Did Ya See?

Fire pistons are a clever way to make fire, using extreme and quick compression of air to rapidly rise temperature inside the piston igniting a piece of tinder.  This one is particularly nice, being compact and machine-tooled from high grade aluminum.

With a single push, tinder placed in the end of the piston is spontaneously ignited by the heat of compression, instantly becoming a glowing ember with no more effort than lighting a match. Literally, fire with air.  The new FireStar features precision CNC manufacturing and state of the art compression fire starting technology!

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Very impressive self contained designed for a solar cooker (and water purifier) with accompanying rations.  Although it seems primarily intended for disaster relief and emergencies, I could see this being a nice addition to an off the grid scenario.  Additional images, information and video after the cut.

As the disaster occur frequently, solving the question of disaster victims’ care and livelihood is government’s most important work. But withdrawing the disaster victims from the disaster areas or investing the ready-made commodity in the areas is the futile continually vast project. In the disaster areas waiting for rescue and reconstruction, the disaster …
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Fans of George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire will instantly recognize the benefits of learning flint knapping.  But that piece of geek trivia aside, flint knapping is one of those primitive skills that is mostly done for enjoyment and art/craft.  While I doubt it will come in handy except in the rarest of survival situations, it is somehow pleasing to know skills that allowed man to survive and prosper for some 2.5 million years are being preserved.

The flint knapping community is as generous with its time and expertise as any enthusiast group I know. Case in …
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Just the sort of thing to tuck away into a purse, commuter bag or other luggage until you need it.

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