As a firecraft enthusiast, I’ve explored a number of ways to create fire. It’s always exciting to produce a coal or flame… sort of “something from nothing”. However, it isn’t always easy to achieve. You might have limited resources or inclement weather which can inhibit ignition. That’s why ages ago primitive man learned to “carry” [...]
Friction Fire Methods of Bow-and-Spindle and Hand-Drill involve using a spindle on a hearthboard to generate heat and char in order to create an ember. The most successful material for this purpose is a non-resinous soft light wood that produces a slightly fibrous coffee-colored powder known as char. I prefer to make the spindle and [...]
A couple of weeks ago I was a vender at a local Faire. One of the benefits is that you get to meet interesting folks who share a wealth of wisdom from their experiences. One particular item was the Swedish Log Candle which was news to me. Of course, any topic with fire interests me [...]
I remember as a teenager reading about great escapes during WWII and how the ingenuity of prisoners was employed out of necessity in the prison camps. As supplies were low, they had to stretch their resources in different ways. One way of increasing their limited matches was to split them lengthwise and then ignite the [...]
Translated from Latin, equinox means “equal night” and on this day of the year, daytime and nighttime are equal length everywhere in the world. This year Spring Equinox (also known as Vernal Equinox) begins On March 20, 2010. In the Northern Hemisphere, daytime will become longer, and the nights will become shorter, until it reaches [...]
Continue reading about Spring Equinox - Optical Firecrafts’ Friend
Fire pistons use a centuries old technology that capitalizes on a physics law, that rapidly compressed air generates heat… enough heat to ignite certain tinders. Fire pistons were discovered over 200 years ago in South East Asia and were brought to Europe where they were demonstrated among the scientific community, eventually leading Rudolph Diesel to [...]
Just over a week ago I had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at a Cub Scout Patrol Meeting (Pack 399). This was a new experience for me as the main audience’s age was 9-11 years old. Rather than plunging into conventional skills that I normally demonstrate, I chose to review the “Hug-A-Tree” program [...]
What are Astragalus Bones? They are bones that are located in the rear legs of four legged animals (in this case, deer) located at the heel. They are part of an articulating hind limb at the joint that connects the calcaneum and tibia which we see as the rear most angular joint of the hind [...]
Charcloth is a main element in creating fire using the flint and steel method. It is carbonized cotton that captures the spark produced when carbon steel is struck on the sharp edge of flint or other silicate based glassy rocks. Traditionally small pieces of cotton fabric (I use 100% cotton jeans) are placed in a [...]
The basic slush lamp has 4 parts: 1) a small vessel that holds oil for fuel, 2) oil - whether vegetable or mineral in nature, 3) a wick that draws the fuel by capillary action, 4) an optional but helpful wick holder that stabilizes the wick and limits the flame spread. Fats can be used [...]
