I've used all of the following, so I thought I'd pass comment on each in turn:
Bone socket (sheep 'shoulder'?) - Worked well, but quite bulky to carry around, and needed a lot of lubrication to prevent excessive wear to the spindle
River-washed Pebble - worked in the same way as the bone socket, but slightly rougher, so more lubrication needed.
Large Limpet Shell:
Worked very well as was a very smooth surface and therefore needed very little lubrication - however, being very thin it can tend to get hot, so a piece of leaf/leather held on top to prevent hand being burned is useful! These shells also have a tendency to break after repeated use, as the heat from the process weakens the shell structure. However, they are in abundant supply on all UK beaches!
Beer-bottle cap and wood (copied idea from here:
Aussie FireBow )
Made by getting a small piece of wood, and putting a beer bottle sharp-edge down onto the wood and tapping slightly until it beds into the wood. The spindle is then sharpened to a point, and the pressure of this on the cap makes it indent and forms a socket. This worked very well once I got used to it, but it took a lot of practice to stop it flying out of the socket, and I just felt a bit wrong using a bit of modern waste in a primitive fire-starting kit!
(There are obvious other modern objects that can be used for bow drills, and I have used and seen used an eclectic range including shot-glasses, film canisters and the bottoms of drink cans!)
Split green branch - Made by simply cutting a small green branch from a tree (no more than say 2 inches in diameter) and splitting it vertically to provide two pieces, each with a flat side and curved side. This requires a bit of crafting to make a suitable notch for the spindle, and then also requires reasonable amounts of lubrication (top tip - remember that ear wax and the grease on the sides of your nose is a really effective lubricant!), but has the advantages of always being available, can be made with nothing more than a knife. The greenness of the wood also naturally suppresses any smoking/smouldering at that end, (although it is obviously not as smooth and frivction-free as some of the above methods). This is still the method I tend to favour, as I find the act of sitting down and preparing a hand-hold for a fire kit makes the kit itself work better for me - after all, a lot of fire-starting is to do with mental attitude as well as technique, and the construction is a big part for me! However, for my very small pocket kit, I use a limpet shell, purely for size and space reasons!
Hope this helps someone - if anyone else knows of any other obvious hand-holds, please let us know!
