I've been trying primitive (and less-than primitive) fire-starting methods all of my adult life-- actually, since around my mid-teens. I haven't succeeded with all of them-- the hand drill being my most frustrating failure-- but it has been years since I heard of a "new" method I'd never heard of before.
But a couple of weeks ago that's exactly what happened.
I was watching a video about fire-making and the guy used the fire roll. What? Never heard of that! But I've got to try it NOW!
So, I did.
And, unlike some other methods, I made fire the first time I tried it. And then, I made a fire with it more primitively using only yucca fibers from my yard, I've made fires (well, only embers usually) with the fire roll nearly every day since. In fact, during our unseasonably early winter storm last week, that's how I lit my fireplace.
Anyway, that's to say you never know so much about anything that there's nothing more to learn. It doesn't matter how many years you've been studying and pursuing something-- someone out there knows something you don't. The day you find them should be one of the highlights of your life. In every case. Don't let pride stop you from learning. You'd only be cheating yourself.
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What is the black powder used in the "fire roll"?
To me, starting with a cotton ball is cheating. Why not a flint and striker, or a match? There's no cotton balls in nature except on a cotton farm. If you're in survival mode on a cotton farm, hmmm, I'm not sure how you got in that mess.
Myself, I've successfully used the bow drill method, although that began with a piece of cord, also not found in nature! I've never made fire with my bare hands and items I found in nature, but that would be a pretty spectacular feat.
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The powder is regular ash from a previous fire.
Yes, for primitive situations, a cotton ball is cheating. However, I was able to make fire with a fire roll made with only fibers from a yucca plant. No cotton and no ash.
Maybe start with a cotton ball and then experiment with different natural fibers you find and collect. That's what I've been doing.
I have cordage for the bow/drill made from brain-tanned elk hide. For years I used a cord made of elk rawhide. I also have a spare cord in my bow/drill fire kit made of yucca leaf fibers. Cord is all around you in nature, but you do have to do a little work to get it.
The one time I did make a fire without having anything whatsoever on hand-- beyond a knife (but a sharp broken rock would have worked just as well) I was lucky to find a tangle of fine string hanging on some sagebrush. It was enough string that I simply twisted it into a thick enough cord to use for my bow/drill. That saved some time, for sure, but there was plenty of yucca in the area so the lucky find wasn't essential.
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Very cool, thanks for the info.
I'm vegan so I'd be unable to use brain or hide, but yucca plants? Interesting. I think that's a South American thing, but you never know when you'll have one in your back pocket while out in nature, haha.
Ash and cotton, that's pretty simple, and those are easy to find. Ash and fibres is the recipe, I suppose.
How about magnifyers, played around with that? It's pretty easy if you have good sunlight and the right tool, but what about just chunks of broken glass? Could that be done, have you done it?
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Excellent, thanks!
"Don't catch your hair on fire!!" - great advice :D
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I've made many fires with magnifying glasses and with fresnel lenses (super easy to slip into your wallet). Also, with reading glasses (or any glasses made for farsightedness) and the lens from the big end of my spyglass. (Lenses almost feel like cheating to me, because that's so easy.)
You can also use really clear ice, water in plastic bags, and water bottles full of water-- anything which will focus the sun. I've never done those-- never tried except for the plastic water bottles (and it didn't work for me).
If you could find a chunk of broken glass that would focus the sun, it would work. I'm guessing that might be hard to find.
I have an antique glass paperweight that I may just have to try. Thanks for giving me the idea!
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That's cool! Good luck with it :)
You're right, some lenses are just too easy, but I think it's good to practice with them anyway. Less ideal pieces of glass (or like you said, ice, water, etc) are quite a bit tougher!
Here's a story from my high school days.
I went to a special program for outdoor stuff. We crammed all the book stuff into half a year, then had half a year of white water kayaking, ocean kayaking, cycling, mountaineering, kekuli building, cedar basket making, telemark skiing on glaciers, etc.
A major part of this program was firestarting. Anyone who managed to do so without matches or lighter got extra marks.
About 1/8 of the class succeeded, including myself, with the bowdrill. When my younger brothers went through the same program, they also got fire. I'm surprised how few managed to do it. Some didn't try at all, some tried for months and just couldn't figure it out. I saw one girl get a smoldering pile of tinder once, but she had no practice with fire in general, and couldn't keep it going!
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I tried the bow/drill for years before I had any luck. Then I sat and watched and talked to a guy while he made fire that way, and I never had any problem with it again. I just needed a real person to show me.
I have sat with a lot of people and walked them through it. I used to make and sell bow/drill sets and would help the buyers make fire the first time.
I used to do a program at the local school where I demonstrated mountain man history and skills. The bow/drill was always the kids' favorite part. (I also demonstrated flint and steel-- which also feels like cheating to me.)
For years I made a fire every single day-- usually with the bow/drill, but occasionally with flint and steel. Then I sat by the fire for a few hours. Friends knew where to find me-- sitting by the fire in front of my wikiup-- and would come share my fire to chat for a while. Here's a picture of my wikiup and surroundings:
You can see my bow/drill fire kit hanging from the tripod (along with my rifle) on the left of the picture. It's the long bag.
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Awesome. You're a wealth of information and skills. Aside from being from the generation that came after you, we have some things in common. I'd love the opportunity to hang out and learn from you sometime, but will probably have to make do with Steem for the time being :)
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Yeah, that would be fun. It would probably be even better if we could hang out somewhere that there's some wilderness. This area kinda sucks for wild spaces.
Oh, and I tried out the glass paperweight today. Watch for a post about that soon.
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What is the powder? He doesn't seem to say in the video.
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Wood ash from a previous fire.
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So, the roll is made with fibers and... ash?
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Yes. And the ash isn't essential-- it just makes it easier to ignite.
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That's crazy useful! How do you get fibers from the yucca? Do you have to beat fresh leaves/stems, or is there a point when they dry and begin to disintegrate on their own?
Thinking of palm/palmetto as my most available local fiber. The leaf stems have fibrous bases that kind of disintegrate on their own when they leaf is old and starting to fall off.
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To get the fibers from yucca I cut a leaf off near the base, then I use the back of a knife to scrape away all the green juicy stuff-- both sides-- until only fibers are left. Some people use a spoon.
The yucca I have here have very thin leaves, but they are a couple of feet long, so I can get a foot or so total of cordage from each leaf I put into the cord, unless I need it to be thicker. This stuff is STRONG. I got someone to tug-of-war with me to try to break a yucca cord, but we couldn't.
Here's a small cord I made a couple of days ago from one yucca leaf:
This is 11.5" long (I just now measured it) not counting the knot. It took me maybe 20 minutes to make.
The cord I have in my bow/drill set is a little thicker and a bit over 3' long. It took maybe an hour and a half to make, including preparing the yucca. Splicing the fibers together slows things down a bit.
The easiest cordage I've ever made from yucca was from leaves which got pre-stripped by the lawn mower. I just cut them free from the plant, wet them a bit, and twisted them into cordage. That is also where I got the fibers for my first yucca fire roll. Already dry and ready to go.
I would think palmetto would have lots of good fibers around the base. If you can find leaves which have fallen off and rotted down to the fibers that should work well. Rotted okra stalks and canna stalks have a lot of good fibers, too. I'll bet most big-stalked plants would be the same, so check whatever grows in your area.
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That's great, thanks! I have no experience using plant fibers (that haven't already been made into cord by someone else) except as compost/mulch, that's why my mind went straight to the rotted palmetto fibers. I would bet it's possible to work with fresh leaf stems just like you do for yucca, and likely better for getting a cord that holds together.
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