A Swedish torch [lower-alpha 1] is a source of heat and light from a vertically set tree trunk, incised and burning in the middle. Despite its more common name "Swedish torch" it was invented by the Finns and it became known in Europe during the 1600s and is now used by forest workers, and for leisure activities (especially in southern Germany). Due to its flat surface and good embers, it can also be used for cooking. Compared to a campfire, it is more compact, and therefore several small heat sources can be distributed over an area.
The origins of Swedish torch are not clear. According the forest museum Lusto Swedish torch was invented by Finns in the northern Finland. It was made by loggers to warm up and make wood. In 1950s when chainsaws became more popular it became common to make a carving to the halfway of the log and put it standing upwards. Another tradition attributes the development of the torch to the Swedish military during the Thirty Years' War; using a saw or hacksaw or an axe, the Swedes are said to have made burning and glowing logs to warm their soldiers. [1] This method of providing heat meant that their troops did not have to carry their own firewood with them but were able to get supplies on site, as the freshly cut, green wood can burn due to the chimney effect.
A delimbed trunk, of a diameter of 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) and a length of 50 to 150 cm (20 to 60 in) is required to make the torch. [1] The wood should not be too dry, otherwise it would burn too quickly. The best types of wood for light and heat are resinous softwoods: spruce, fir and pine. The best types for cooking are hardwoods like beech, oak, apple, ash or cherry, as they are less sooty and would not taint the meat. [2]
A chainsaw is used to cut the trunk with two vertical cuts perpendicular to each other downwards while the trunk is standing. The cuts stop 6 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) from the base so that the torch does not break apart. Normally, the trunk is divided into quarters by two cuts, or, in the case of larger trunks, in sixths (like a six-pointed asterisk) or eighths. [1] The cuts aid in air circulation, which helps the log burn. [1]
As the log burns, embers and coals fall from the top and into the cut slots. This ignites the log from within and keeps the fire going. [1] The log is easiest to ignite with paraffin (or lighter fluid), which is inserted into the side slots and also at the top at the saw cut point of the trunk. Rags soaked in oil are also suitable. Lumberjacks pour a little bit of their chainsaw fuel into the center of the torch. If a campfire is already burning, some embers placed on top of the log can make a Swedish torch. [1]
Choosing a safe place to set the torch is important due to flying sparks and possibility of it falling apart. [3] To ignite the trunk evenly, add some paraffin at the top. Depending on the size and length, the trunk burns between two and five hours and glows with intense heat. The glow in the middle of the trunk has a temperature between 1,000 and 1,200 °C (1,800 and 2,200 °F). After the torch has started burning, it is possible to place a pan on top. Before lighting, hammer three nails around the borehole or place three stones around the borehole, creating an improvised cooking surface. [4]
Another design has a drill hole (approximately 20 mm or 0.8 in) along the axis of the trunk for the exhaust gases and a second hole radially at the desired level for the air supply. It is ignited by pouring a few embers or by loading it with an easily flammable material such as kerosene, fuel tablets, or fire starters. Some hardware stores sell "Russian tree torches" with candle wax and candle wick lighters. [5]
Even without a drill, a tree torch can be quickly produced in the outdoors. To do this, use a saw to cut the log approximately two-thirds of the way up the log, and cut the base at the desired height 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in). As in the picture above (marked A or B), split off the sections on the blue line and remove the core on the red line. Saw in the ventilation hole, or lift the smaller section of variant B up for the ventilation distance. Finally put the three parts together and B, fix with wire, cord or nails. [6]
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. Candles have been used for over two millennia around the world, and were a significant form of indoor lighting until the invention of other types of light sources. Although electric light has largely made candle use nonessential for illumination, candles are still commonly used for functional, symbolic and aesthetic purposes and in specific cultural and religious settings. Various devices can be used to hold candles, such as candlesticks, or candelabras, chandeliers, lanterns and sconces. A person who makes candles is traditionally known as a chandler.
A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of camping. At summer camps, the word campfire often refers to an event at which there is a fire. Some camps refer to the fire itself as a campfire.
Outdoor cooking is the preparation of food in the outdoors. A significant body of techniques and specialized equipment exists for it, traditionally associated with nomad in cultures such as the Berbers of North Africa, the Arab Bedouins, the Plains Indians, pioneers in North America, and indigenous tribes in South America. These methods have been refined in modern times for use during recreational outdoor pursuits, by campers and backpackers.
A brazier is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers have been used since ancient times; the Nimrud brazier dates to at least 824 BC.
Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder is used to ignite kindling, which in turn is used to ignite the bulk material, to produce a fire.
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets. Firewood can be seasoned and heat treated (dry) or unseasoned (fresh/wet). It is generally classified as either hardwood or softwood.
Wood fuel is a fuel such as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most easily available form of fuel, requiring no tools in the case of picking up dead wood, or few tools, although as in any industry, specialized tools, such as skidders and hydraulic wood splitters, have been developed to mechanize production. Sawmill waste and construction industry by-products also include various forms of lumber tailings.
Asado is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries: especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla; all of which are cooked using an open fire or a grill, called a parrilla. Usually, red wine and side dishes such as salads accompany the main meats, which are prepared by a designated cook called the asador or parrillero.
A Buddy Burner is a simple stove made from a can and part of a corrugated paper box. It is usually fueled by paraffin wax but other fuels, such as boiled butter, animal fat or diesel fuel, can be used. It is usually used for cooking but can also provide heat.
This glossary of wildfire terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to wildfires and wildland firefighting. Except where noted, terms have largely been sourced from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter-terrorism studies website by the Air National Guard.
Fire making, fire lighting or fire craft is the process of artificially starting a fire. It requires completing the fire triangle, usually by heating tinder above its autoignition temperature.
The badnjak, also called veseljak, is a tree branch or entire tree that is central to Serbian Christmas celebrations. It is placed on a fire on Christmas Eve and its branches are later brought home by worshipers. The tree from which the badnjak is cut, preferably a young, straight and undamaged Oak, is ceremonially felled early on the morning of Christmas Eve. The felling, preparation, bringing in, and laying on the fire, are surrounded by elaborate rituals, with many regional variations. The burning of the log is accompanied by prayers that the coming year brings food, happiness, love, luck, and riches. The log burns on throughout Christmas Day, when the first visitor strikes it with a poker or a branch to make sparks fly, while wishing that the family's happiness and prosperity be as abundant as the sparks. As most Serbs today live in towns and cities, the badnjak is often symbolically represented by a cluster of oak twigs with brown leaves attached, with which the home is decorated on Christmas Eve.
A firelog is a manufactured log constructed to be used as wood fuel. Firelogs are designed to be inexpensive, while being easier to ignite, and burn longer, and more efficiently than firewood. Firelogs are traditionally manufactured using two methods: the first uses only compressed sawdust and the second uses sawdust and paraffin, which is mixed and extruded into a log shape. The extruded firelogs are individually wrapped in paper packaging which can be ignited to start burning the firelog as the paraffin is readily combustible.
A wood-burning stove is a heating or cooking appliance capable of burning wood fuel, often called solid fuel, and wood-derived biomass fuel, such as sawdust bricks. Generally the appliance consists of a solid metal closed firebox, often lined by fire brick, and one or more air controls. The first wood-burning stove was patented in Strasbourg in 1557. This was two centuries before the Industrial Revolution, so iron was still prohibitively expensive. The first wood-burning stoves were high-end consumer items and only gradually became used widely.
Twist bread, stokbrood, snobrød, or campfire bread is a type of bread in which the dough has been rolled into a long sausage shape, twisted over the end of a stick, and baked over an open fire.
A chainsaw mill or PortaMill or Logosol sawmill is a type of sawmill incorporating a chainsaw, that is used by one or two operators to mill logs into lumber for use in furniture, construction and other uses. Although often used as a generic term, Alaskan Mill is a registered trademark of Granberg International.
A firewood processor is a machine designed to cut and split firewood with minimal manual handling of the logs. There are typically four main parts of the machine, each dedicated to a separate function. Processing begins with a log pile – a pile of logs that have been de-limbed and cut to an appropriate length, generally 12–20 feet (3.7–6.1 m). Popular brands include Multitek, Eastonmade, Cord King, Wood Beaver, DYNA, Hakki Pilke, and Blockbuster. Many individuals use processors commercially, while some use them privately as a hobby. If someone has a small amount of wood they'd like to split but don't want to spend a lot of money, there's options to rent processors as an alternative to purchasing.
This is an alphabetized glossary of terms pertaining to lighting fires, along with their definitions. Firelighting is the process of starting a fire artificially. Fire was an essential tool in early human cultural development. The ignition of any fire, whether natural or artificial, requires completing the fire triangle, usually by initiating the combustion of a suitably flammable material.
A charcoal pile or charcoal clamp is a carefully arranged pile of wood, covered by turf or other layer, inside which a fire is lit in order to produce charcoal. The pile is tended by a charcoal burner. It is similar to a charcoal kiln, but the latter is usually a permanent structure made of materials such as stone.
A fire drill is a device to start a fire by friction between a rapidly rotating wooden rod and a cavity on a stationary wood piece .