening scenarios. One thing I have rarely seen mentioned is the simplest and cheapest fire starter around: a magnifying glass.
No moving parts. No fancy training.
Hardly any space required. Less than $10 in any drugstore as a “reading glass.”
I have one that is 4” diameter by ½”
thick one that I have carried, unprotected, in my coat pocket for over 30
years.
It has a lot of scratches on it. It will still get a pile of dry leaves into open flame in less than a minute, regardless of the air temperature.
It has a lot of scratches on it. It will still get a pile of dry leaves into open flame in less than a minute, regardless of the air temperature.
I also carry in my back pack, in a
simple manila folder, an 8 1/2 x 11 "Full Page Magnifier Fresnel Lens"
It doesn’t provide the pin point hot
spot that the glass lens does, but that can be an advantage if your target is
damp. The larger “hot spot” seems to dry out a larger area before it gets to
the ignition point. That larger area gives the flame more to work on when it
ignites.
It doesn’t provide the pin point hot
spot that the glass lens does, but that can be an advantage if your target is
damp. The larger “hot spot” seems to dry out a larger area before it gets to
the ignition point. That larger area gives the flame more to work on when it
ignites.
I don’t think there is any excuse not
to carry either one, or both, on you at all times. - KBS
Poster's comments:
When I was a kid
decades ago, everyone knew about using a magnifying lens to start a fire. Now I
had to read about it to remember.
Now I do have to
dust off the lens now and then. Perhaps I should cover it in a left over
shipping bag to cut my complaining down?
I had a Russian
friend give me several a while back, so at least some others know about them,
too.
Even a magnifying
glass can even be used in a home school situation, also. Kids can look at about
anything, including fleas from the Family pet.
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