outdoor living » the 10 bushcraft books » fire making (pt. 2)

.striking a spark

Striking fire from iron pyrites or quartz.	How to strike fire from flint and steel onto tinder.

Flint and steel, of course, were the common method of lighting a fire before friction matches were perfected and no great skill is needed for their use. The synthetic flint used in a cigarette lighter is a considerable improvement on natural flint. A couple of pieces of synthetic flint pressed into a small piece of 'perspex' make an excellent emergency firelighting outfit (heat the perspex and press the flints in while it is hot - hold under cold water and the perspex will shrink on the flints and hold them securely).

An alternative to flint and steel are two pieces of iron pyrites, which, when struck together, throw off a shower of hot sparks that will last for at least a second. Iron pyrites is a common crystalline formation, and not difficult to obtain. Iron pyrites and steel will also give a hot spark. Quartz and steel, or two pieces of quartz, will also strike off good sparks, but these latter stones are very much harder to use.

The sparks struck must fall on the tinder, which, in turn, must be blown into a coal, and from the coal to a flame. Only a pinch of tinder is required when you are proficient with striking a spark.

.fire by friction

Bow. Thong is made from a leather lace or a strip of greenhide belt lacing.

Firelighting by friction consists first in generating a spark or tiny coal, and then nursing this (in the tinder) to flame.

Firelighting by friction is most easily mastered by the rotation of a drill or spindle in a foot piece. The drill, with some native people, is rotated between the hands bill this requires considerable skill. Other primitive people rotated the spindle by means of a bow and thong. This last is the easiest method. The components, which should be prepared beforehand, are a bow, headpiece, drill, and footpiece. The dimensions given above and below are a guide for size.

To use a fireset, the drill is put under the thong, and twisted so that the drill finally is on the outer side of the thong, and with that portion of the thong nearest the handle of the bow on the upper side of the drill. This is important.

This is how the thong must be round the drill. If the thong is wrong way on the drill it will cross over itself and cut in a few strokes, also the full length of the stroke cannot be obtained.

The foot piece has a shallow hole cut with a knife point into the upper side about ½" [12 mm] from one edge. In this hole the drill is rotated. Into the edge of this hole from the nearest side, an undercut V is made. This should be at least 1/8" [3 mm] into the hole itself.

The underside of the headpiece has a shallow hole bored into it, and this is lubricated preferably with lead (graphite) from a pencil. A smear of fat will also serve as a lubricant, or if even this is not obtainable, wax from the ear can be used.

The correct body position for using the bow and drill is to kneel on the right knee, with the ball of the left foot on the footpiece to hold it firmly to the ground. Place the lower end of the drill in the hole in the footpiece, and the top end of the drill in the hole in the underside of the headpiece.

The left hand holds the headpiece. The wrist of the left hand must be braced against the shin of the left leg. This will enable you to hold the headpiece perfectly steady. Actually the headpiece is a 'bearing' for the drill.

The bow is held in the right hand with the little and third finger outside the thong so that by squeezing these two fingers the tension of the thong can be increased.

The correct position to hold the various parts of the fireset.

To learn to use a firebow it is advisable to learn first to rotate the drill slowly. This is done It y drawing the bow backwards and forwards. The thong round the drill will spin the drill. Only a light pressure is put on the headpiece. Very soon you will see smoke coming from the footpiece, and notice that a fine brown powder is being ground out. This is forming a dark ring round the edge of the hole. This powder is called 'Punk'.

By examining it you can learn whether the woods you are using are suitable for firemaking.

The punk which will produce a glowing coal must feel slightly gritty when gently rubbed between the fingers, and then with more pressure it should rub gradually to a silky smoothness as soft as face powder.

This testing of the punk is extremely important. If you do not know for certain that the woods you are using are suitable for firelighting always make this test first.

When you consider that you have mastered control of the bow and drill you can start trying to get fire. Place a generous bundle of tinder under the V cut. When the drill is smoking freely and you have the 'punk' grinding out easily so that the V cut is full of it, put extra pressure on the headpiece and at the same time give twenty or thirty faster strokes with the bow. Lift the drill cleanly and quickly from the footpiece. Fold some of the tinder over lightly and blow gently into the V cut. If you see a blue thread of smoke continuing to rise, you can be sure you have a coal (you will probably see it glowing red) . Fold the tinder completely over the footpiece, and continue blowing into the mass. The volume of smoke will increase, and a few quick puffs will make it burst into flame.

A tip given by some authorities is to put a little charcoal or gritty material into the hole in the footpiece. The claim is made that this enables more punk to be ground out, and the spark to be obtained more quickly.

Suitable woods for footpiece and drill, and this writer recommends that the same wood should be used for both parts, includes the willows and some of the non-resinous pines.

There are a few refinements which are worth knowing when you are making firebow set. These include the boring or burning of a hole for the thong at the tip and also through the handle of the bow. The end of thong at the tip of the bow has a thumb knot tied on fire top side. The ]role through the handle takes the long end of the thong, which is then wound round the handle in a series of half hitches. This hole in the handle enables you to adjust the 'tension' of the thong With greater accuracy.

A headpiece of shell or smooth grained stone with a hole in it is less liable to 'burn' than a headpiece of wood. Tinder should be carried in a waterproof bag.

.fire from a magnifying glass

Almost everyone at some time or other has focused the sun's rays concentrated by a magnifying glass (sometimes called a burning glass) onto a piece of paper or cloth to make it smoke. Lighting a fire with a magnifying glass calls for a ball of tinder with an inner core of extra fine material. Onto this inner core the sun's rays are focused, and when the finer tinder is smoking freely, it simply requires blowing to produce flame. A concave mirror is even better than a magnifying glass. Powdered charcoal at the focal point will help the tinder take more easily.

.fire by air compression

In parts of Southeast Asia native people make fire by the ingenious method of suddenly compressing air in a cylinder and thereby concentrating the heat in the air to a point when the heat is sufficient to ignite tinder. (They did this hundreds of years before Dr. Diesel thought of the same idea for his engine.)

Their fire-making sets, frequently a cylinder of bone or hollow bamboo, with a bone or wooden piston, are almost museum pieces today.

In use a small piece of tinder is inserted into a cavity in the lower end of the piston. The piston is placed in the cylinder and the flattened end opposite the piston head struck a smart blow with the palm of the hand, driving it suddenly down the cylinder. Compression of air with concentration of the heat it carries produces a small glowing coal in the tinder placed in the recess of the piston head. Frequently the jar of the blow will shake the tinder loose, so a 'spark remover' is user with the set to pull out the glowing tinder if it lodges in the cylinder.

The dimensions are roughly as follows:

• Cylinder. 4" to 6" [10 to 15 cm] long. Outside diameter ¾" to 1" [18 to 25 mm]. Inside diameter about ½" [12 mm].
• Piston. 4" to 6" [10 to 15 cm] long, of which the shaft is 3" to 5" [7.5 to 12.5 cm]. Piston length ¾" to 1" [18 to 25 mm]. Diameter - to nicely fit the cylinder.
• Recess at lower end of piston - about ¼" [6 mm] wide by ¼" to 5/16" [6 to 8 mm] deep.
• Piston shaft end is smooth and about 1" to 1½" [25 to 38 mm] diameter for striking with the palm of the hand.

.building a fire

Combustion results when temperature is raised sufficiently high for the material to ignite. This is fire. Fire must have air, and you build your fire differently for different purposes.

.for cooking

A cooking fire must be a small fire, and one which is easily controlled. Often you need a 'long' fire because there are two or three billy cans, a griller and perhaps a frying pan, all of which must be on the fire at the one time.

Two green logs 6" or 8" [15 or 20 cm] thick placed about 12" [30 cm] apart will contain a cooking fire for you and make an excellent overnight fireplace.

A fire for cooking should be 'low,' with the quick heat of small wood. Too big a cooking fire will mean burnt fingers and burnt food. If the fire is too fierce, you will not be able to attend properly to the cooking of the food. There is a bush saying about cooking fires - "The bigger the fire the bigger the fool". When laying a cooking fire it is a good plan to put a thicker stick in front of the fire. This will serve to rest your frying pan, and keep the heat from your hands; it will also help to contain the fire within the fireplace. A cooking fire should always have a plentiful supply of small wood stacked conveniently near, so that you can feed the fire as the needs of the moment require.

The ideal way to build an open cooking fire.

In very windy or cold conditions it is worth making a reflector fireplace for your cooking. A few green logs placed as a windbreak to the windward side of your fire will enable you to do your cooking in comfort.