Fire Saw

[Alessio]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyIausEDkAs&playnext_from=TL&videos=xdrcdD2eqrY&feature=grec_index

Anyone seen, or used one of these? Looks like a decent technique, but I think that a firebow would probably be easier, both by technique and availability of materials to construct it.

Thoughts, feelings?

 

[Ogri the trog]

I think you've answered your own question there Alessio,
It is worthwhile as a demonstration of what is possible, but in the grand scheme of things, you are unlikely to stumble across suitable bamboo in the UK wilderness - and therefore highly improbable as a "mainstream" bushcraft fire lighitng method.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Toadflax]

Depends, I suspect, a lot on the environment and materials available. My inclination is that it would be appropriate for hot dry climates, but not ideal for the damp environment of the UK.

There are some examples of fire saws in the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, one of which was a wooden shield that had saw grooves (http://webprojects.prm.ox.ac.uk/arms-and-armour/o/Shields/1903.39.46/).


Geoff

 

[Ph34r]

Tbh, bushcrafting in this country, i only ever come across bamboo in garden centres or on my land (and even then rarely). Ray used this technique in the rainforest because he said it works well in the humidity, so maybe something to keep in mind.

 

[Galemys]

I've never succeeded myself at this technique but had some bamboo with me at some of the Dutch bushcraftweekends a few years ago to try out. About half of the people trying got a coal. Getting smoke is easy, creating an ember is quite hard to do though, a kind of sprinting with the underarm muscles.

I have got an article by the Society of Primitive Technology where they used North American woods instead of bamboo so there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do it with European wood species as well.

Anyone interested in the article (and some more on the bamboo fire saw) can E-mail me at t.lourensXsanquin.nl (replace the X with @) and I'll mail you the articles.

Cheers,

Tom