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The composite hand drill (CHD) is the supreme hand drill design. The sacred plant which drills fire most readily is rare, and its stems are not found long and straight enough for making regular hand drills. This is the reason for making CHDs. A mainshaft is from another plant forming naturally...

I am an ethnobotanist with a particular interest in plants used for friction fire. Not long ago some people wrote here of growing mullein on their home property and some seed trading went on. Here in California the plant used most by the Indians for their hand drills and arrow making was mulefat...

I'd like to share a simple bushcraft trick which I just discovered myself. Everyone knows of Mullein for hand drills. Another use for Mullein is its pith which can be used the same as charred cloth. Lite a piece of pith and snuff it out. The charred spot you've made easily catches sparks from...

I gave a firecraft demo last July for the Audubon Society. You can read about it in their Oct/Nov newsletter, link below. Pictured is my amazing California Buckeye hand drill and cedar hearth. This wood combination was traditionally used by California Indian tribes...

Thought you all might enjoy this bowdrill info along with another interpretation of a familiar story: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:W8EcIsCRa2oJ:www.ancient-hebrew.org/12_fire.html+invention+fire+bow+drill&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

Okay, most of you can start a friction or percussion fire now, so what do you then do with it? The solstice is approaching and it's time to begin planning my next New Fire Ceremony. The most ancient tradition is to lite one's home hearth and keep it going. I perpetuate a special fire in my...

Others have remarked that their bowdrill set is not really bushcraft since their bowstrings are not handmade. Here is a tip for making your own. You may have read my previous thread Ivan's Bowdrill Challenge in which I made cordage from nettle fiber. There are a number of other materials you can...

The ultimate firecraft challenge is to go into the wilderness with no tools, gather native materials, and put these together to start a fire. Note I am also barefoot as footware may be considered a tool in holding down the hearthboard. In my home area of Southern California such a fire from...

Hi all, I'm new here so please forgive my ignorance. I saw you previously had a thread, Biblical Fire, and would like to continue that and add a bit I've learned about the matter. In our English Bible [Exodus chapter 3] and the Hebrew Bible there is something that is missing but which can be...