Hey Vic, have you ever made pj straws? They work rather well. Tear up cotton balls into little pieces and saturate with petroleum jelly, then stuff it all into a short 2"-3" section of drinking straw. Now heath up the end of some pliers until they are good and hot and pinch the ends of the straw closed(melt them). They make for very nice little fire starters that aren't messy to carry around.