Friction Fire
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This course will cover how to make fire by “rubbing sticks together.” Specifically, we will be going through step-by-step instructions of how to make and use your own bow drill set. Out of all the primitive fire techniques, bow drill is perhaps the most efficient way to make fire from our Maine landscape. Learning the skill will help you build your survival skills, build a new relationship to trees, and at the very least, prove a fun way to entertain family and friends during outings. You may follow along at home or just watch if you prefer.
This course will be offered virtually.
Materials needed if you want to follow along:
- Paracord, strong boot lace or nylon rope (minimum 30 inches long and no thicker than a pen)
- Piece of dry softwood (evergreen) (minimum 20 inches long, 3 inches wide, and ½-1 ½ inches thick)
- Piece of dry softwood (evergreen) (between 10-15 inches long and between ½- 1 ½ inches thick)
- Piece of wet or fresh hardwood (deciduous) (minimum 3 inches long, 2 inches wide and 2 inches thick, but can be bigger as long as you can hold it with one hand)
- Piece of fresh hardwood (deciduous) with a slight bow shape (length should be roughly the span from your finger tips to your elbow and between 1-2 inches thick)
- Piece of dry bark or cardboard (minimum 6 inches long and 6 inches wide)
- Three to five big handfuls of very dry, thin and light plant or tree material gathered from the landscape (include a diversity of things if you can and try to keep them separate from each other)
- Sharp knife big enough to whittle wood, but small enough to make precise cuts
- Work glove or other thick glove for your non-dominate hand
- Beeswax or chapstick
- Patience and humility