I can start fires with lighters/matches, flint and steel, ferro-rod (metal match), lens, heck even started one with a condom full of water once...but I've never tried any kind of friction fire. that is until this weekend. On saturday my daughter and I went out to the farm to scout for turkey sign. on the way I taught her to identify birch trees and how to peel the outer bark for tinder, same with eastern red cedar. showed her how to break it down and make a birds nest.
I knew the general area where a particular red cedar stood dead...and we eventually got there, so I busted it off the roots and sawed out a section of the trunk. we also gathered a bundle of the smaller branches for kindling.
Later I used my folding saw to cut out a section of trunk and split it with my Mora. carved it into a basic board shape about 5/8" thick and made a divot. made a spindle out of a thumb thick branch. and made a bow out of a live branch and some paracord. the only place I 'cheated' was I used a rollerblade wheel as the bearing block.
burned it the divot nice, and carved my notch....bow drill set complete. first attempt...I got a nice pile of ash and a ton of smoke but no ember. second try no go. still no ember. third try the same. not sure if my hearth board has too much resin in it, or what? I may try again when I can find some poplar that's dead.
hey Kent...long time! yup, still into primiti....er....'pre-contact' stuff.... :)
I tried the bow drill a second time a week ago and failed to produce an ember. convinced its the wood. will try to find some more suitable wood.
