How to:

Make A Jute Twine Tinder Ball

By George Nikolakopoulos

Fire Kit Items

The discovery of fire is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. Along with the discovery of the wheel, it transformed ancient civilizations and advanced them to the modern era.

Fire is one of the key elements to master for every outdoor enthusiast. The fire at the camp will not only be used for obvious reasons, cooking, disinfect water and warmth, but also for socialization. Stories will be shared around it, and bonds will be created.

The Triangle of Fire

To understand how fire works, we should look at the triangle of fire. Three components; oxygen, fuel, and heat, guarantee a successful fire. We cannot have a fire if any of these factors is missing. Heat is necessary to initiate the chemical reaction of combustion. It can be generated from various sources, including friction, sparks, or flames. Fuel is any material that can burn, such as wood, paper, gasoline, or gases. The type and amount of fuel influence the intensity and duration of the fire. Oxygen is the oxidizer that reacts with the fuel during combustion. It’s typically supplied by the air, but other oxidizing agents can also support fire.

In order to help the fire start we usually use tinder. Tinder can consist of natural materials like cattail, dry grass, birch bark, fatwood, and others. It can also be manmade and can either be readymade bought from a store or we can make it at home with simple materials. Three of my favorite tinder types to make are char cloth, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, and jute twine bundles. In this article, you will find details on making a jute twin tinder ball.

Jute Twine String Pieces

After cutting the string pieces to the desired length you start to untwist them one by one. The string consists of three folded inner strings, so you have to separate them. Then, you continue to untwist every piece individually, until it turns into fiber-like hair.

When you have finished, you will have very thin fibers.

Place them in your palm and try to shape them into a ball, like the one shown in the picture below.

Your jute twine tinder ball, is ready to stored in your fire kit. You can use it next time to start your fire.

This project is very simple to make, and it will take about twenty minutes to make one good sized tinder ball. You can always store some jute twine in your fire kit and use it accordingly, either for extra piece of cord or to make tinder.

George Spent nine years in the Greek Army Raiders where he learned survival skills. Since being honorably discharged, he has been working in the tourism industry. After every season ends, you will find him at his olive field harvesting olives to make oil. In his free time, George loves spending time outdoors hunting, camping, and practicing traditional archery. He enjoys writing articles, sharing his experiences of his trips to the woods, gear reviews, recipes and survival tips. George was a a contributing writer to Self-Reliance Illustrated magazine and has a YouTube and Blog under the name Mountain Raider. 

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