Lighting a pipe with flint and steel

Short video I made, in this video I light my pipe with charcloth and flint and steel.

I see the value in posting a yes-it-can-be-done sort of video. As pipe smoker myself, I'd save the charcloth for a situation where I really need it. On a sunny day, as depicted in the video, I'd use a burning lens.

I’ve read that a tinder tube was often used for lighting smokes, especially in the southwest, where people were addicted to cigarettes rolled up with corn-shuck “papers.” As a non smoker, I haven’t tried it, but a tinder tube makes sense when used for this purpose. You don’t really need a flame to light a pipe or cigarette, just a coal. Pull the charred end of the cord out of the tube, catch a spark on it, light the pipe, and then pull the cord back into its tube where the coal just dies for lack of oxygen.

Considering the amount of tobacco consumed on the frontier, there had to be an efficient way to light it.

Notchy Bob

Notchy Bob said:

I’ve read that a tinder tube was often used for lighting smokes, especially in the southwest, where people were addicted to cigarettes rolled up with corn-shuck “papers.” As a non smoker, I haven’t tried it, but a tinder tube makes sense when used for this purpose. You don’t really need a flame to light a pipe or cigarette, just a coal. Pull the charred end of the cord out of the tube, catch a spark on it, light the pipe, and then pull the cord back into its tube where the coal just dies for lack of oxygen.

Considering the amount of tobacco consumed on the frontier, there had to be an efficient way to light it.

Notchy Bob

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I would imagine in the 18th century/ pre match world, that using a pair of ember tongs and getting a coal out of an already lit fire would have been the most practical and popular method, especially in a tavern environment. However I have not researched it well and cannot speak to what was most populary done.

Tinder tubes "may" have been common in cities/towns, but there is not much mention of them to get an idea of their popularity. There was an apparent tinder tube of bone found in an Indian encampment area. As I recall the bone tube had traces of char inside. I found them very useful when loaded with 1/2" cotton rope/cord that is found in sewing and material shops. They can be picky however if you happen to touch the char with your finger, or let them get damp from high humidity. Seems to make them hard to light. Sulfer matches were common in homes, but not the strike anywhere type. Just melted sulfer on a stick.

Ashton Daniels said:

I would imagine in the 18th century/ pre match world, that using a pair of ember tongs and getting a coal out of an already lit fire would have been the most practical and popular method, especially in a tavern environment. However I have not researched it well and cannot speak to what was most populary done.

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Very true. A coal would make perfect sense, if you are relaxing by a fire. Also, some old timers (and I think maybe Indians) would carry coals packed in ashes in a horn. Coals will stay "live" for a long time that way, and can be used to get a fire going quickly. However, you wonder about people like the voyageurs, who would light their pipes while in their canoes. They calculated distances in "pipes," which would be the distance paddled between rest breaks, when they would all light up. I think that was mentioned in the writings of Robert Kennicott, a 19th century arctic and subarctic explorer, shown here:



However, I don't recall that he specifically said anything about tinder tubes. That was in something I read about the southwestern frontier, but I did not make a written note of it and don't remember where I saw it.

Notchy Bob

I’ve used char cloth, burning glass, and coals off a fire. And tries tinder tubes. I don’t know that they date back to the eighteenth century. I’ve found the tubes are hard to get a pipe going.
I’ve used them to hold coals a lot while getting fires going in nasty weather