Outdoor Wonders you should get out more ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fire Piston 

A fire piston is a made up of a small-diameter cylinder and a rod. Secured to the end of the rod is a gasket made of string or fiber. It is usually waxed or greased to ensure a good seal.

Also, there is tinder in either the bottom of the cylinder or attached to the rod itself. Compressing the cylinder rapidly is supposed to generate enough heat to ignite the tinder. Once smoldering, the tinder is extracted from the cylinder, sometimes with a stick or piece of wire bent into a hook. Alternatively, it could be stored in a recess at the bottom of the rod, such that when the rod is extracted, the smoldering tinder comes out.

This technique was used in various incarnations by the peoples of South East Asia, the South Pacific Islands and others such as Malaysians.

They can be made of many different materials: wood, bone, bamboo, horn or as the one above, brass.