Fire roll. Coffee and stuff.

[Rabbit leg]

A broken bone stops play. So I am limited to one handed stuff. A few years ago I practiced one handed bow drilling but this time I am trying to improve my fire roll.

I have successfully used various ingredients in the past - ash, rust, coffee and a few others.

Just want to ask if anyone has any good ideas? But only if you have tried yourself.
There are a few ideas on the internet but they seem a bit dubious - nobody else can repeat them.

 

[Woody girl]

I've never heard of this method. Just googled it and watched a couple of vids. Interesting method. Will have to try it . Especially as with my back problems I find a bow drill literally a pain!

 

[Rabbit leg]

I think it is the easiest method of the lot.
One handed. No muscle memory to train. No strength or stamina needed.

Using natural ingredients found in the wild requires a bit of thinking. But ash from an old fire is quite common. So are rusty objects. And a lot of people carry coffee.

 

[Toddy]

Sorry to hear about the broken bone; I hope it heals quickly and soundly for you.

Chaga or fomes fluff, dried tops of mugwort rubbed up, and ash from an old fire. The mugwort helps hold it all together.

M

 

[Rabbit leg]

Hello Toddy,

Chaga broken down to dust? Rolled in cotton wool.

Horse hoof fluff inside cotton wool or to replace the cotton wool?

Or is that all combined as the roll with ash inside?

Thanks.

 

[santaman2000]

Like Toddy, I’m sorry to hear of your Ills; but if you manage one handed fire lighting with a bow drill, I’d dearly love to see the videos! That’s an awesome accomplishment.

 

[Toddy]

I watched Warthog1981 do that very thing at the Moot one year. His hand had been sliced open on a sickle but he managed to make fire with only one working hand using a bow drill. So long as you balance well, then it's do-able....with skill that is.

@Rabbit leg
I fluffed up the inside of the prepped fomes and scraped that off. I had been sawing up chaga to send to someone (flat pieces go into one of the thin cardboard posting boxes that will go through the letterbox) and I just used some of the sawdust sprinkled over the ashes and fomes fluff. I had the mugwort to hand and I thought, "Why not ?", and it kind of acted as the roll that held it all together enough. Mugwort's an old hearth herb. It's sort of furry underneath the leaves. It's traditionally used in the Far East in moxibustion, it's called Moxa when it's fluffed up and turned into a kind of woolly fluff. It takes an ember and it lets you blow it up into flame. Masses of beautiful white smoke.
Probably overkill really with three good ember makers, but it worked

 

[Rabbit leg]

There are a few one handed bow drill methods. The best one I found was - sitting on your bum, legs extended, big fat bearing block under the back of one knee, downward pressure with weight of leg, stability with stiffening leg out straight. Voila - ember.

 

[Rabbit leg]

Just tried Galaxy hot choco. It got very hot but I think the sugar and milk in the powder doesn't help.

Maybe just cocoa powder would work. But that is rarely sold these days.

 

[Rabbit leg]

Also tried a limpet shell crushed down. Calcium powder. I think it may work. Will try again tomorrow.

 

[Toddy]

Just tried Galaxy hot choco. It got very hot but I think the sugar and milk in the powder doesn't help.

Maybe just cocoa powder would work. But that is rarely sold these days.

Bournville is widely available (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose) and Callebaut is around too.
I use it in baking as well as in spiced hot chocolate.

 

[santaman2000]

Bournville is widely available (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose) and Callebaut is around too.
I use it in baking as well as in spiced hot chocolate.

We have different brands here but I was thinking the same thing. However it’s not in the same aisle here as the chocolate drink mixes. Rather it’s in the baking aisle. Maybe that was the OP’s problem: looking in the Wrong aisle?

 

[Toddy]

Good point, it is often in the baking ingredients aisle.

 

[Rabbit leg]

Toddy - it looks like you're going to have to test that for us. I'm busy with limpets.

 

[Toddy]

Toddy - it looks like you're going to have to test that for us. I'm busy with limpets.

Y'can keep the limpets; I'm allergic to fish and shellfish....their shells make good tops for spindles for a home made firebow though. Just pack one with leaves such as ivy and fit the shell into the curve of the palm of your hand

Cocoa powder, in a fire roll....might do, though it's absolutely chucking it down here today.

M

 

[Brizzlebush]

I'm curious about fire rolls. Having just discovered them I'm curious why the likes of P.K and R.M don't mention it?

The only issue I can see is finding wood ash.

Is there an acceptable/useful natural alternative that you can find in the field? Or does it have to use wood ash?

 

[forrestdweller]

I'm curious about fire rolls. Having just discovered them I'm curious why the likes of P.K and R.M don't mention it?

that's (probably) because they didn't hang out with Ruediger Nehberg -- he mentioned them at least 25 ago... which doesn't mean he invented this method, i don't recall him saying where this method originated.

 

[Toddy]

Fellow who I watched using it said he'd seen it in PNG over twenty years ago.

I know that basically it's just another way of creating an ember from friction and appropriate ember making materials.

Does it need wood ash ? Not if you can find something else dry, coarse-ish that will burn a bit, no.
Dry crumbly punk wood works. Pretty sure a valid attempt could be made with one of the dried out husks of maggot eaten piptoporus or fomes too.

If you make a really well wrapped roll up apparently that will work as well. I don't smoke so haven't tried that.

It's just an ember, and an ember is the bit that you blow on inside a nest/tube/bundle of tinder to make fire. Thinking on it that way, it's worth playing around with combinations of stuff. Besides, it's fun to experiment.

So, not rocket science, but pretty cool all the same .......and the mugwort is worth trying