Lotsa good info in this thread. I go a step farther than cotton balls & Vaseline, more work than anybody but a codger is likely to do but it makes GREAT fire starters.
I gather a gallon or so of fatwood sawdust and shavings. Mix a batch of 1/3 Vaseline and 2/3 paraffin (can’t remember exactly) and pour that over the fatwood sawdust when all of it is warm, maybe in afternoon sunlight. Stir till thoroughly but lightly coated/mixed.
Line a small metal cup, like a ¼ cup stainless measuring cup, with the half size paper cupcake liners, and pack it about half full of the waxed fatwood sawdust, packing it tightly. The wax/Vaseline mix makes the sawdust stick together. Then I put a cotton ball on top, coated lightly with the same mix of Vaseline and paraffin. The paraffin mix is less oily and messy, ignites quickly and burns longer.
Stuff each wafer, a little smaller than a mini-Snickers bar, into a mini ziploc. When a few strands of cotton are teased out, it will light instantly with ferro and steel, match, lighter, etc. and I carry all those, plus a few thin slats of fatwood. (We live in the wet and hunt in real rain forest). The wafer/cookie will burn hot for a minimum of five minutes, and nine minutes is the usual burn time.
I make up a pile of these starter cookies/wafers and give a handful to every family member who hunts or hikes.
