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 [...]
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 [...]
Category - Friction This method uses only two pieces - the plow stick and plow board (hearth board). Shown here is HAU wood from Hawaii, which is a member of the hibiscus family. The board is prepared with a slight groove that is about 6″ long. The stick is sharpened to a narrow but thick [...]
Catagory - Friction The bow and drill method consists of 6 parts: socket, spindle, bow, thong, fireboard, and spark tray. There is a method called the 20-20-20 method which goes like this: The first 20 strokes are slow and steady, just to heat things up; the second 20 strokes increases speed and pressure… you should [...]
Catagory - Friction The bamboo “Fire Saw” method uses a sharp edged piece of bamboo, a semi cylinder tray, two balls of bamboo shavings used as tinder, and a leaf to hold the tinder in place while sawing. The tray has a short 2" trough cut lengthwise on the inside that almost pierces the outward [...]
Catagory - Friction The fire pump is an assembly of a spindle, thong, cross piece handle, and flywheel. This tool is used with a fire board and spark tray. The middle of the thong is attached to the top of the spindle, and the ends are tied to the cross piece ends. To begin using [...]
Catagory - Friction The hand drill method uses a long spindle, hearthboard, and spark tray. Beginners will find it easier to attain success by using a thong fastened (mid thong) at the top, with a loop at each end to insert each thumb. This allows you to maintain constant downward pressure while spinning your hands [...]
I started exploring the idea that safety match-book matches might be lit if I treated them like fire-by-friction wood… that is, if I pre-heated the match by rubbing it slightly before I used a mild friction surface to strike on. It worked on the ceramic bottom of a cup, so I enthusiasticly showed my son [...]
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