What kind of cordage for fire bow?

H

Hotrod

Joined
Mar 19, 2003
Messages
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Hey guys...

I am going to try some of the fire-starting instructions in the Army survival manual I picked up... I'm wondering if there are any tricks of the trade so to speak with this stuff?

Any particular type of cordage I should try? I heard you can strip two long skinny pieces of bark off of a tree and twist em together to form the cord on the bow.

Thanks... :cool:
 
Hotrod,

If you're beginning, you'll have a real hard time to get any result with natural fibers. They're fragile, they wear down fast, and they slip a lot more. At least, if you want to stick with natural fibers, make yourself some real braided cord. That will be a lot tougher.

The best thing is a leather cord. It eventually wears away, but it offers great traction.

Next best thing is any < 3mm cord... Regular small diameter "climbing style" cord works well. Genuine paracord (with separate inner strands) is a little more more slippery than the ugly thing called paracord (without strands in it). That's why I like to carry some of the ugly thing alongside my real paracord.

You've got much better chances of success if you just pick your boot laces instead of doing it with natural fibers... especially at first. With some practice, and with your form improving, you'll get better and better until you don't need very good cord anymore, as you'll use all of your cord's potential optimally. At this point (after quite a few months of consistent practice) you'll be able to use quickly collected natural fibers like bark or roots.

Cheers,

David
 
Moine is definately right, learn with manmade cord first and work on technique. I am sure the instructions you have are good, here are a few tips anyway... If you are right handed, you are going to be pretty close to having your right shoulder over the fireboard - use your body, not just your arm. To keep your handhold steady in your left hand, brace your left wrist to your left shin, makes a big difference. Also, make sure your notch is at least to the center of your socket on the fireboard.

There is rope out there that works better than paracord, but that is what I use and carry. Also, when you go to natural fibers, prepare to make it thicker than you imagine as it will have to be strong. The quickie cordage you mentioned can be frustrating.

Best of luck.
 
Thanks guys...

It'll be a few days before I can attempt it... it rained like heck last night! 4 inches of standing water in a bucket I had outside.

Even though now is probably the right time to try and find dry wood... I'd rather have the % of it happening in my favor the first time around :D

Do you think I should try to collect tinder, or use a vasaline/cottonball to create a larger flame? From what I understand the firebow just offers an ember to light a tinder... but I dont understand much :D

Thanks guys :cool:
 
More important is your choice of wood for your fireboard and spindle. Without the right combination, it won't work. Do some searching and find our what works in your area. I've had good luck with Mule fat. Pace yourself. It may take several trys to get it. The first time I tried it took me over an hour of drilling and I gave up tired and had nothing to show except blisters.

Some tips:

For bow in right hand: Once you've prepared your materials, place your left foot on the fireboard, kneel on your right knee. With the hand hold in your left hand, lock your left wrist bone against your left shin to help stabilize the spindle.

Start with a slow and steady, sawing movement. Keeping your bow level to avoid having the cord ride up or down the spindle. The trick here is to get the right combination of bow speed and downward pressure on the handhold. You'll have to experiment to get the feel. Gradually increase the speed as you get a feel for the setup. You'll know your technique is working once you start seeing/smelling smoke.

Once you get a good amount of smoke (you won't necessarily see a red ember) continue several more strokes to ensure a good ember, transfer the smoking ember into your bird's nest of tinder carefully, and fold the tinder like a taco and blow. For me, generating the ember is fairly easy, getting it in the nest and ignited is an art in itself.

It really helps to have someone show you how to do it or buy a kit of known materials with a pre-cut fireboard notch and spindle. Doing so will cut down on the learning curve.

As for cord, I use 550 paracord.

Good luck,

S.
 
Yeah, Sidewinder's right on.

Practice, practice, practice...

As for blowing the tinder bundle into flame, I've been practising with cigarette embers... for the smokers around here, it's a great way to get the good technique for that last (and very tricky) part. Also, keep in mind that the bigger the ember, the easier it is to make it a flame afterwards.

What will make that ember bigger?

Three things:

1) the size of the notch (the ember won't become much bigger than the total volume of the notch on the fireboard)
2) the number of effective "last effort" strokes you put in... they are the ones igniting the particles and turning them into an ember. The more you successfully put in, the bigger the ember.
3) patience... Once you've got your nice little pile of black dust smoking, don't rush it. Wait a little and let the ember grow on it's own and get more solid... 4-5 seconds maybe. Then, blow a little (slowly!)... that'll make it bigger and hotter. Then, and only then, put it in the tinder (gently!)... then wait a little again... Then cover it and blow.

Two important points: the tinder really has to be fluffy and thick. Pretty much the same aspect and mossy feeling as cotton balls. It can take quite a lot of work to make it that way. Usually I just grab a baseball sized tinder bundle (preferably dry grass, or some dry inner barks) and work it into a ball. Then, I compress the ball (hard) between my hands again and again from every angle until the inside is all mashed up. Finally I open it and make some sort of a cozy, fluffy bird's nest for the ember. That works well.

The important thing is that the ember must be in contact with a lot of fluffy material at the same time... that's why you don't want any harder/bigger bunch of tinder around it. They won't burn as fast and they'll keep the heat away from the rest of the tinder. Use a very fluffy bed for your precious ember.

Most people, too, are not blowing right on the tinder bundle. Don't underestimate it. You'll need a lot of wind to get that tinder to stay oxygenated enough.

Cheers,

David
 
I wonder, Will pine needles do a decent job as tinder?

We have acres and acres of them around here... :cool:
 
I wouldn't think so. Dried grasses work really well. Think fuzzy/fluffy...

You guys inspired me...Last night, I broke out the old bow and drill and practiced. Took two attempts, but got it to work. Something very special about making fire with bow and drill...

S.
 
Hotrod said:
I wonder, Will pine needles do a decent job as tinder?

We have acres and acres of them around here... :cool:
Click to expand...
Dead, dry pine needles are good firestarters if you've already got a flame or a very hot spark, but they won't convert an ember into a flame.

Sidewinder's dead on: think fluffy.

Also think super-dry!

HTH,

David
 
If you do use paracord, it really helps if you use two pieces, twist them, and wrap them around each other (Ron Hood technique). You want a really knotty, grippy string to grip the drill; having that area slip is incredibly frustrating.

You can do everything right with firebow methods and still just not be able to make it work. As Sidewinder and others have said, you are to some degree at the mercy of Nature's benevolence when it comes to accessibility of materials. I think fire-by-friction is a crafts/hobby technique that imparts a good sense of tinder-sensitivity and develops confidence, but clearly it is not something to rely on for a life-threatening emergency.

Frankly, if any technique requires fine-motor skill-based construction activities, finding dry natural materials, and the use of both hands, I personally wouldn't count on it being available if and when you have to save yourself from hypothermia and death. Think about the conditions that would logically surround the situation where you will be most likely to have to desperately need fire to survive and you can easily see how those conditions are diametrically opposed to your being able to build a firebow.
 
Code: 
If you do use paracord, it really helps if you use two pieces, twist them, and wrap them around each other (Ron Hood technique). You want a really knotty, grippy string to grip the drill; having that area slip is incredibly frustrating.

Hmmm..I'll have to try that.

The other thing you could do is drill hole in the spindle, run the cord through and once around. I haven't tried that yet but have seen a picture somewhere.



S.
 
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