First hand drill ember

[BobFromHolland]

After performing some armchair bushcraft (sitting reading about bc, or watching Ray Mears DVD's) for a couple of months I thought to give the hand drill an other go. I've had a good couple of blister-jerking attempts earlier this year and never had anything else then smoke and dust yet.

Untill now!

My first hand drill ember is a fact.

I am wearing my blistered hands with a proud grin!

I used a sotol flowering stem I pruned a couple of months ago and now went for a smaller diameter drill tip (7-8 mm I guess). Only light brown dust came off it, but still it had an ember.

I still have a long way to go, but this sure does feel like more!
Since I regularly work with hand tools I have quite a lot of callus on my palms which is moved about a lot causing me these blisters. Does this sound familiar to you, or is it proof of a bad technique?

 

[rich59]

Hey Bob! Thats fab!!

As for blisters - part of the journey I'm afraid. Your hands can toughen up but they still occur from time to time - particularly on a hard to get ember.

 

[Ed]

Well done Bob its a great feeling isnt it.

Ed

 

[Ogri the trog]

Well done Bob,
Rich coaxed me to my first hand-drill ember at teh summer moot. Since then I can't say I've had regular success but it's improving.

:You_Rock_

Ogri the trog

 

[Greg]

Well Done mate, but I'm reading with lots of envy!!!!!!!!

 

[Shewie]

Great to hear Bob, I managed to get an ember once on a course and was well chuffed, I can also remember the sore hands after about two hours of trying. I`m afraid I cheat with a firestick/steel these days though.

One for you to tick off though



Rich

 

[chem_doc]

Well done!

I'm gearing up to take on the bow drill... I feel that I've come just about as far as I can with charcloth/tinder/firesteel/sparky things.

I know it's going to be tough going, but it's posts like this that give me confidence that I will learn these techniques...

Doc

 

[gregorach]

What were you using for the hearth board?

I've been trying hand-drill on and off for a while now (no success so far). I don't usually get blisters (despite having "a woman's hands m'lord!") but I do get terrible deep bruises over the knuckles of my middle fingers.

 

[Chris G]

For everyone struggling with a fire drill, try this...

http://www.primitiveways.com/e-fire.html

I'm yet to try it but it looks like a good idea to me.

Chris

 

[Ogri the trog]

For everyone struggling with a fire drill, try this...

http://www.primitiveways.com/e-fire.html

I'm yet to try it but it looks like a good idea to me.

Chris

You might be getting a little mixed up there Chris.
We're making a differentiation between bow-drill and hand-drill techniques. Bow type using a bow, string and top bearing. Hand-drill being just a long spindle and a hearth board - you twist the spindle between your palms! You don't need the technology involved in cord making!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Chris G]

Er..Ah...good point...Um... I'll get my coat.

:sulkoff:

 

[Ogri the trog]

Er..Ah...good point...Um... I'll get my coat.

:sulkoff:

Nah,
Stick around and join in the fun!

Ogri the trog

 

[BobFromHolland]

What were you using for the hearth board?

I've been trying hand-drill on and off for a while now (no success so far). I don't usually get blisters (despite having "a woman's hands m'lord!") but I do get terrible deep bruises over the knuckles of my middle fingers.

I've used sotol for both hearth and drill. The flowering stems I've pruned were quite thick at the bottom (4cm diameter) and tapered to 5 mm at the top (1 meter long I guess).

I used a quite narrow drill tip (+/-7mm) for this successfull attempt. The hearth was cut from a lower segment, which I split into a board.

I noticed earlier when I had used a thicker section of the stem with a bow-drill technique that this sotol stuff is really great for friction fire lighting. When an ember gets formed it grows really fast. Much faster in my experience then for instance willow embers.

Good luck with your attempts! I sure will try to redo the first ember and then experiment with elder again (which is more readilly available).

Bob

 

[BobFromHolland]

:notworthy thanks all for your cheers and support.

I have found this forum to be a great help in 'sticking to it'.

It is nice to share successes and failures and learn from each other.

Have a nice weekend all!

Bob