- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 1,516
I have never practiced a friction fire in the wet. Figured if it didn't work at the very least this would be some dirt time away from everyone. It rained the entire night before, most of that day and the forecast correctly predicted more rain that night and next day. Haven't seen the sun at all. One hour before dusk I wanted to do a friction fire in a wet environment to practice my skills to learn by doing. Had a bow and bearing block but no tinder or any other fire making materials. I could have made a bearing block out of some standing deadwood Maple but time was short. I felt the odds were against me. But yea never know!
Temps in the 50's dropping into dusk with mist but at least it wasn't still raining. I did pack a poncho but no cordage to resist the temptation of setting up a tarp. I did plan on tossing the poncho over my setup if it rained at the worst possible time like a blanket. Not sure how that would have worked?
I would need to make a dry fire board, spindle, something to insulate that board from the cold wet ground, a dry tinder bundle, dry coal extender, dry kindling, something dry to collect and move the coal, dry firewood and a platform to keep the fire off the ground. Some sort of fire accelerant would be nice to assure flames would take hold. Fatwood and Birch bark are ones that come to mind.
Up first was this mullein. Like everything else it was damp but stood up right. Things off the ground tend to collect less moisture and it has been a rainy month. The roots were muddy despite finding it in what should have been a drier area. There was white mold or something on the base. It was a bit of downer however upon inspection the insides didn't seem that bad. Still the look of it to me didn't inspire confidence. Mullein is a bi annual, if I had to speculate this one died last winter however was still standing strong.
That nasty wet log I was leaning the mullein on had a surprise. The underside was reasonably dry. The spider web was my first clue. That and the dry leaves. LOL! There was some dry punk wood inside. A little too punky but I wasn't in any position to be overly picky.
Things are sort of looking up. This Eastern White Pine is known for being a good friction fire wood. On the down side my last attempt using it within that capacity was during an outing to the Adirondacks a few winters back. It was a failure. There was no chance of taking a branch off the tree but was hopeful for any fallen ones stuck in the lower trees. Found these three branches off the ground. They were damp on the outside with some punky wet areas but other parts were drier. Thinking there was the potential for two or more fire boards and a few spindles. More options the better.
A small cedar. There was a drier area on one side of the tree lower to the ground. Got on my knees to scrape some bark with the knife. There wasn't much available but it is what it is.
Yellow birch with nice hanging bark. If I got a coal then was able to blow it into flames this would really help the flame catch my kindling and larger wood.
I took only that which was hanging leaving the inner bark alone. It really is da bomb! Better yet on this particular tree one side was drier.
The tinder bundle. Getting a coal in the wet is one thing but blowing it into flames is another. The bundle consisted of a meager amount of fluffed up cedar bark and mullein pith. The mullein seems ok on the inside. I hoped it would extend and expand the friction fire coal. Maybe this would overcome the damp? If not I hoped to add a coal to more pith and punk to directly ignite the Birch bark or smaller kindling. Upon retrospect I should have searched for more cedar however it was starting to get dark. I had a headlamp but that's not really the same thing as daylight when sniffing stuff out.
This tree nook was dry therefor used it as a makeshift firecraft camp for lack of a better word. Any split wood, friction fire components, kindling, tinder etc etc etc was placed there. Did have some Ziploc bags in my pack along with two knives and a saw. Only needed one knife but was testing the BHK Ranger as well. At this point I had one of the fire boards cut, a pine spindle, a mullein spindle, punk wood, some kindling/split wood, birch bark, larger wood off the ground. If it rained most of these items would be reasonably protected. Naturally I would have to wait out the rain. Luckily it held off till later than night. Odds are if it started to pour it would have been game over. LOL!
I still needed to make something to keep the fire board off the damp dirt ground. Using "batoning is evil" methodology made a board a bit wider than my fire board but around 3/8 of an inch thick. Too thick and it might make the fire board hard to keep upright. The other piece could be worked into a backup fire board. It was cut from a thicker section of the (hopefully) White pine branch. The insides might have more or less moisture content. I know how to check wood if it is dry but not enough to distinguish smaller percentages which may or may not make a difference here. Not sure but a backup option is always nice.
I also made two spindles, one of mullein, the other White pine. I have no idea how to make mullein drill into a board during a burn-in. For the life of me I couldn't do it however pine will. So the burn in was done with a pine spindle of similar size. I did have to monkey around with the mullein some to get a good fit. Two different spindles = more options at a minimal cost in time or energy as the same materials which make up the fire boards and coal extenders are also used for the spindles. The burn-in had lots of smoke feeling somehow right. The V cut was a bit off center and maybe could have gone deeper IMHO but so be it.
GO! To be honest it looks cleaner in the video than in real life. Needed to cut out a failed attempt, smoke and dust but no coal. The readjustments of the mullein spindle for size also cut. When I tried to do the burn-in with my boots the fire board started to tip so those minutes were cut. I didn't think people would want to sit through an extra 20 minutes of video till I got it right. The thin board did keep the fire board off the damp soft dirt. Also kept it from sinking. The other thin pine shaving/board held the coal on a dry insulated surface which probably retained some heat from the bow drilling. Sure someone has done all of this before as there is nothing new under the sun but was happy this fire board setup actually worked.
The tinder bundle took off well once the extra mullein pith and punk coal extenders caught. The punk was past it's prime but worked. The pith worked well. One nice thing about coal extenders is they give extra time. Once they catch the feeling of urgency drops.
Tossed on the fire board/spindle scraps. The kindling was inside the tree nook so was one sticking it at first gasping whatever was near. Not really ideal. Despite being in a dry spot in case of rain in retrospect I should have taken the smaller kindling near the platform. Also the platform could have been larger. I knew better on both counts. The birch bark and coal extenders compensated for my shortcomings.
Tossed in the rest of the friction fire makings and some kindling. Looking good.
Success!
The leaves near the fire are starting to dry. Zero chance of a forest fire but moved the leaves farther back. making sure the fire was totally out when done.
What? No hiking shoes?
I had some difficulty using my boots on the soft ground with the insulator and fire boards. This was actually the driest spot around so really couldn't move or come up with another idea. Then again I have used bare feet before so maybe the issue is with me and others could have used their boots perfectly fine. Don't know but did what worked best for me.
Cutting tools and newly made kit.
1. Corona or maybe it is a Felco folding saw. Own them both.
2. Last of the BHK "Ranger" knife on a test run. Just got it!
3. Robert Jones/ Jeff White Bushcraft knife.
4. Newly made White pine fire board with mullein spindle. As a proven fire board spindle combo if kept dry this is now a kit item like a Bic, matches, F&S, fire steel etc etc. I could get a bunch more fires out of this if needed.
Heading out. Free short night hike trip report! Headlamps are good things.
Like the way water makes paths in the leaves after a good rain.
The ferns are well on their way. Too bad these aren't Fiddleheads.
It's ok for a guy to say flowers can be cool. That thorny rose mixed in is another matter. Evil stuff.
Beyond a tick I picked up during the fun my old school ECWS rain pants are the lone casualty of the night. Tore the crotch something awful during the bow drill. A clear message I gotta drop some weight.
Edit to add:
I was wondering if the shot glass bearing block gave an overwhelming advantage. So I returned the next day at the same time with the same materials. Made bearing blocks of both rock hard maple and soft white pine. Got coals with both. We had a shower during the day but the air felt noticeably drier. Still it would have worked just the same.
Did some things right and others less so but this practice was really fun. Thanks for looking. Took some video along with the photos.
[video=youtube;LwgLtgJmcsE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwgLtgJmcsE[/video]
Temps in the 50's dropping into dusk with mist but at least it wasn't still raining. I did pack a poncho but no cordage to resist the temptation of setting up a tarp. I did plan on tossing the poncho over my setup if it rained at the worst possible time like a blanket. Not sure how that would have worked?
I would need to make a dry fire board, spindle, something to insulate that board from the cold wet ground, a dry tinder bundle, dry coal extender, dry kindling, something dry to collect and move the coal, dry firewood and a platform to keep the fire off the ground. Some sort of fire accelerant would be nice to assure flames would take hold. Fatwood and Birch bark are ones that come to mind.
Up first was this mullein. Like everything else it was damp but stood up right. Things off the ground tend to collect less moisture and it has been a rainy month. The roots were muddy despite finding it in what should have been a drier area. There was white mold or something on the base. It was a bit of downer however upon inspection the insides didn't seem that bad. Still the look of it to me didn't inspire confidence. Mullein is a bi annual, if I had to speculate this one died last winter however was still standing strong.
That nasty wet log I was leaning the mullein on had a surprise. The underside was reasonably dry. The spider web was my first clue. That and the dry leaves. LOL! There was some dry punk wood inside. A little too punky but I wasn't in any position to be overly picky.
Things are sort of looking up. This Eastern White Pine is known for being a good friction fire wood. On the down side my last attempt using it within that capacity was during an outing to the Adirondacks a few winters back. It was a failure. There was no chance of taking a branch off the tree but was hopeful for any fallen ones stuck in the lower trees. Found these three branches off the ground. They were damp on the outside with some punky wet areas but other parts were drier. Thinking there was the potential for two or more fire boards and a few spindles. More options the better.
A small cedar. There was a drier area on one side of the tree lower to the ground. Got on my knees to scrape some bark with the knife. There wasn't much available but it is what it is.
Yellow birch with nice hanging bark. If I got a coal then was able to blow it into flames this would really help the flame catch my kindling and larger wood.
I took only that which was hanging leaving the inner bark alone. It really is da bomb! Better yet on this particular tree one side was drier.
The tinder bundle. Getting a coal in the wet is one thing but blowing it into flames is another. The bundle consisted of a meager amount of fluffed up cedar bark and mullein pith. The mullein seems ok on the inside. I hoped it would extend and expand the friction fire coal. Maybe this would overcome the damp? If not I hoped to add a coal to more pith and punk to directly ignite the Birch bark or smaller kindling. Upon retrospect I should have searched for more cedar however it was starting to get dark. I had a headlamp but that's not really the same thing as daylight when sniffing stuff out.
This tree nook was dry therefor used it as a makeshift firecraft camp for lack of a better word. Any split wood, friction fire components, kindling, tinder etc etc etc was placed there. Did have some Ziploc bags in my pack along with two knives and a saw. Only needed one knife but was testing the BHK Ranger as well. At this point I had one of the fire boards cut, a pine spindle, a mullein spindle, punk wood, some kindling/split wood, birch bark, larger wood off the ground. If it rained most of these items would be reasonably protected. Naturally I would have to wait out the rain. Luckily it held off till later than night. Odds are if it started to pour it would have been game over. LOL!
I still needed to make something to keep the fire board off the damp dirt ground. Using "batoning is evil" methodology made a board a bit wider than my fire board but around 3/8 of an inch thick. Too thick and it might make the fire board hard to keep upright. The other piece could be worked into a backup fire board. It was cut from a thicker section of the (hopefully) White pine branch. The insides might have more or less moisture content. I know how to check wood if it is dry but not enough to distinguish smaller percentages which may or may not make a difference here. Not sure but a backup option is always nice.
I also made two spindles, one of mullein, the other White pine. I have no idea how to make mullein drill into a board during a burn-in. For the life of me I couldn't do it however pine will. So the burn in was done with a pine spindle of similar size. I did have to monkey around with the mullein some to get a good fit. Two different spindles = more options at a minimal cost in time or energy as the same materials which make up the fire boards and coal extenders are also used for the spindles. The burn-in had lots of smoke feeling somehow right. The V cut was a bit off center and maybe could have gone deeper IMHO but so be it.
GO! To be honest it looks cleaner in the video than in real life. Needed to cut out a failed attempt, smoke and dust but no coal. The readjustments of the mullein spindle for size also cut. When I tried to do the burn-in with my boots the fire board started to tip so those minutes were cut. I didn't think people would want to sit through an extra 20 minutes of video till I got it right. The thin board did keep the fire board off the damp soft dirt. Also kept it from sinking. The other thin pine shaving/board held the coal on a dry insulated surface which probably retained some heat from the bow drilling. Sure someone has done all of this before as there is nothing new under the sun but was happy this fire board setup actually worked.
The tinder bundle took off well once the extra mullein pith and punk coal extenders caught. The punk was past it's prime but worked. The pith worked well. One nice thing about coal extenders is they give extra time. Once they catch the feeling of urgency drops.
Tossed on the fire board/spindle scraps. The kindling was inside the tree nook so was one sticking it at first gasping whatever was near. Not really ideal. Despite being in a dry spot in case of rain in retrospect I should have taken the smaller kindling near the platform. Also the platform could have been larger. I knew better on both counts. The birch bark and coal extenders compensated for my shortcomings.
Tossed in the rest of the friction fire makings and some kindling. Looking good.
Success!
The leaves near the fire are starting to dry. Zero chance of a forest fire but moved the leaves farther back. making sure the fire was totally out when done.
What? No hiking shoes?
I had some difficulty using my boots on the soft ground with the insulator and fire boards. This was actually the driest spot around so really couldn't move or come up with another idea. Then again I have used bare feet before so maybe the issue is with me and others could have used their boots perfectly fine. Don't know but did what worked best for me.
Cutting tools and newly made kit.
1. Corona or maybe it is a Felco folding saw. Own them both.
2. Last of the BHK "Ranger" knife on a test run. Just got it!
3. Robert Jones/ Jeff White Bushcraft knife.
4. Newly made White pine fire board with mullein spindle. As a proven fire board spindle combo if kept dry this is now a kit item like a Bic, matches, F&S, fire steel etc etc. I could get a bunch more fires out of this if needed.
Heading out. Free short night hike trip report! Headlamps are good things.
Like the way water makes paths in the leaves after a good rain.
The ferns are well on their way. Too bad these aren't Fiddleheads.
It's ok for a guy to say flowers can be cool. That thorny rose mixed in is another matter. Evil stuff.
Beyond a tick I picked up during the fun my old school ECWS rain pants are the lone casualty of the night. Tore the crotch something awful during the bow drill. A clear message I gotta drop some weight.
Edit to add:
I was wondering if the shot glass bearing block gave an overwhelming advantage. So I returned the next day at the same time with the same materials. Made bearing blocks of both rock hard maple and soft white pine. Got coals with both. We had a shower during the day but the air felt noticeably drier. Still it would have worked just the same.
Did some things right and others less so but this practice was really fun. Thanks for looking. Took some video along with the photos.
[video=youtube;LwgLtgJmcsE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwgLtgJmcsE[/video]
Not only didn't the knife brake then magically fly into my jugular but the 1095 didn't instantly rust away due to the wet.
