These family members are aware of my passion for primitive and survival skills and indulged my passion for sharing them. They had stayed with my son and his family for a few days and on their last day I offered to do a little demo work. We started by handing out some soda bottle caps to use as whistles (see “Improvised Cavity Whistles“) and after making some awesome sounds we then proceeded to my passion of firecraft.

The easiest fire-by-friciton method in my opinion is the fire roll (see “… The Fire Roll Firecraft Method“) and so I demonstrated the set-up of materials and process. The humidity that day was heavy but after a few tries all of the adults had success! I explained that fire-by-friction doesn’t produce a flame right away but uses a live coal (or ember) that can be added to fine tinder to produce a flame. Creating that flame gives such a feeling of accomplishment and I watched their delight at their success!

We also practiced the optical fire method using a Fresnel lens and I demonstrated the flint and steel method (not ferro rods) using charcloth. In retrospect I should have shown the ferro method but they were already aware of it.

In the end, my niece and her husband had a good handle on the methods that we practiced and it struck me that these skills are not taught in mainstream education but need to be passed down from generation to generation. It was a delight to see the interest and participation of that day. Let’s take time to share our skills as there are uncertain days ahead and in an emergency scenario they can be invaluable!

Some years ago I acquired a used cast net but never took time to unravel it to explore it’s dimensions or how it was used. While watching various survival programs I noticed how significant a cast net can be for survival by catching fish for bait or for consuption. So I decided to learn more and began to look up videos on-line and discovered that there are as many ways to throw one as there are people who demonstrated them.

After viewing many videos I learned about the parts of a cast net that include the hand line, swivel, horn, braille lines, netting, and lead line with weights. Gathering the net to throw is called “loading” and is basically held by the throwing arm or by the opposite arm from which to spool off. Many of the demos used eight and ten foot radius nets whereas my cast net has a five foot radius but the approaches for each are basically the same. In the past many folks used their teeth to hold part of the bottom lead line but there are newer approaches that eliminate that method.

After many throws I couldn’t get the net to open properly and so went back to the videos to look for the details of loading it up. The break-through came when I met a fellow who had casting experience and mentioned that the net is not thrown level but slightly upward, about thirty degrees, and that did the trick for me. Having a mentor can make a significant difference.

As of this writing I haven’t settled on a favorite method but I am an advocate of learning more than one way thus giving options for differing net sizes or casting situations. Here are two links by “Fisherman Alex” and “Salt Strong” that I have found helpful. I would be glad to receive comments from experienced net casting enthusiasts on their favorite method.

I began our session by handing out wallet-sized pieces of paper on which were printed seven points of survival priorities. We moved on to some edibles. I brought a prickly pear (or nopales) cactus paddle as seen on many survival shows and prepared pieces for sampling. Earlier upon my arrival I caught a grasshopper and then demonstrated how to prepare it for roasting. A young lad volunteered to eat it later with a nod of approval.

We progressed on to firecraft where I built a campfire from scratch so that everyone could see the progression of materials from thin to thick and lit it with the sparks from a broken flint-wheel lighter. Then I shared my “Five Fire Categories” of optical, electrical, chemical, percussion, and friction, and proceeded to demonstrate each one.

Optical – The sun had already set so I could not demonstrate optical fire methods but I did show the different optical devices and described how they are used. I gave each one a wallet magnifier of their own to experiment with on a sunny day. I always keep one in my wallet as a solar fire starter.

Electrical – I pulled off a piece of AAAA steel wool into a strand and crossed the terminals of a lantern battery. Nine volt batteries work well for this. I placed an ignited piece into a paper towel and coaxed it into a flame. Later in the evening I located a AA battery and created a flame using a strip from a foil gum wrapper.

Chemical – I poured out a small mound of Potassium Permanganate (KCO3) and made a small impression in the middle whereupon I added a little bit of anti-freeze (containing glycol). After a few moments smoke appeared followed by an erupting flame. This demonstrated how exothermic reactions of chemicals can create a flame.

Percussion – I showed the materials used for Flint & Steel fire making. I showed different strikers and various rocks. I demonstrated how to make “quick charcloth” by burning a piece of 100 percent cotton cloth until black and extinguished it between two blocks of wood. I then placed it on the flint to catch a spark from the steel striker. Later in the evening I demonstrated a fire piston using the quick charcloth as tinder.

Friction – My last demonstration was Bow & Spindle fire method. This took a few tries but demonstrated the nature of different woods and what to look for in developing proper char powder for the creation of a live coal.

By the end of the meeting the men had gained a greater knowledge of survival and firecraft skills that they can now pass down to their children and future generations.