[albertsondev]

My favorite is to cover a wadded-up paper towel or two with a splash (or spritz, in my case) of vegetable oil. Dirt cheap, using things I already keep stocked in quantity in my kitchen, and even more reliable than those crappy $10/pack starter blocks.

Definitely want to find a similarly cheap source of actual pure charcoal, though.

[MostlyStable]

I use egg cartons, newspaper/packing paper, and paraffin wax to make homemade starter cubes. It's cheap as dirt since the only thing you have to buy is the wax which is very inexpensive, and extremely effective.

You basically just wad up the paper into the egg carton cups and pour enough wax to hold it together (althernatively you can dip the wadded up paper in the wax then stick it in the cups before it solidifies). Cut a carton cup out of the carton, place it under the chimney, light it, and let it g.

[albertsondev]

We go through... a lot of eggs in this house, and I have other uses for waxes as well (such as waterproofing, candlemaking, and sealing wine bottles). This is genius, I'm stealing it.

...or so I'd like to say, practically speaking the minimal prep work of "grease a wadge of paper towel and spark it" is more realistic for my degree of laziness.

[aidenn0]

I use dryer lint and corrugated paper-board. The dryer lint catches fire if you sneeze in its general direction and once the corrugated paper board is lit, it burns very hot because the corrugation acts as a natural chimney.

[kaikai]

Dryer lint is likely to be plastic particles rather than natural fibers, depending on the materials you’re washing. You may not want to use it indoors or to prepare coals for cooking.

[MostlyStable]

I tried drier lint. My issue was that it smelled _horrible_ as it burned. I doubt this matters very much for the food, since the starter is long gone by the time you start cooking, but I just don't want to be around it. Newspaper/brown packing paper is plenty cheap and available for me.

[albertsondev]

Along with other issues stated, I already keep my dryer lint as an emergency tinder supply for survival situations (or the occasional campfire mishap).

[whateveracct]

Ah I never considered adding some cooking oil to my paper!

I do like the pre-made ones because I live on a windy hill so the fact that they are overkill helps them not go out while lighting.

[devilbunny]

This is an excellent use for oil that is going rancid or that had been used for frying. Tastes bad but burns just fine.