Fire Starters

It is not a big secret in scouting that cotton balls coated in petroleum jelly make good fire starters.  They are messy though.  Here is a convenient way to package them so you can put them into a compact survival kit without making a mess.

You will need:
petroleum jelly
cotton balls or makeup removal pads
drinking straws
needle nose pliers or multi-tool
lighter
scissors
toothpick



Cut your straw into pieces about 2" long.  Crimp one end with the pliers and fuse it closed with the lighter.  Let it cool.  Take about 1/4 of a cotton ball, dipped in petroleum jelly.and stuff into into the open end with the tooth pick.  Clean up any petroleum jelly residue from the open end with a tissue paper or a cotton swab.  Squeeze out any excess air and use the pliers and lighter to fuse the other end. 


The finished product should look like this. 


You should be able to get about 4 of these out of a single straw. 

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