Friction fire success thanks to Wildway Bushcraft! :D

[Will_]

Wasn't sure whether to post this in firecraft, reviews or out and about, but I'm so pleased about making friction fire, here it is!

I had an awesome weekend away recently with Wildway Bushcraft! www.wildwaybushcraft.co.uk/ www.facebook.com/WildwayBushcraft
John and the team were fantastic teachers. They were friendly, always happy to answer questions and to go the extra mile. John and Tom were even willing to stay behind after the course had ended to teach me and another student how to make a friction fire!
I’d set myself the goal this year to get a fire going using the bow drill method, but felt that I needed someone to teach me face to face... I’d never seen someone do it apart from on TV shows/Youtube clips and Ray Mears makes it look way too simple!

I’m still smiling weeks later whenever I think about making my first friction fire!

I can’t believe how much we did and how much I learned!

We skinned rabbits, prepared pigeons and freshly caught rainbow trout - these were our dinners on Friday and Saturday night, and lunch on Saturday. Cooked over the camp fire

Breakfast was bannock. I’d never made this before, but it was really tasty. Looking forward to experimenting with some recipes now

We learned how to forage, how to make traps, how to make fire with friction, fire steel, and flint and steel. John also demonstrated a few other ways to make fire.

We learned how to build different shelters. 3 of us worked on this shelter, and I was so impressed with it I had to spend the Saturday night sleeping in it

All the skills I learned I’ve been able to take home and I can’t wait to share them with others.

The atmosphere around camp was great. I turned up knowing no-one, but right away the sessions got us working together. I had a fantastic time, and left wishing I had more time to chat to friends I’d made!

I would not hesitate to recommend Wildway Bushcraft to anyone wanting to discover or to go deeper into the world of bushcraft & wilderness living and I think that people on this forum can go on a full weekend for £100! http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121228

 

[Clouston98]

Congratulations! Looks like a great time too! I was soooo chuffed when I did it, and carving your own and using it in the same day was amazing! It's great fun!

 

[atlatlman]

Congratulations mate. Sounds like you had fun.

 

[Will_]

Thanks gentlemen,
It was through BCUK that I realised it was a skill that people were still learning and practicing.
How successful are you at getting friction fires going? (I know it's hard to generalise with so many variables e.g. weather.) But would you say you're successful 50% of the time, or more, or less?
And what woods to you use?

 

[johnboe522]

Hi Will,

Thanks for the write up, glad you enjoyed the course. Well done on the fire lighting, you made our job easy!!

 

[Firelite]

Well done Will, that smile never really goes away, and if it does it comes back next time you blow an ember to flame. Once you get proficient you should almost be able guarantee flame under favourable circumstances, and thats when you start testing yourself under less than favourable conditions. Again, congratulations, sounds like a great course.