Cold weather friction fire

[ricktrojanowski]

I've been messing with the hand drill for a little while now.  I'm by no means an expert.  I thought I would challenge myself the other night and get a fire going with it.  I thought since it was only 9 degrees it would be really tough.  To my suprise it was actually some of the easiest coals I have ever gotten.  Which leads me to believe that it has much less to do with air temperature as it does with relative humidity.  Since the RH is so low when it is that cold.  This is probably pretty obvious to some but I'm kinda slow.  

[Boofus]

that's wonderful information!!! i always thought it would be harder to get a friction fire going in COLD temperatures, i would think that the cold would prevent a coal from "glowing" Thanks! i've never tried a hand drill.... yet i have made fire from a bowdrill once. i think it took me about 3 hours, my right arm was sore for about a week too! 

[Kegan]

Very cool. I've tried it a number of times in the summer when it was wet/raining out, and even when the kit was dry or I was under an awnign of sort it was harder. That would explain it !

[billy]

Rick,

You are dead on.  HAnd drill fires are MUCH easier when the humidity is low.  when I lived in Oregon I remember I got an ember with my hand drill in about 12 seconds.  It was easy!  But I was living in the high desert.  When I went up into the mountains and tried it there, the humidity was much higher and I could barely get it to smoke and never got an ember.  When it's humid, I go with the bow drill. 

[ricktrojanowski]

Boofus- Give the handdrill a go.  It is much easier than the bow when you get a feel for it.  I have much more trouble with the bow than the handrill.
Kegan-I hear ya about the summer humidity.  When it is really bad out.  I usually go to a harder board like ERC heartwood and spin for a looong time really easy to dry everything up.  But I was amazed at how easy it was in the dry cold air.
Billy- Have you had any luck with the fire saw?  Maybey dry air would make this easier?  I tried all summer and could only manage smoke.

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

wanna talk about humidity? Try it is Florida, man it gets really hard to do here b\c it gets so blasted humid, good dry winter days work so much better, in the humid summer, forget about it.....just increadable hard,  but still doable with lots of blisters and sweat!- Ryan

[ricktrojanowski]

wanna talk about humidity? Try it is Florida, man it gets really hard to do here b\c it gets so blasted humid, good dry winter days work so much better, in the humid summer, forget about it.....just increadable hard,  but still doable with lots of blisters and sweat!- Ryan

Good dry winter days in Fl what is that 75% RH

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

yup thats about correct, everyone break out the chap stick!

[ozy clint]

i had a go at a bow drill for the first time  the other day. i tried for about 2 hrs and all i got was a fire board with holes and smoke. i was using cottonwood for the spindle and fire board. any hints?

[ricktrojanowski]

I'm not familiar with cottonwood.  I would start by asking if you scratch it with your fingernail does it leave a good scratch?  Not crushed, just scratched.  If so and the wood isn't an oily wood and it is well dried out it should work.  Your board should be about 3/8" thick, and I like a spindle about 3/4" or so round.  Make sure your bow is snug and not slipping.  Also lube up your hand hold with something to keep friction to a minimum.  I usually use juice from a leaf or some spit.  You can use soap if you want a really smooth surface.  When you make your notch that collects the dust make sure it extends into the center of the hole that the drill creates.  Also make it wide enough that the dust doesn't collect around the hole but rather all fall into the notch.  When you make the notch,  the bottom should be wider than the top and it should extend deeper on the bottom than the top.  That sounds confusing but it really helps to give the dust plenty of room to fall but keeps it warm and under cover.  Once you have your set up dialed in, it now comes down to technique.  Start off with nice smooth long stroke concentrating on form and breathing.  People tend to hold their breath, this is a bad idea.  Warm up the surfaces well with this method.  Once you start getting some smoke, start increasing the speed and down pressure on your setup. Now once you think you have it.....KEEP GOING!!!!!!!!.  Don't stop until you are 110% sure you have a coal.   Keep trying,  you will get it.  Make sure you have a tinder bundle ready, because you will be really Pi$$ed if you get a coal and have no place for it.  Hope this helps keep us posted on your progress.  You should also give the hand drill a go.  It is a bit harder physically, but much easier to get the technique down.

[Greebe]

Hey I taught my wife this afternoon how to make a fire with a bow drill.  We made everything out of cedar.  Cedar is a good wood for bow drill fire making.

Cottonwood should work well.  It is a medium hardness wood such as cedar and medium works well.

Make sure you use the full length of you bow, i.e. long strokes.  This will make life easier as well.

When making my fireboard, I only make my notch extend about a 1/4 of the way into my hole.  This seems to work better for me than half way in.  IMO it allows the spindle and fireboard to get hotter quicker which facilitates in making a coal faster.

As Rick said once it start smoking keep going.  I keep going long after it starts smoking.  This allows the coal to form better and assures that when you stop you didn't waste your time.

After you lift the fireboard away to reveal you coal, gently blow on your coal.  It won't look like anything is happening but if there is even a little smoke coming off of it you are good.  Just keep gently blowing on it until you get more smoke.  Once it starts smoking a lot and you can see the red coal form, give it some hard blows to catch you tinder on fire.  TIP:  Use lint from your dryer at first to learn with.  It will make it easier for learning.

Good luck,
Greebe