Can Cramp balls be lit by friction?

[tartanferret]

Can Cramp balls be lit purely by friction? as opposed to sparks from a fire-steel etc?


I seem to remember a Ray Mears episode where he mentioned "playing the fiddle":vio:. I think it was a technique used by native American Indians but using other materials.

I was thinking of trying something similar to light a cramp ball.

Anyone tried it?

thanks

 

[Retired Member southey]

Not tried it myself, but give it a go, maybe a little finger width elder stick and hand drill into the top of the dome of a dry cake, though it could prove to be too brittle, chagga will take it being quite firm but not sure about cramps, sounds fun though

 

[Stew]

I would be surprised if directly into one would work - would expect it to break up if used as the base.

Make an ember then drop the ember into the cramp ball and yes, could see it working fine.

 

[Silverclaws]

Try a fire bow on one, find a particularly hard bit to dwell on, but keep the pressure light so as not to drill, but provide a surrounding of ignitable material that can be worked up to the point of ignition.

As in ''playing the fiddle'', to my mind is suggestive of a bow.

 

[Retired Member southey]

no, bow drill would require far to much pressure to get the spindle turning,

 

[tartanferret]

I was thinking closer to a fire saw technique than hand / bow drill. Directly onto the cramp ball. Or should I say across the cramp ball

 

[Silverclaws]

I use a traditional one handed bow drill, ( sometimes called a pump drill), in jewellery making, given the fineness of the cutting tips, (spade drills) and what I am drilling, the action is very light with no pressure applied, yet it does the job. Any pressure applied will break the drills and punch a hole through thin silver as opposed to drilling a nice neat round hole.

 

[Retired Member southey]

I expect that you would have to add a fibre to the to cramp to hold it in the bamboo, but then if your using bam boo you have your tinder already, shave the bamboo up into the fluffy tinder,

 

[Cyclingrelf]

I wonder if it would speed up the bowdrill process if you drop crampball into the notch before drilling?

 

[Stew]

I wonder if it would speed up the bowdrill process if you drop crampball into the notch before drilling?

I love that idea!

 

[awarner]

Using fungus as a fireboard is explained in the link below same site as the image above using the bamboo may have come from as they show the fire saw being used.
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/fireboards/abbfungus/index.html

Looks interesting but not cramp balls though but I will have a go when I get a spare moment.

 

[Toddy]

If you use a slice of the cramp ball under the hearth as the 'catch' for the cone of hot fibres (I put it all on top of a bit of birch bark) by the time the cone is hot the crampball's ready to glow too. They kind of bind together as they char and it gives you a much bigger coal to add to your tinder nest to blow into flame

cheers,
Toddy

 

[capt.dunc]

because of their colour, cramp balls are very good with a magnifying glass