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FIRE MAKING TECHNIQUES

There's no doubt that the ability to make and control fire was one of the greatest technological advancements of mankind after tool making. It was there for warmth, protection, cooking, hunting and even primitive agricultural techniques. The knowledge of how to make fire utilizing primitive methods directly connects us to the people who used these techniques. When you are coaxing fire from some tinder using a coal that you created, and you see the glow get brighter, and you smell that curl of smoke, and the tinder suddenly bursts into flame, you are experiencing exactly what the ancient ones did so very long ago. It's a satisfying feeling to know you can be in the woods and create it without modern means, relying instead on the old ways to bring forth the spark and flame. We're going to look at several ways of making fire that go from the stone age to the 1800's. Also we'll check out how to make charcloth, punk, and other spark catching tricks.
. The hand drill: In the movie Quest For Fire a very dramatic scene depicting the hand drill method of firemaking was shown. If you haven't seen it try and rent the video as soon as you can because it not only depicts this method pretty well, but also shows the tremendous importance the ability to possess fire had for early people. This is what we want to think about when we recreate their efforts for ourselves. You will need two things-a firedrill (or spindle) and a hearth board. Make sure you adhere to any dimensions given as closely as you can. The drill has to be made of stalks from mullein or yucca. The yucca stalks seem to be the choice in my area. They should be about four feet long and the ends should be trimmed so that the top is about a half inch in diameter. Make the tip end a tad bigger in diameter so that it tapers-smaller at the top,bigger at the tip or bottom end. Round off the tip end.

Make your hearth from a wood that isn't resinous or gummy. Use something that won't get shiny and glazed. Make sure it's absolutely dry. Use a board made of something like Ash or White Oak or Cedar. It should be about 1" thick, 4" wide, a somewhere over a foot long. A "V" shaped notch is cut into the board and a circular depression is created at the point of that notch. This is where the tip of the drill will be placed.

The edge of the depression should end up being about 1/8" inch from the edge of the hearth. Now you kneel down with your foot resting on one end of the hearth to keep it from moving around. Take your drill and place the tip into one of the depressions. Spin it in the depression by twirling it between your palms as if you were making snakes out of clay-all the while pressing downward.Give it a try and don't forget to check out that Quest For Fire video for a nice demonstration of this technique.

The bow drill :The bow drill method is nice because you can bear down on the drill better. It's easier because the rotation of the drill is close to constant which reduces heat loss and increases efficiency. There are four parts to this set-up; the drill, the bearing block, the hearth, and the bow. The bearing block can be made of wood or soapstone. It's palm sized and has a hollow drilled into it so it can receive the top end of the drill. The top is lubricated with fat or wax or some such thing to help facilitate the rotation by reducing the friction at that end.