Firemaking by Friction
Friction fire making is not for the faint of heart and is the most difficult method of those that does not require matches.
If you create enough friction between the spindle and the fireboard, you can create an ember that can be used to start a fire.
Before you can use wood to start a fire by friction, the wood must be completely dry. If the wood is not dry, you will need to dry it first.
1. The Hand Drill
The hand drill method is the most primitive and difficult to achieve. All you need is wood, tireless hands, and dogged determination. Here's how to do it:
Build a tinder nest. Your tinder nest will serve to transform the embers you create into a flame. Make a tinder nest with anything that catches fire easily, such as dry grass, leaves, and bark.
Make your notch. Cut a V-shaped notch into your fireboard and make a small depression next to it.
Place some bark under the notch. The bark will catch any embers created by friction between the spindle and the fireboard.
Begin rolling. Place the spindle in the depression on your fireboard. Your spindle should be about 60 cm long for this to work properly. Maintain pressure on the board and begin rolling the spindle between your hands, moving them quickly down the length of the spindle. Continue doing this until an ember forms on the fireboard.
Light a fire! Once you see a glowing ember, tap the fireboard to knock the ember onto the piece of bark. Transfer the bark to your tinder nest. Blow gently on it to start your flame.
2. The Fire Plow
Prepare your fireboard. Cut a groove in the fireboard. This will be your track for the spindle.
Scrub! Take the end of your spindle and place it in the groove of your fireboard. Start rubbing the end of the spindle up and down the groove.
Light a fire. Place your tinder nest at the end of the fireboard so you can rub the embers into it. Once you catch one, gently blow on the nest and light that fire.
3. Bow drill
The bow drill
The bow drill is probably the most effective friction method because it's easier to maintain the speed and pressure needed to create enough friction to start a fire. In addition to the spit and fireboard, you'll need a socket and a bow.
Obtain a socket. The socket is used to apply pressure to the other end of the spindle when you rotate it with the bow. The socket can be a stone or another piece of wood. If you're using a different piece of wood, try to find one that's harder than the one you're using for the spindle. Wood with sap and oil is good because it creates a lubricant between the spindle and the socket.
Make your bow. The bow should be about as long as your arm. Use a piece of flexible wood that has a slight bend. The bowstring can be anything: a shoelace, a rope, a strip of rawhide, etc. Find something that won't break. Tie your string to the bow and you're ready to go.
Prepare the fireboard. Cut a V-shaped notch and create an adjacent depression in the fireboard. Place your tinder under the notch.
Thread the spindle. Catch the spindle in a loop of the bowstring. Place one end of the spindle into the fireboard and apply pressure to the other end with your socket.
Begin sawing. Using your bow, begin sawing back and forth. You have just created a rudimentary mechanical drill. The spindle should spin quickly. Continue sawing until you create an ember.
4. Flint and steel
This is an old habit. It's always a good idea to have a good set of flint and steel with you when camping. Matches can get wet and become practically useless, but you can still get a spark by placing steel on a good piece of flint.
If you're stuck without flint and steel, you can always improvise using quartzite and the steel blade of your pocket knife (you carry your pocket knife, right?). You'll also need charcoal cloth. Charcoal is cloth that's been processed into charcoal. It helps catch a spark and smolder it without it catching fire. If you don't have charcoal, a piece of mushroom or birch will do.
Grasp the stone and the charcoal cloth. Grasp the piece of rock between your thumb and forefinger. Make sure one edge protrudes about 2 or 3 inches. Grasp the charcoal between your thumb and the flint.
Strike! Grasp the back of the steel striker or use the back of your knife blade. Strike the steel against the flint several times. Sparks from the steel fly out and land on the charred fabric, causing a glow.
Light a fire. Fold your charcoal cloth to form a tinder nest and blow gently on it to light a flame.
Lens-based methods
Using a lens to start a fire is an easy and unsurpassed method. Any boy who has melted green plastic army men with a magnifying glass knows how to do it. If, by chance, you have never melted green plastic army men, here is the technique.
5. Traditional lenses
To start a fire, all you need is some kind of lens to focus the sunlight on a specific point. A magnifying glass, eyeglasses, or binocular lenses can work. Adding a little water to the lens can intensify the beam. Point the lens toward the sun to focus the beam on as small an area as possible. Place your tinder there, and you'll soon have a fire.
The only drawback to the lens method is that it only works when the sun is shining. Therefore, if it's dark or overcast, you'll be out of luck.
Besides the classic lens method, there are three strange, but effective, methods for starting a fire from a lens.
6. Balloons and condoms
By filling a balloon or condom with water, you can turn these ordinary objects into incendiary lenses.
Fill the condom or balloon with water and tie the end. The balloon should be as spherical as possible. The inflated balloon or condom should not be too large, as this will distort the focal point of the sunlight. Squeeze the balloon to find the shape that will give you a well-defined circle of light. Try squeezing the condom in the middle to form two smaller lenses.
Condoms and balloons both have a shorter focal length than a regular lens. Hold them 1 to 2 inches from your tinder.
7. Ice cream
You can actually make a fire from a piece of ice. Simply shape the ice into a lens and use it as you would any other lens to start a fire. This method can be especially useful for winter camping.
Get clear water . For this method to work, the ice must be clear. If it's cloudy or contains other impurities, it won't work. The best way to get a clear block of ice is to fill a bowl, cup, or foil container with clear lake or pond water, or melted snow. Let it freeze until it forms ice. Your block should be about 5 cm thick for this to work.
Polish your lens. Once you have the rough shape of a lens, finish it by polishing it with your hands.
8. Can of soda and chocolate bar
Polish the bottom of the soda can with chocolate. Open your chocolate bar and rub it on the bottom of the can. The chocolate acts as a polish and makes the bottom of the can shine like a mirror. If you don't have any chocolate on you, toothpaste can also work.
Build your fire. After polishing the bottom of your can, you have a parabolic mirror. Sunlight reflects off the bottom of the can, forming a single focal point. It's a bit like how a reflecting telescope works.
Point the bottom of the box toward the sun. You will have created a very focused beam of light, aimed directly at your tinder. Place the tinder about one centimeter from the focal point of the reflected light. Within a few seconds, you should have a flame.
9. Batteries and steel wool
This game is quite easy and fun to try at home, especially with children.
Stretch the steel wool. It should be about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.
Rub the battery on the steel wool. Hold the steel wool in one hand and the battery in the other. Any battery will do, but 9-volt batteries are most effective. Rub the side of the battery with the steel wool "contacts." The wool will begin to glow and burn. Blow gently on it.
Transfer the burning wool to your tinder nest. The flame from the wool will go out quickly, so don't waste any time.
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