friction

I've spun coals with a bow drill many times in the past. But last weekend, I did something a bit different; something that I had kinda wanted to do for a very long time. I made a bow drill and got flames with all materials (except the knife and cord) collected on-site. In the past, I've used...

It's been awhile since I've tried to start a bow drill fire and it may show in this video. If anyone has any pointers or tips it would be appreciated. BTW this is my first Thread. I'm new to forums and I'm not exactly how it all works yet.

I have noticed several multi-piece spindles for both hand and bow drills. I haven't got into that YET!!! If you have any ideas on materials and techniques, both primitive and modern, please let me know. Also on two piece/split-stick bows, for the bow drill. Thanks

SHARE YOUR FIRE CHALLENGE: This weekend I found new way to enjoy primitive fire making, and that was with my family. I was able to teach my wife the bow drill. After some breif instruction, Corina (my beautiful wife) was able to take a cottonwood spindle and cottonwood hearth and bust out a...

This was my first attempt at a hand drill and I was able to get an ember! I carved my spindle out of cottonwood and used a hunk of chaga I harvested as my hearth. I didn't notch the hearth. The initial ember actual developed near the top of my hole and then spread. HARVESTED CHAGA...

For an easy hand drill, use a 4" length of 1/2" diameter PVC. Split the PVC length wise and use the separated halves to splice together a 1/2" oak dowel together with a piece of similar diameter yucca. I used two 3/4" metal hose clamps on the PVC for clamping the two pieces together and adde...

anybody have any experience with fire pistons? If so, where could I find one?

Hello everyone, My goal is to make a friction fire with wood that I find around where I live in NW Florida. All I can seem to find is oak and pine, which hasn't worked. I have heard that cattails are good for the spindle, but the ones I found were too soft and just crumbled. Any ideas? I hope I...

Howdy fellas, and ladies... Here's a contest I'm throwing out there to celebrate cooler weather! Primitive Fire Contest !! - YouTube Did I mention there are prizes?? Here are the entries so far: (if some names look unfamiliar it's because they're from YouTube and probably not members)...

Howdy all, I've decided to set aside every Tuesday evening for practicing primitive fire techniques. It's good to get into a habit of doing the things you love, and this skill can be done anywhere with good ventilation so there's no excuse not to practice it if it's something you love! All...

I went out today to practise the bow drill. This time of year is the best for testing my firelighting skills. I've gathered dead wood from a willow tree. Fireboard and spindle, a little bit damp but ok Splitted branch, i used one part for shavings and the other for fireboard...