An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week.
Fire is one of four essential survival components, along with shelter, water, and food. In some environments, fire can be the trickiest to acquire and the most precious to sustain. If you’re out of matches and other man-made fire-starters, starting a fire with friction and natural materials is quite difficult. Thus, once you do get a fire going, it’s not “disposable” but rather something you want to “recycle,” if possible.
Enter fire carrying. Carrying the fire isn’t just a great metaphor for passing on your values, but a practical, millennia-old way to reuse an ember. When you’re moving camps, you can take an ember from your current fire with you, and use it to start a new fire at the place you choose to camp next.
The goal with fire carrying is to allow a preexistent ember to potentially last for hours as you journey from one place to another. Choosing the “packaging” to accomplish this is tricky, as you want to pair the ember with a material that will smolder (helping keep the ember alive), without itself burning up. Materials that strike this needed balance include things like punky wood, fungus, or pine cones. Once the ember is paired with smolder-friendly materials, you wrap this coupling in wet moss that will hold things together without burning.
Above we outline three methods for how to do this. Keep in mind that no matter what technique you use, you should plan on babysitting the ember while you’re on the move. You may have to periodically blow on it or adjust your packaging to ensure the right mix of oxygen and fuel. Once you arrive at your new camp, you can unpack your ember, place it in dry tinder, and blow your fire back to life. If you’ve got time, practice a few fire-carrying techniques while you still have a good fire. Practicing your method beforehand will help you refine your process and give you a good idea of how long the ember will last.
Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.
