Two Stick Hearthboard (Yucca Stalks)

[Mistwalker]

Reading through Ken's two schtick fire thread I was inspired to experiment with the two stick hearth board again. This time I used Yucca for the hearth board and for the spindle. Since it was Rick who first turned me on to the two stick hearth board I thought it only fitting to use a knife he made as my tool for the experiment. The new edge he put on the Bushlore after Blade really sliced right through the Yucca stalks, and made really quick work of making the spindle.

The first time I tried it my bow string was a little loose and I only got a small coal on one side but i got it quickly with little work. I tried Yucca shavings as tinder, but that didn't too work well. I couldn't blow it into flames, but I think it might work great as a coal extender/expander in the center of a tinder nest.

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[Mistwalker]

On the second try I closed the gap between the two sticks some to see if it was getting too much oxygen, and I tightened my string a good bit.

The yucca is so soft that I didn't make a nipple on the end of the spindle, I just did as Ken did on that Cottonwood and whittled out a little divot for the spindle to seat in.

The Second time around I got two coals really quickly. I didn't have a tinder bundle so I'll definitely have to do this some more. Using the knife tip worked ok for getting the coal out, but I think next time I'll whittle me a little coal-pick like they do with the bamboo fire saw.

I got good coals two times out of this hearth and I'm pretty sure I can get a couple more.

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[Moosez45]

Cool beans, brother, I gots me a new firecraft tech to start on, right after hand drill. Love that blade too, Rick does some outstanding work. Thanks again for the info.

Moose

 

[Mistwalker]

Cool beans, brother, I gots me a new firecraft tech to start on, right after hand drill. Love that blade too, Rick does some outstanding work. Thanks again for the info.

Moose

Lol, I got two coals in less than 20 minutes at a relaxed pace with the bow. I then tried to hand drill with a smaller and spent an hour trying to get smoke and only got light colored dust. I'll be sticking with the bow as long as it is an option .

I love this little knife, I have been tempted several times to ask him if he could do his new wrap on it, but then it would need another sheath and I love the sheath too.

 

[j williams]

Nice job Mist......:thumbup:

 

[Joezilla]

Yucca on Yucca is a fantastic combination, especially when you use the mountain yucca (I'm not sure what species) that we both have around our place. I have harvested some yucca/spanish bayonet from the coast region and I could not get nearly as good of results with it. It was only when I was talking to Cherokee buddy that he informed me that the sea air has something to do with yucca stalks and dries them out to make them more pithy than hard.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Great pictures, mistwalker, especially these two:

Doc

 

[Rick Marchand]

Whoah.... nice double heater in that one pic, bro! The two stick method shines in wet/cold/windy weather when you need to isolate the ember from the ground. You nailed it, man.... great work. Knife ain't bad either, Ha! Thanks.

Rick

 

[Mistwalker]

Nice job Mist......:thumbup:

Thanks J

Yucca on Yucca is a fantastic combination, especially when you use the mountain yucca (I'm not sure what species) that we both have around our place. I have harvested some yucca/spanish bayonet from the coast region and I could not get nearly as good of results with it. It was only when I was talking to Cherokee buddy that he informed me that the sea air has something to do with yucca stalks and dries them out to make them more pithy than hard.

Thanks Joe. Honestly I have no idea which type this is yet other than it came from far from a coast. I had just heard about Yucca's fire starting properties and got permission to harvest the stalks from a few people's landscaping as I ran across it. I will have more next year to experiment with, and I want to plant some on my own land to have around to experiment with soap, cordage, and...stuff too.

Great pictures, mistwalker, especially these two:

Doc

Thanks Doc, glad you enjoyed the photos.

 

[JUST1MOR]

Excellent close up shot once again. Mist, my son just ask me a question on your above picture & I do not have the answer. When you use a bow drill as above, do you just add the tinder to your board, or do you try and cut out or move the coal to a "tinder pile"? I have had very little experience with this system, so instead of B.S'n my way out, I always believe the truth is best. Thanks for letting us know, great pics & information for us to use again.
Be safe.

 

[j williams]

I need to try that 2 stick method.

I like how you used the shavings to extend the coal.

Do you guys find much differance between Mullien and Yucca? Ive never had any Yucca to use.

 

[Mistwalker]

Excellent close up shot once again. Mist, my son just ask me a question on your above picture & I do not have the answer. When you use a bow drill as above, do you just add the tinder to your board, or do you try and cut out or move the coal to a "tinder pile"? I have had very little experience with this system, so instead of B.S'n my way out, I always believe the truth is best. Thanks for letting us know, great pics & information for us to use again.
Be safe.

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed the post. While with the right tinder and a large enough coal I'm sure you could hold the tinder on the coal and blow to get fire I think standard practice is to dig the coal out into a tinder nest. Both of these times I picked it out onto a leaf with the tip of my knife. I also wasted a lot of my coals both times adding oxygen to make them glow and show up better in the photos, something I wouldn't do just starting a fire. Depending on how you tie the sticks you may be able to loosen one end and spread the sticks and push the coal through into a tinder nest, I'll probably experiment with that some. Since this was the fastest I have ever been able to get a coal (reeeeally quick) I am going to do a video later when it's not raining that will make things easier to see.

I need to try that 2 stick method.

I like how you used the shavings to extend the coal.

Do you guys find much differance between Mullien and Yucca? Ive never had any Yucca to use.

Thanks J, before this I had only tried with red Cedar and getting a coal with that was work.

Next time I'll add some shavings into my tinder bundle, it produced a lot of heat with added oxygen.

Lol, I don't know yet, there was no Mullein for me to harvest this year. I wish I would have grabbed some last year when it was plentiful, not sure what happened this year.

 

[Joezilla]

A personal preference, I would rather use yucca than mullen, for me it coals easier.

 

[Ferrousknight]

The only yucca around here is in landscaping. It's useless to try hand drill with it as the drill because the stalks are short and never straight here.

 

[Mistwalker]

A personal preference, I would rather use yucca than mullen, for me it coals easier.

Hard to imagine anything being easier or quicker than it was for me to get a coal with the Yucca.

The only yucca around here is in landscaping. It's useless to try hand drill with it as the drill because the stalks are short and never straight here.

Still usable for spindle and hearth?

 

[kgd]

Great stuff Mist. That yucca is magical stuff! Wish we had more of it around here. I've got a stock in my garage right now and my eye on two big stalks in the middle of our campus. Just gotta figure out how a Prof. can suddenly wipe out a knife and cut them out from the middle of a place milling with students and which has the attitude that it prefers to cut down trees so that rapists can't hide behind them.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Great stuff Mist. That yucca is magical stuff! Wish we had more of it around here. I've got a stock in my garage right now and my eye on two big stalks in the middle of our campus. Just gotta figure out how a Prof. can suddenly wipe out a knife and cut them out from the middle of a place milling with students and which has the attitude that it prefers to cut down trees so that rapists can't hide behind them.

Nooooo...... they're not takin' away my trees, are they?:grumpy:

 

[Mistwalker]

Great stuff Mist. That yucca is magical stuff! Wish we had more of it around here. I've got a stock in my garage right now and my eye on two big stalks in the middle of our campus. Just gotta figure out how a Prof. can suddenly wipe out a knife and cut them out from the middle of a place milling with students and which has the attitude that it prefers to cut down trees so that rapists can't hide behind them.

Thanks Ken, the yucca is pretty awesome.

Well...a small pair of pruning shears might cause less of a stir...or if you've been bored lately you could borrow that Bush Waki of Ricks and see how long it takes the SWAT team to show up

Nooooo...... they're not takin' away my trees, are they?:grumpy:

Completely unimpressed huh? I knew it, fine next time I'll have a tinder bundle and actually make a fire .

I hope they cut down all your trees!! And considering it's you they better cut down all the short shrubbery and bonsai trees as well !!

 

[Rick Marchand]

Completely unimpressed huh? I knew it, fine next time I'll have a tinder bundle and actually make a fire .

I hope they cut down all your trees!! And considering it's you they better cut down all the short shrubbery and bonsai trees as well !!

Yeah, but those bonsai have really thick trunks, man!:grumpy:

What makes you think I'm unimpressed by your firemaking prowess? I have yet to make a fire with yucca, so you've already one-upped me! With all your urban skills and the recent "primitive" edition to your library... I should be the one trying to impress you. Add to that the fact you are making knives!!

Sheesh... I can't remember the last time I got into the woods. The cold weather is calling my name, brother... oh wait, that's my gut... maybe I need to go drop a deuce.


Rick

 

[s7brad]

Gonna be cold over the holiday weekend. I will give this one a go. Think it will work with oak?