I finally made my first friction fire yesterday. We were a small group practicing their skills.
First we got into the wood to get the material. A 8ft dead balsam fir was chopped down, we made our fire boards and handholds with this one. Unfortunately the branches were too small to make spindles, so we chopped down a few lower dead branches on bigger firs.
Some people say balsam fir is bad for bow drill, but most of us got our first coal with that wood.
The tinder bundle was minimalist: Dead leaves and pollen (thick and fluffy, we simply picked it on the ground, worked even if wet).
Everything went well. I can tell you a cigar taste better when you made your own fire to light it.
Ok we cheated a little, the bows were already made, with paracord.
Noob's advices to other noobs:
-A thing that made a difference for me: I was bare feet. I found it's easier to stabilize the foreboard without a shoe or a boot. Ok the inside of your foot gets yellow, but for me it wasn't painful, just weird.
- Get a BIG tinder bundle, no you don't need a big one to get the fire started, but the extra acts like an insulation for your hands.
- If you miss, DON'T throw the powder you just made away. The notch will only be quicker to fill the next time.
- My most frequent mistake: Use all the lenght of the bow. Not only the center.
- Forget about the coal, watch your form, only focus on your form.
- If you think you have a coal, keep going just to make sure.
First we got into the wood to get the material. A 8ft dead balsam fir was chopped down, we made our fire boards and handholds with this one. Unfortunately the branches were too small to make spindles, so we chopped down a few lower dead branches on bigger firs.
Some people say balsam fir is bad for bow drill, but most of us got our first coal with that wood.
The tinder bundle was minimalist: Dead leaves and pollen (thick and fluffy, we simply picked it on the ground, worked even if wet).
Everything went well. I can tell you a cigar taste better when you made your own fire to light it.
Ok we cheated a little, the bows were already made, with paracord.
Noob's advices to other noobs:
-A thing that made a difference for me: I was bare feet. I found it's easier to stabilize the foreboard without a shoe or a boot. Ok the inside of your foot gets yellow, but for me it wasn't painful, just weird.
- Get a BIG tinder bundle, no you don't need a big one to get the fire started, but the extra acts like an insulation for your hands.
- If you miss, DON'T throw the powder you just made away. The notch will only be quicker to fill the next time.
- My most frequent mistake: Use all the lenght of the bow. Not only the center.
- Forget about the coal, watch your form, only focus on your form.
- If you think you have a coal, keep going just to make sure.
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