If you were to ask a member of the public ways to start a fire in the wilderness, 9 times out of 10 they’ll reply with something along the lines of “rub two sticks together”. This is indeed the most basic form of fire creation, short of collecting fire from pyroclastic flows or harnessing fire from lightening strikes. What the majority of folk don’t understand is that these two sticks need to be of the correct type of wood (usually two used in conjunction) and must be seasoned precisely - a few months too young or too old can make the difference between success and failure!

It is important to consider the most appropriate friction fire-lighting method with relation to what’s around you and where you are. Due to the temperate weather that we have in this country, coupled with indigenous woods that are found here the practice of the Hand-drill (spinning a long thin spindle of wood on a hearth board with the palms of ones hands) could, in many places, be impractical. Hence in the Northern hemisphere one method was prevalent, being the most reliable and basic to learn - The Bow-drill.

The Bow-drill is comprised of four components; The (a) spindle, (b) hearth board, (c) bearing block and (d) strung bow.

The spindle as you can see from figure 1 has a sharp end and a blunt end and is usually made from a hard wood. The hearth board has a socket with a notch carved out to receive...more