How do you start your fires?

[wildranger]

Ocean1975, I'll see if I can get a video up on youtube or something next time I practice the hand drill for you.

The hand drill may be easier in arid climates but it is still possible to achieve a high rate of success in temperate forest zones with the right materials and enough practice under your belt. What's more, native peoples could have worked in pairs or teams to produce fire using the hand-drill which makes it much, much easier. I don't know much on the exact history of friction firelighting methods in various parts of the world, whether the bow-drill came to replace the hand-drill in europe as a firelighting tool or not, or when that happened if it did, so if anybody has information on this to share it'd be fantastic to know the answers to these questions.

The hand drill to me, is a lot more satisfying due to its simplicity in having just two components and not requiring any cordage which is time-consuming to make. It's a more compact and lighter system for travel and its reliability depends on the skill level of the user, so it has the potential to be just as reliable as the bow drill. After mastering the hand drill, you would choose it over the bow drill any day and I feel it's a skill worth mastering, even if that takes over a year of regular practice. I'd love to get to that point, where I can have as much confidence in a hand drill set as I do in a box of matches. The floating technique, in my opinion, is definitely the way forwards to making the hand drill a truly reliable firemaking tool, just my 2 cents on the matter

 

[silentpaddler]

Good ol' strike-anywhere matches and some birchbark for me.

 

[River98]

I use hex blocks to. Depends on how much time I have to play. Carry a fire steal too and use that with cotton wool or shavings but after a long walk I mostly just was to eat fast!

 

[roger-uk]

But this wasn't as a firemaking tool, this was as a drilling tool..firemaking using bow drill was much later.

How do they know the difference between the two appllications

 

[cbr6fs]

Or

 

[ocean1975]

Ocean1975, I'll see if I can get a video up on youtube or something next time I practice the hand drill for you

Hi Wildranger,
That would be great,i was out yesterday to get another elder tip to try also a peice of elder for the hearth board.

 

[roybmx]

I usually use a fire steel with lint from the washing machine. I have used a bamboo fire saw a couple of times too.

 

[BillyBlade]

Zippo lighter and a hexi block.

That way I have plenty of time to get on with the important things in life. In the main, getting my brew and my dinner prepped.

Broad church this buchcraft thing, isn't it

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Yes please to a video, sounds interesting.

As promised... Hope its of some use! Just some basics as requested.

[video=youtube;ldTSpYQjmz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldTSpYQjmz8[/video]

 

[Stringmaker]

But this wasn't as a firemaking tool, this was as a drilling tool..firemaking using bow drill was much later.

You seem very sure of that, can you reference the evidence?

Personally I don't think it's impossible for both methods to be in use at the same time, albeit in different parts of the world

 

[pauljm116]

Thanks for that, it was interesting and you made it look easy. I think I need to spend more time preparing and have a bit more patience. Next time Im out will have another try, Im determined to get to grips with this now so thank you.

As promised... Hope its of some use! Just some basics as requested.

[video=youtube;ldTSpYQjmz8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldTSpYQjmz8[/video]

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Your very welcome...

 

[Compo Semite]

A diesel soaked rag and a couple of plastic bottles...Only joking! usually a fire steel a ball of cotton wool and a candle stub, lighting the candle stub from the cotton wool and then whatever natural tinder and kindling is available if the weather is dry I'll use cramp balls and wild clematis down and fibres.

 

[GST138]

Yesterday took me a long time to get a fire going. It is vey cold and damp here in N. Yorks. But had a go with my new flint and steel and Fire piston. Got embers very easily with char cloth, harder to get this to take as I only had a bit of brch bark, adn damp twigs. Eventually used cotton wool and char cloth and got it going. Still happy to get the fire piston to work outdoors.

 

[pauljm116]

Yesterday took me a long time to get a fire going. It is vey cold and damp here in N. Yorks. But had a go with my new flint and steel and Fire piston. Got embers very easily with char cloth, harder to get this to take as I only had a bit of brch bark, adn damp twigs. Eventually used cotton wool and char cloth and got it going. Still happy to get the fire piston to work outdoors.

Ive often wondered about fire pistons. How easy are they to get an ember going?

 

[GST138]

with Char cloth it was very easy to get the ember going. The fire piston takes a bit of practice but once you have the hang of it it is very easy. I was struggling with getting from ember to flame. I know this was my lack of preparation with a tinder nest but I wanted to use only what I could gather and that was very little.

 

[djohnsonbear]

vaseline soaked cotton wool n fire steel for me

 

[EPB Ivan]

I use ferro rod to start a fire and everything what I need is in the woods. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's harder This is video about it for my friends.

 

[Bishop]

Ferro rod and locally sourced tinder for me at the moment.
Still working on mastering the "Sinanju" technique

 

[Pattree]

Ferrocerium rod and cotton fluff from tumble dryer filter, OR cotton wool ball OR thistle / ragwort OR shredded paper hanky. Just done it two hours ago in the garden. (Cotton wool ball). My son and a couple of grandchildren went to bloodstock. They use Central/Eastern European blanket rolls. I washed and dried the inner sheets at our house where we can dry them easily. The fluff from those green (?linen?) sheets is superb tinder.

If this is new to you: don’t use polymer or wool fluff - it doesn’t work.

I have a 12mm rod for home and garden and an 6mm built into the handle of my Opinel Explore.

I am fascinated to see people make a friction fire but not enough to do it myself. That heat energy has to come from somewhere.

As already said somewhere, I can’t make a fire piston work but that’s probably my char cotton at fault.