Hand Drill Fire with No Metal Tools
19,620
Published 2019-08-16
I have made this work with a bow drill but that required a grueling afternoon of persistence. Everything came together in my favor today, and mother nature definitely set me up for success with hot dry weather and perfect materials sitting right next to each other.
I grabbed a dry willow stick that had been harvested by the river and placed on the rocks for me and other than smoothing out the tip and peeling away a bit of bark, it was pretty much good to go.
I noticed a really nice piece of cottonwood root that happened to have a fork in it that looked like it would save me the trouble of carving a notch; which is one of the more difficult aspects of friction fire without a proper cutting tool.
I used a poorly chosen piece of very brittle slate to start the divot, but when it crumbled I just let the spindle do the work and ended up feeling like I might just be able to pull this off.
After a couple of minutes of spinning that willow stick between my palms in just the right place, and a drop of sweat that almost ruined the whole thing; I had the ember that a friend of mine once called “the holy grail of friction fire”.
If you asked me to go out and make this happen again tomorrow I would put my chances of success at less than 50%, so I would still lean on the bow drill before counting on a hand drill; but I had the deck stacked in my favor today and I’ll take it!
All Comments (21)
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Alright, your skill is unreal. Next level-starting fire using string cheese as hand drill while dog keeps trying to steal it.
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Impressive. I can't speak for everyone that watched your video. But it's always appreciated that you spend the time, record and share. Giving time to other people so they can be inspired to raise their own bar is greatly appreciated by the many that see these videos, you can tell by the comments. Again pretty impressive. My archery and preparation of another deer season fall has taken me away from my fire for a month or so, watching this one puts me back in that frame of mind. Kick ass!
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That's self reliance at its finest, to be able to create fire without anything except your skills and what you can find.
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Awesome video NW Primate . You certainly demonstrated using available and compatible materials . An excellent hand drill video and appreciated .
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Dang, dude...*MY* hands were burning and tingling by the time you got there. Impressive, as always.
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Of all the excellent friction-fire makers, you are the most impressive to me. No metal for this one, and natural cordage in another. Amazing!
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That was an awesome success and a pinnacle of achievement. You have a right to be proud of your achievement. I have not put much effort into hand drill since it seems to me a process that has to be practiced often in order to keep the muscles in condition. But I nevertheless deeply admire the ability to do so by those who are proficient with that skill.
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Super primitive, you are a master, hugs of Brazil
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Absolutely amazing good sir
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Nice way to improvise and save some labor. Now I'll be looking for more situations like that where nature has already done some of the work.
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Another great video showing your resourcefulness and skills always entertaining
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That's master level primitive fire making right there.
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Once again, taking friction fire making to another level. Outstanding, brother!
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Poor Pooch sitting at home in his cage all alone? Thanks old boy for taking us to school and providing another tool in the tool box for fire starting!
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Great hand drill skills NWP and the use of natural features for the board was very nice. Thanks for posting enjoyed watching your skills at work.
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Coolest thing I've seen all day... Thx.
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Well done! I'll never tire of watching or making fires. Even better when you do it so skillfully!
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that drop of sweat was really close my friend! give Lupo a head rub for me! great video!
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Amazing, mate! Hugs from Brazil!
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What did I just see, I mean you continue to put out challenges to us here which you probably didn’t realize , at least for me Always surprised by what you come up with , thanks 👍
