I am a old guy. And from what I see is that your a good dad. More important than being a good guide. So proud to see a young dad doing a good job. Enough with the soft. You rock on your hunting advise.Keep it up.
@@CliffGray Great Firestarter Mate! If your Lazy I've found that Sliced up Waxed Cardboard Cartons from the Greengrocer or Fruit & Veggie Vendor are Awesome, & Water Resistant, Just Chop them into convenient sizes & your set!! Carry them when your Hiking or Camping - Not quite as good as your Recipe but pretty good non the less & Usually sourced for Free! -Cheers 👍
Back in the early 80s as a boy scout we took a Tuna tin, cut carbord to fit, rolled it up tight pressed it in and then poured wax in . Easily packed easily stored and has been working great for over 30 years.
I got the tuna tin tip from my Mom. An old Girl Scout trick. The other tip was using a large can as a support for a skillet. Use a can punch to make 6 holes around top rim and 6 holes around the open bottom. Percolators also work well on these supports.
I have seen this formula before but the interaction with the kiddos and them being a part of dad's hobby gets an enthusiastic like and follow from me!!
Excellent tip... but an even better tip is to use a combination of lint, fine sawdust and coarse sawdust or shavings. Even very small chips work well too but I've found that lint or shredded paper (paper shredders in the office are a good source or even a hole punch) plus some sawdust & shavings works more than well enough. Another thing to do is make a "paste" from your wax, lint and sawdust then roll some of it up in waste paper. You can cut the rolls of your desired diameter into the lengths you want or leave them long for easier packing. I roll mine into longer lengths and pack them into an aluminum case I made which fits your average 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of notebook paper when used as a rolling paper (junk mail!). I cut a piece from a longer length based on what I'll need to get my fire going with what other tinder and wood I can scrounge up. Sometimes I can use a 1/4 inch long little guy, other times I'll need an inch long piece due to having damp or wet wood. The point is I select what I need when I use my fire starter as opposed to just burning the same length every time whether I need it or not. As for materials other than the wax... I've known guys to use dryer lint, shredded paper, shredded clothing, hole punch waste, fine or coarse sawdust, wood shavings, wood chips, rubber dust, shredded plastic, shredded cardboard and shredded fiberboard to make fire starters. Obviously, those materials are used in whatever combination each guy chooses to use. The problem with using egg crates is the size... they take up too much room and they don't pack efficiently. Yes, you can cut them down with a sharp knife but I've found that rolling a fire starter is the most compact way to go. YMMV so choose what's best for you. Peace & good vibes to all! - Max Giganteum
I love the idea, but I don't really get a lot of dryer lint being that I live alone. So I went to the dollar store and bought cotton balls. They work great! 2 cotton balls per egg container, kind of pulled apart.
I just did that for elk camp this year for the first time. This works awesome and I was acting like a kid with how excited I was to start the tent oven every morning and night with these starters! Great tip!!!!
Dude, these are amazing! My daughter helped me make about 20 of these today. We took one outside in dry weather to see how long it would burn and it finally stopped after 13 minutes!!! Stoked to use these in the mountains. Thank you for the awesome video.
This is a great project! I’m going to do this with my five-year-old this weekend. normally I carry 1” gorilla tape around my Ferro rod & regular dryer lint in my fire kit for wet weather fires. I’ll bet a couple of those can get compressed pretty easily into an Altoids tin for keeping emergency fire starter on deck. So cool!
Love it bro. Involving the kids is exactly why I do what I do. I recently had an opportunity to show mine how to find lighter knot and use it sparingly through the season to start the camp fire. I will definitely use this as a learning experience. Thanks for sharing the family mentality.
Awesome video! These lint and wax starters are really good. It can be extremely difficult to build a fire when you really need one. Altitude above 10,000 feet combined with days of rain and cold can make for a fine challenge.
Now that was an awesome DIY tutorial/demo Cliff! And you even got the whole crew in on it. Very cool! Definitely gonna be adding some of these in with my trusty ol' vaseline soaked cotton balls. Thanks man!
Love it! I've been doing this for years--mainly to start fires in my fireplace, and of course camping. I also soak cotton rope in wax while laughing at the blackbeard firestarters! Thanks for the DIY vid! Oh--btw, you don't have to go buy wax--use old broken holiday candles, yeah it might smell good and have glitter, but you're gonna burn it! :)
I just fell through the ice today here in western Montana. Luckily it was only knee deep and the weather was mild. I was able to get a fire going without too much issue. Definitely makes me want to carry some backup though in case things were worse
The advise of using the cutting board not only is good. It'll protect the counter if you go beyond the egg carton and teaches you to be humble because he is giving you feedback, giving you a good advise and one day if you don't listen to your son one day he may respond the same way you just did "you're giving me advise now?" I hope he doesn't. Thank you for the video, I'll really listen to you. Or just do the wax heating in a can you don't care to throw away or save it for future wax heating projects. Great video and project with your children!!! You have another subscriber and another like!!! Take care!!! And use the board to cut on the counter! LOL but am serious!!!
I use the same eggs cartons, but melt some old candle wax in a coffee can and mix sawdust directly into the melted wax until it's a thick, almost "dry" consistency while stirring. This allows the wax to soak into the wood over heat. Then I spoon the mixture into the egg carton and press it in. The paper carton soaks any excess wax which "glues" it all together and makes it the "wick" to light. I haven't tried dryer lint yet because I always have so much sawdust on hand. Love seeing the children learning hands-on how to do things!
I have a 5yr old son. When yours fell off the counter i could relate haha. Ive been saving lint for this very reason but to use for starting my bbq. Great family video I'll show my kids before we make ours. Thanks for all the quality content.
This is amazing. I took some pyro putty out on my first hunt last month and was really underwhelmed by its performance. Will need to track down some egg cartons and make this happen. Thanks much for the great content.
Hey thanks for this dude. I did this with my kids and we took them fishing to Pyramid Lake in Nevada last weekend. Worked awesome. And in the rain. BTW, nice job on Rogan. I enjoyed it.
I learned how to make these when I was a kid in scouts. They're awesome! I can't wait to make some of these with my son when he's old enough. Another useful vid, Cliff 😁👍
This is so underutilized. Neat demo with the kids. I use cardboard paper towel tubes. Cut them in half, stuff them full of lint, cotton ball, wax mix, then put them in a quart Ziplock. Cut off an inch or two when you need a fire starter. Keeps the mess more contained and you can burn the entire thing. The hardest part is cleaning the wax off my knife after cutting one.
I have cut these into blocks of four and cooked/reheated food over them. Use some rocks around the edge of the block to support your soup can, pot, or pan and light one corner of the block. You can get a nice slow burn for 20-30 minutes. I have also pulled wood out of a lake and gotten it to burn using a couple of these. I have no idea how long the wood had been in the water, but it was not soaked all the way to the core.
wow! so it sounds like I cut the test way short. Thanks for the additional info on their effectiveness. I'll have to try the cooking with them! thanks Robert.
Good video ive made some before but with sawdust and wax, I've been carrying multiple ways to start fires and one of my favorite is a piece of rubber intertube it can sit in standing water remove it shake i off and light it. never fails to start
i do something very similar for my hunting firestarters. use a little butchers twine and melt some wax to the bottom of the carton first then stuff and fold over and you have a handy wick for this as well
If you don't have dryer lint the shreds from a document shredder work very well. Any small cardboard container works for a mold and I use a bit of twisted waxed paper for a wick. 🤓🍻
I’ve also used sawdust from my chainsaw instead of lint and it works great. I’ve also been collecting pine sap to use instead of the wax. The draw back of the sap is it burns smoky but it’s free. I was saving old candles but that only goes so far before running out.
Been doing roughly the same thing with dryer lint, shredded bills ( 😁 ), empty toilet paper rolls, and paraffin wax. Works great for family camping, though I've never tried it in the rain, and their too big to backpack. The wax your using is probably better, and the size most definitely is.
I gotcha - yeah sounds very similar. For backpacking - I still use these but I just chop them up into smaller pieces. If I shove a ton of dryer lint in there, they are actually pretty light. If a guy is pretty competent, he can actually start 5-7 fires off one of these things, even in the rain/snow.
Hey just found your videos and have really enjoyed them . This video triggered a comment because my two children's names are Wyatt and willow . I thought that was crazy . Iam from Maryland but spent 8 years guiding in Alaska for Dall sheep moose ,grizzly and the occasional black bear . I've been watching alot of elk hunting content because i have always wanted to hunt elk and now iam 41 and haven't made it happen yet I've been applying in Arizona the last two years and this year iam applying for Wyoming. I have zero elk experience and am planning on winging it in a way I have good buddy in Arizona and he hunts elk . I am probably going pronghorn hunting this fall so I figured I may as well apply for an elk tag in a general unit and take a swing at if I get drawn . Thanks for the tips man keep um coming
Also, just go to a junk shop and get a dedicated pot for stuff like this, that you don't have to clean. That way you're not messing up your sewage lines.
You are a great Dad spending time with your kids it’s a beautiful thing. I apologize but I seen another guy make them with liquid paraffin lamp oil and gulf wax 1:3. He poured the melted mixture into paper ramekins that were filled with cedar chips (hamster bedding) and then allowed them to cool in the fridge. The fire starters burned for 28 MINUTES 😮
I do a similar thing with toilet paper roles, lint and wax. I flatten four tp roll centers, then stuff them into a fifth roll. Then I cut the resulting roll into four sections, stuff any gaps with dryer lint, then dip them into melted wax. Works well.
I made something like this, but my only problem with dryer lint was there was some hair in it and it kinda smelled bad. So i switched to cotton balls on my next batch
I've made similar, except I had a foam egg carton to use. And the wax-lint balls just pop out! And yes, they store great in a zipper bag. Also, my wax comes from scented candles. It's easy enough to just pour out the last of a jar into an old coffee tin or other container. I'd recommend heat-proof. You can warm it the same way, and you really don't have to worry about melting the whole thing. Speaking of commercial fire starters, I think my recent favorite is a bag of small dried corn cobs soaked in alcohol. The bag isn't even resealable! They're expensive, burn fast, and then the fuel evaporates before you need them again. Good times!
@@CliffGray Heck yeah, man! You should never burn a jar candle all the way down, and if the missus (or you, because why not?) likes scented candles, they're a ready source of wax usually just getting thrown out. Plus it smells nice when you first light the fire lol Oh, and if you really, really want to have flaked wax, pouring it into something like a cheap baking pan (dollar store loaf pan, perhaps?) and then grating it also works for that. Again, a dollar store grater works well for the purpose.
I use cotton balls and wax. Just pull the cotton ball to make it oblong and dip 1/2 way into wax and set on aluminum foil or wax paper to cool. I have even unrolled the cotton ball and wrapped it back around a couple wooden matches w/match heads exposed. Both ways work well and burn time is about 6-7 min. I can start a charcoal chimney with 1 cotton ball and some sticks from the yard. If you don't want to mess with the sticks, 3 cotton ball starters will do the job. I recycle my wife's candles into fire starters. I use a tin can as a dedicated melting pot. I heat a burner on the stove and turn off and place the can on the hot but "off" burner. I use an old pair of hemostats and clip on to the can as a handle.
You can get a 20 minute plus burn if you lose the lint and use sawdust or a cotton ball soaked in petroleum jelly.. Also, I use a tomato juice can 52oz and use that for my wax. Your system of using a double boiler is ok, but with the cleanup, you're pouring wax down your drain which eventually will solidify and clog your pipes and or septic. Love the kids, btw.
Add 1 more to the sawdust list. I have a 5 gallon bucket of sawdust after having a couple trees taken down that's 2 years old at this point. I also have a good bit of sawdust from lighter/fatwood from cutting up those stumps (I have an insane amount of lighter wood). I can never get enough of the hair out of the lint. I think my daughter sheds worse than a dog 😂
Just a note to everyone...if you do this and clean the pot repeatedly in the sink you'll need to get your waste pipes rotorouted out eventually. At the very least run hot water and follow the cleanup with a bunch more so it will mostly flow to the sewer system...either way the moment it reaches the temp needed to solidify it will and stay there for years until it gets ground out by a plummer
I just keep the one small pot in the shed for making fire starters, candles etc. Never clean it, as any left will do next time. I only use white / opaque candles so color doesn't matter. Just add as much wax as needed and heat it on the wood burner.
I clean the bowl out as good as I can with a paper towel and that wax covered paper towel is also a great fire starter. I use the same bowl each time and don't scrub it out and never pour any of it down the drain. It will forever become part of your piping as soon as it cools
We have 10 5 gallon buckets full of our fire starters. Toilet paper tubes cut in half ,stuffed with shredded paper,used a paper shredder. We have a 5 gallon pony keg full of wax,heat it up and dump them in to "fry" ,drain and cool and they are good to go. Doesn't smell like burnt pubes.
Cardboard boxes that produce comes in for restaurants or grocery stores are often soaked in wax. You just tear what you need from the box. They make awesome fire starters and free if you can get them.
I incorporate used dryer sheets with the lint and wax. I just use an old glass candle and a candle warmer. Roll the balls of lint up in the dryer sheet and tie it in a bow knot. Drop it in the liquid wax until it’s saturated then set it on wax paper to cool. The loose ends of the knot act like a wick for lighting. They’ll burn for about 10 minutes.
I did an experiment today I took some peanut shells ground them up with my food grinder, put some in the paper egg carton added molten wax .it works great 👍. I was surprised.
I learned that in the scouts. don't forget to reming users to use the paper ones not the foam ones for moulds. I graduated to waxed jute twine. Just submerge a whole roll of jute twine in melted candle wax and allow to harden. Roll off 5 or 10 3 inch strips and put them in your wallet. Take each strip and fluff it to catch a spark from a farrow rod. It will burn for a long time. I've lighted them after 3 years in my wallet and they lit right up, even wet.
We’ve been making these for years, nothing beats them. And they don’t gum up the chimney with crud like the store bought ones can after a season of burning. We clean our chimney pipes religiously every spring and it’s always clean as a whistle.
great job........ but may I add something? I do the same thing but I also add a bit of magnesium shavings and the dust from inside a road flare.......... it burns super hot and will get anything going in ANY condition for quite a while........
Wow, one of my future videos was this exact thing! Are you spying on me Cliff? LOL We use egg carton, candle wax from Goodwill, dryer lint, and they smell so good that they cover up the body odor of the stinky hunting buddy! Great job including the kiddos! Help me get more subscribers Cliff, I can't keep up! =-)
Thanks Cliff. Really cool. Been carrying sambo fire starters which I don't like. Will make some up. Hey, what watch are you running? I'm looking at a basic watch with a clear display with compass for navigating via compass under thick bush. Sick of referring to the GPS and phone.
I am a old guy. And from what I see is that your a good dad. More important than being a good guide. So proud to see a young dad doing a good job. Enough with the soft. You rock on your hunting advise.Keep it up.
Thanks man! Really appreciate it
I agree. And I’m glad people still recognize good parenting. I hope this spreads and will become what we strive for.
What a dad. Doing a project with the kids. They will remember these moments for the rest of their lives. Makes me miss my dad.
Really appreciate it Cindy! Makes me remember to do this kind of stuff as much as possible 👍
@@CliffGray Great Firestarter Mate! If your Lazy I've found that Sliced up Waxed Cardboard Cartons from the Greengrocer or Fruit & Veggie Vendor are Awesome, & Water Resistant, Just Chop them into convenient sizes & your set!! Carry them when your Hiking or Camping - Not quite as good as your Recipe but pretty good non the less & Usually sourced for Free! -Cheers 👍
@@purebloodheretic4682 good tip! Thanks
Very polite children well mannered. That was worth watching this video on its own.
Thanks Mike!
Back in the early 80s as a boy scout we took a Tuna tin, cut carbord to fit, rolled it up tight pressed it in and then poured wax in . Easily packed easily stored and has been working great for over 30 years.
I remember doing that in Camp Fire girls. Nice.
I love buddy burners I like to use the small fancy feast cat cans and you can reuse them and they burn most of the material used in it!
Learned this also in Boy Scouts.
We did that in Boy Scouts also.
I got the tuna tin tip from my Mom. An old Girl Scout trick. The other tip was using a large can as a support for a skillet. Use a can punch to make 6 holes around top rim and 6 holes around the open bottom. Percolators also work well on these supports.
I have seen this formula before but the interaction with the kiddos and them being a part of dad's hobby gets an enthusiastic like and follow from me!!
👍thanks! It’s fun having the kids in on these projects
I used to go to church with a guy who made similar fire starters, but instead of lint, he used sawdust. I remember those working really well too.
Excellent tip... but an even better tip is to use a combination of lint, fine sawdust and coarse sawdust or shavings. Even very small chips work well too but I've found that lint or shredded paper (paper shredders in the office are a good source or even a hole punch) plus some sawdust & shavings works more than well enough. Another thing to do is make a "paste" from your wax, lint and sawdust then roll some of it up in waste paper. You can cut the rolls of your desired diameter into the lengths you want or leave them long for easier packing. I roll mine into longer lengths and pack them into an aluminum case I made which fits your average 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of notebook paper when used as a rolling paper (junk mail!). I cut a piece from a longer length based on what I'll need to get my fire going with what other tinder and wood I can scrounge up. Sometimes I can use a 1/4 inch long little guy, other times I'll need an inch long piece due to having damp or wet wood. The point is I select what I need when I use my fire starter as opposed to just burning the same length every time whether I need it or not. As for materials other than the wax... I've known guys to use dryer lint, shredded paper, shredded clothing, hole punch waste, fine or coarse sawdust, wood shavings, wood chips, rubber dust, shredded plastic, shredded cardboard and shredded fiberboard to make fire starters. Obviously, those materials are used in whatever combination each guy chooses to use. The problem with using egg crates is the size... they take up too much room and they don't pack efficiently. Yes, you can cut them down with a sharp knife but I've found that rolling a fire starter is the most compact way to go. YMMV so choose what's best for you. Peace & good vibes to all!
- Max Giganteum
better than toxic synthetic lint
I love the idea, but I don't really get a lot of dryer lint being that I live alone. So I went to the dollar store and bought cotton balls. They work great! 2 cotton balls per egg container, kind of pulled apart.
I was taught to make them with sawdust in the scouts when I was a kid. They work great .
I'm happy you don't go to church anymore!!!
Great idea and recycling is always good. I love that you involve your kids in the project, teaching and explaining everything as you go. Well done!
"teach me and I learn, involve me and I understand"
A good lesson on how to involve kids in life and learning.
Thanks John!
I just did that for elk camp this year for the first time. This works awesome and I was acting like a kid with how excited I was to start the tent oven every morning and night with these starters! Great tip!!!!
Good stuff!
Dude, these are amazing! My daughter helped me make about 20 of these today. We took one outside in dry weather to see how long it would burn and it finally stopped after 13 minutes!!! Stoked to use these in the mountains. Thank you for the awesome video.
I've been making these for years!!! I use one every time I start the woodstove.
This is a great project! I’m going to do this with my five-year-old this weekend. normally I carry 1” gorilla tape around my Ferro rod & regular dryer lint in my fire kit for wet weather fires. I’ll bet a couple of those can get compressed pretty easily into an Altoids tin for keeping emergency fire starter on deck. So cool!
Good deal! If you want to get them in an altoid can, you probably want to manipulate them a little before they completely cool off 👍
This makes an awesome Scouts BSA project, and saves on the frustration when the Scouts are trying to learn/start there own firses
I bet! 👍
Great tip! I use a 28 oz. Veggie can for the wax. Discard after use. Really enjoy all your videos. Please keep them coming.
Thanks David!
I wonder if you could spray said can with a non stick before use so it could be reused? I don't know, maybe that's a stupid idea.
I've seen something similar (my Dad) but he used tablesaw sawdust instead of dryer lint.
Works like a boss!
Love it bro. Involving the kids is exactly why I do what I do. I recently had an opportunity to show mine how to find lighter knot and use it sparingly through the season to start the camp fire. I will definitely use this as a learning experience. Thanks for sharing the family mentality.
for sure!
Awesome video! These lint and wax starters are really good. It can be extremely difficult to build a fire when you really need one. Altitude above 10,000 feet combined with days of rain and cold can make for a fine challenge.
👍👊
Now that was an awesome DIY tutorial/demo Cliff! And you even got the whole crew in on it. Very cool! Definitely gonna be adding some of these in with my trusty ol' vaseline soaked cotton balls. Thanks man!
Thanks man! 👍
@@CliffGray Anytime brother... anytime!
learned this in scouts 65 yrs. ago. it works. pine sap's good in an emergency.
Thanks Cliff. You have a beautiful family.
Thanks James! 👍
Love it! I've been doing this for years--mainly to start fires in my fireplace, and of course camping. I also soak cotton rope in wax while laughing at the blackbeard firestarters! Thanks for the DIY vid!
Oh--btw, you don't have to go buy wax--use old broken holiday candles, yeah it might smell good and have glitter, but you're gonna burn it! :)
thanks Ben. Great additional tip on the use of old candles!
This is great. Thanks for the information. It really helps for when you are really out there and it is hard to start a fire. Thanks again for posting.
Cliff, I'm home with a case of bronchitis. I found your channel and I'm a fan. I think the videos are making me feel better.
Hahaha Good deal man! Get better
you could also cut cardboard toilet paper tubes in half and stuff those with lint and wax em up if you wanted a longer burn time.
Thanks Mark… I’ll try that
I made Firestarters with wax. The idea of the flint is genius. Thanks.
Great video, thanks.
It made it more appealing because you involved your kids
👍
These things work well. I use jelly cotton balls but my wife used to make these with her girl scout troop and I stole some once. They worked great!
👍
I just fell through the ice today here in western Montana. Luckily it was only knee deep and the weather was mild. I was able to get a fire going without too much issue. Definitely makes me want to carry some backup though in case things were worse
Yeah I hear ya, starting a fire when you really need it makes you realize how important it is! 👍👊
Love seeing you interact with your kids!
The advise of using the cutting board not only is good. It'll protect the counter if you go beyond the egg carton and teaches you to be humble because he is giving you feedback, giving you a good advise and one day if you don't listen to your son one day he may respond the same way you just did "you're giving me advise now?" I hope he doesn't. Thank you for the video, I'll really listen to you.
Or just do the wax heating in a can you don't care to throw away or save it for future wax heating projects.
Great video and project with your children!!!
You have another subscriber and another like!!!
Take care!!! And use the board to cut on the counter! LOL but am serious!!!
I use the same eggs cartons, but melt some old candle wax in a coffee can and mix sawdust directly into the melted wax until it's a thick, almost "dry" consistency while stirring. This allows the wax to soak into the wood over heat. Then I spoon the mixture into the egg carton and press it in. The paper carton soaks any excess wax which "glues" it all together and makes it the "wick" to light. I haven't tried dryer lint yet because I always have so much sawdust on hand. Love seeing the children learning hands-on how to do things!
I have a 5yr old son. When yours fell off the counter i could relate haha. Ive been saving lint for this very reason but to use for starting my bbq. Great family video I'll show my kids before we make ours. Thanks for all the quality content.
👍 for sure! Thanks for watching man
This is amazing. I took some pyro putty out on my first hunt last month and was really underwhelmed by its performance. Will need to track down some egg cartons and make this happen. Thanks much for the great content.
Thanks for the comment Don! Give them a try... it is amazing how well they work.
great tip! thanks to the kiddos for the video!!!
I made some of these over the summer with the grandkids. Very simple and very effective.
awesome! they really do work well
I'v been using these for a while, O add a little lamp oil to the wax. Best I've I ever used.
Hey thanks for this dude. I did this with my kids and we took them fishing to Pyramid Lake in Nevada last weekend. Worked awesome. And in the rain. BTW, nice job on Rogan. I enjoyed it.
Thanks Marshall! glad the firestarter project worked out with the kiddos!
I learned how to make these when I was a kid in scouts. They're awesome! I can't wait to make some of these with my son when he's old enough. Another useful vid, Cliff 😁👍
👍
It's awesome that you had your kids involved in the project. Their mom will be so proud of them. Okay kids, your dad is taking you out for pizza 😂!
ha! thanks
Thanks for the video, Cliff. I would love to see a DIY meat care and processing video from you!
Thanks Sam! I’ve got a couple in the pipeline on meat care 👍
This is so underutilized. Neat demo with the kids.
I use cardboard paper towel tubes. Cut them in half, stuff them full of lint, cotton ball, wax mix, then put them in a quart Ziplock. Cut off an inch or two when you need a fire starter. Keeps the mess more contained and you can burn the entire thing. The hardest part is cleaning the wax off my knife after cutting one.
👍sounds like a great way to do it
Why not just heat the knife over the fire to melt the wax and wipe it while the wax is liquified?
Great job Dad! Nice kid's project.
👍
Adorable kids. Awesome video. We are doing it. Thanks n
Thanks! 👍👊
I have cut these into blocks of four and cooked/reheated food over them. Use some rocks around the edge of the block to support your soup can, pot, or pan and light one corner of the block. You can get a nice slow burn for 20-30 minutes.
I have also pulled wood out of a lake and gotten it to burn using a couple of these. I have no idea how long the wood had been in the water, but it was not soaked all the way to the core.
wow! so it sounds like I cut the test way short. Thanks for the additional info on their effectiveness. I'll have to try the cooking with them! thanks Robert.
An extra tip is to line your melting bowl with aluminum foil. Then your clean up is easy. Great video thanks.
👍 I’ll probably start doing that kind of setup
Brilliant!
Good video ive made some before but with sawdust and wax, I've been carrying multiple ways to start fires and one of my favorite is a piece of rubber intertube it can sit in standing water remove it shake i off and light it. never fails to start
I'll have to try that intertube setup! thanks
Fun and education project plus a great father-kids bonding time ... may God bless you all.
thank you!
made some with the kiddo today, thanx cliff!
Awesome 👍
Outstanding video. Thanks for sharing. I learned something about starting fires and parenting.
good deal! thanks
i do something very similar for my hunting firestarters. use a little butchers twine and melt some wax to the bottom of the carton first then stuff and fold over and you have a handy wick for this as well
I like it! I'll try that next time
I made some of these and they work great! Thanks for the tip.
It appears you are a great father figure to you kids. Be blessed!
thanks Andy!
I smash a big old candle with a hammer to get the wax, then a soup can in water to melt, then dip strips of cardboard. Very similar.
If you don't have dryer lint the shreds from a document shredder work very well. Any small cardboard container works for a mold and I use a bit of twisted waxed paper for a wick. 🤓🍻
great way to do it! thanks Al
Your kids in your video are a loveable bonus.
I’ve also used sawdust from my chainsaw instead of lint and it works great. I’ve also been collecting pine sap to use instead of the wax. The draw back of the sap is it burns smoky but it’s free. I was saving old candles but that only goes so far before running out.
Good tips. Ever notice any odd smell from bar oil in the chain saw chips?
@@dentside78 i gotcha!
Propane torches work awesome too!
Obviously the secret to being so successful is having such a great team!
Been doing roughly the same thing with dryer lint, shredded bills ( 😁 ), empty toilet paper rolls, and paraffin wax. Works great for family camping, though I've never tried it in the rain, and their too big to backpack. The wax your using is probably better, and the size most definitely is.
I gotcha - yeah sounds very similar. For backpacking - I still use these but I just chop them up into smaller pieces. If I shove a ton of dryer lint in there, they are actually pretty light. If a guy is pretty competent, he can actually start 5-7 fires off one of these things, even in the rain/snow.
...What bills burn best ,, $1's , 5's , 10's , 20's or 100's ..??
Great family project and it works awesome!!!!!! thanks
👍
Hey just found your videos and have really enjoyed them . This video triggered a comment because my two children's names are Wyatt and willow . I thought that was crazy . Iam from Maryland but spent 8 years guiding in Alaska for Dall sheep moose ,grizzly and the occasional black bear . I've been watching alot of elk hunting content because i have always wanted to hunt elk and now iam 41 and haven't made it happen yet I've been applying in Arizona the last two years and this year iam applying for Wyoming. I have zero elk experience and am planning on winging it in a way I have good buddy in Arizona and he hunts elk . I am probably going pronghorn hunting this fall so I figured I may as well apply for an elk tag in a general unit and take a swing at if I get drawn . Thanks for the tips man keep um coming
thanks Wade! sounds like you are a good name picker! hahaha. love it.
good luck on your hunts man. Great to hear that the videos have been helpful
Thank you .. yes Apparently weare very good name pickers lol . Good luck on your hunts to sir .
Also, just go to a junk shop and get a dedicated pot for stuff like this, that you don't have to clean. That way you're not messing up your sewage lines.
Great tip 👍
Nice work Dad. I have a few, going to make more now.
You are a great Dad spending time with your kids it’s a beautiful thing. I apologize but I seen another guy make them with liquid paraffin lamp oil and gulf wax 1:3. He poured the melted mixture into paper ramekins that were filled with cedar chips (hamster bedding) and then allowed them to cool in the fridge. The fire starters burned for 28 MINUTES 😮
This was such a helpful video, thank you and good job kids! That was impressive!
Awesome video Cliff, good job kiddos !!
Thanks! 👍👍
I use 3 storm matches wrapped in cotton wool, then dipped into melted parrafin wax then rolled into a candle shape in cling film.
great idea! thanks for sharing! cute kids!
Thanks! 👍
I do a similar thing with toilet paper roles, lint and wax. I flatten four tp roll centers, then stuff them into a fifth roll. Then I cut the resulting roll into four sections, stuff any gaps with dryer lint, then dip them into melted wax. Works well.
👍I’ll try it
It's cool that he included his kids
I have a ton of shredded paper that I bet would work great for this too. I’ll have to give that a try.
I made something like this, but my only problem with dryer lint was there was some hair in it and it kinda smelled bad. So i switched to cotton balls on my next batch
Yeah that does happen 👍
I've made similar, except I had a foam egg carton to use. And the wax-lint balls just pop out! And yes, they store great in a zipper bag.
Also, my wax comes from scented candles. It's easy enough to just pour out the last of a jar into an old coffee tin or other container. I'd recommend heat-proof. You can warm it the same way, and you really don't have to worry about melting the whole thing.
Speaking of commercial fire starters, I think my recent favorite is a bag of small dried corn cobs soaked in alcohol. The bag isn't even resealable! They're expensive, burn fast, and then the fuel evaporates before you need them again. Good times!
Haha! Corn cob setup sounds funny.
Love the candle suggestion 👍
@@CliffGray Heck yeah, man! You should never burn a jar candle all the way down, and if the missus (or you, because why not?) likes scented candles, they're a ready source of wax usually just getting thrown out.
Plus it smells nice when you first light the fire lol
Oh, and if you really, really want to have flaked wax, pouring it into something like a cheap baking pan (dollar store loaf pan, perhaps?) and then grating it also works for that. Again, a dollar store grater works well for the purpose.
@@NobodyWhatsoever nice! I guess a guy could just melt all the old candle wax into a big brick for future use!
I use cotton balls and wax. Just pull the cotton ball to make it oblong and dip 1/2 way into wax and set on aluminum foil or wax paper to cool. I have even unrolled the cotton ball and wrapped it back around a couple wooden matches w/match heads exposed. Both ways work well and burn time is about 6-7 min. I can start a charcoal chimney with 1 cotton ball and some sticks from the yard. If you don't want to mess with the sticks, 3 cotton ball starters will do the job. I recycle my wife's candles into fire starters. I use a tin can as a dedicated melting pot. I heat a burner on the stove and turn off and place the can on the hot but "off" burner. I use an old pair of hemostats and clip on to the can as a handle.
Sounds like a good setup 👍
Family fun 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻😁 my very first video was on fires starters daughters got tired of me teaching them 😂
Ha! 👍👊
You can get a 20 minute plus burn if you lose the lint and use sawdust or a cotton ball soaked in petroleum jelly.. Also, I use a tomato juice can 52oz and use that for my wax. Your system of using a double boiler is ok, but with the cleanup, you're pouring wax down your drain which eventually will solidify and clog your pipes and or septic. Love the kids, btw.
Add 1 more to the sawdust list. I have a 5 gallon bucket of sawdust after having a couple trees taken down that's 2 years old at this point. I also have a good bit of sawdust from lighter/fatwood from cutting up those stumps (I have an insane amount of lighter wood). I can never get enough of the hair out of the lint. I think my daughter sheds worse than a dog 😂
Ha! Yeah the hair in the lint can be an issue. I’m going to try the saw dust 👍
Just a note to everyone...if you do this and clean the pot repeatedly in the sink you'll need to get your waste pipes rotorouted out eventually.
At the very least run hot water and follow the cleanup with a bunch more so it will mostly flow to the sewer system...either way the moment it reaches the temp needed to solidify it will and stay there for years until it gets ground out by a plummer
👍 good tip for folks. Thanks. I usually just fill up a bowl of hot water and then run outside and do the first rinse out in the yard.
I just keep the one small pot in the shed for making fire starters, candles etc. Never clean it, as any left will do next time. I only use white / opaque candles so color doesn't matter. Just add as much wax as needed and heat it on the wood burner.
I clean the bowl out as good as I can with a paper towel and that wax covered paper towel is also a great fire starter. I use the same bowl each time and don't scrub it out and never pour any of it down the drain. It will forever become part of your piping as soon as it cools
Man not only do I have a new fire starter to make I have something that my daughter can do with me! Thank you cliff for another good one!!!!
Right on man, have fun! thanks
We have 10 5 gallon buckets full of our fire starters. Toilet paper tubes cut in half ,stuffed with shredded paper,used a paper shredder. We have a 5 gallon pony keg full of wax,heat it up and dump them in to "fry" ,drain and cool and they are good to go. Doesn't smell like burnt pubes.
Cardboard boxes that produce comes in for restaurants or grocery stores are often soaked in wax. You just tear what you need from the box. They make awesome fire starters and free if you can get them.
Nice, great tip. I’ll track one of those down and try it
I incorporate used dryer sheets with the lint and wax. I just use an old glass candle and a candle warmer. Roll the balls of lint up in the dryer sheet and tie it in a bow knot. Drop it in the liquid wax until it’s saturated then set it on wax paper to cool. The loose ends of the knot act like a wick for lighting. They’ll burn for about 10 minutes.
I'm gonna use such a fire starter on my Montana elk hunt. Thanks!
good luck on your hunt!
I did an experiment today I took some peanut shells ground them up with my food grinder, put some in the paper egg carton added molten wax .it works great 👍. I was surprised.
Brilliant and awesome helpers!!!
That was a awesome video buddy! household materials and a torch lighter. i have a gas station one; are they waterproof?
Very handy Thanks
Hey cliff I'm loving your content
Excellent helpers!
They are! 👍
Excellent video.
Just what i was looking for
Thanks for putting this content out there.
for sure!
Very smart idea,,,,thanks for sharing
thanks for watching Benton!
I learned that in the scouts. don't forget to reming users to use the paper ones not the foam ones for moulds. I graduated to waxed jute twine. Just submerge a whole roll of jute twine in melted candle wax and allow to harden. Roll off 5 or 10 3 inch strips and put them in your wallet. Take each strip and fluff it to catch a spark from a farrow rod. It will burn for a long time. I've lighted them after 3 years in my wallet and they lit right up, even wet.
Great tip, I’ll try it
We’ve been making these for years, nothing beats them. And they don’t gum up the chimney with crud like the store bought ones can after a season of burning. We clean our chimney pipes religiously every spring and it’s always clean as a whistle.
👍
great job........ but may I add something? I do the same thing but I also add a bit of magnesium shavings and the dust from inside a road flare.......... it burns super hot and will get anything going in ANY condition for quite a while........
Great tip. Thanks
Wow, one of my future videos was this exact thing! Are you spying on me Cliff? LOL We use egg carton, candle wax from Goodwill, dryer lint, and they smell so good that they cover up the body odor of the stinky hunting buddy! Great job including the kiddos! Help me get more subscribers Cliff, I can't keep up! =-)
Haha! Still make your video man!
1:36 a slow cooker works great at melting wax. I picked one up for $5 at walmart 3:13 - put it the freezer it will break off and you can reuse it
How many belly buttons need to be harvested to get that huge lint pile? I guess one could maybe go to the clothes dryer for a backup supply.
I learned to do this using saw dust instead. I wonder if lint works better.
Not sure… I’m guessing they work pretty similar
Thanks Cliff. Really cool. Been carrying sambo fire starters which I don't like. Will make some up. Hey, what watch are you running? I'm looking at a basic watch with a clear display with compass for navigating via compass under thick bush. Sick of referring to the GPS and phone.
I wear an older Garmin Instinct. The band is aftermarket as I broke the orginal
@@CliffGray thanks Cliff.