Man Make Fire!!!

[Boerseun]

So - we're brainy creatures all right. We used to count stuff on our fingers, taking a few seconds to get to ten. Then we invented the abacus, eventually the calculator, and finally supercomputers of such awesome power that they can count to trillions in the time it took our cave-dwelling ancestors to take their hands out of their bear-skinned pockets in order to count to ten on grubby, sticky fingers with last night's cooked mammoth sauce drying on it.

 

Same with fire. It used to be a pretty involved issue. Nowadays, you flick a Bic and your fire is going nicely. You can strike a match, or press a button. We have fire basically at will. And of all our vaunted technology, our computers, our automobiles, our airplanes, anything - flicking a Bic is probably the one single technology that would make Gak the caveman most impressed with the modern world. It's a real jaw-dropper, albeit a very humble one. But without fire, we're pretty much doomed. And we've taken the ability to make fire instantly for granted for so long that very few people would survive "Cast Away"-style on an island without a lighter.

 

So this here thread is a challenge - we're gonna get down to our caveman roots, and prove that we're not as utterly useless at basic survival as I fear we are.

 

You have to make a fire, using absolutely nothing that a caveman would not have access to. You're basically limited to sticks and stones, in other words. No camping flints or any such seemingly basic things - a caveman wouldn't have a camping flint lying around. And if you're stuck on an island, you won't have one either. So - sticks 'n stones, ladies and germs. Obviously, and for the same reason, no lenses either. Can you do it?

 

There's the old-time rubbing of sticks, using a bow, the old stick-in-a-groove, all these methods I've only heard about, yet never tried.

 

So - make a fire like a caveman would, and tell us all about it. Pics would be nice!

[Boerseun]

Okay - another rule:

 

You can substitute obvious things like bow-strings made from intestines with normal string - intestines are simply gross, and the nice old lady next door will probably miss her cat.

[Moontanman]

I'll take your challenge! it will be a few days but I'll take some pics of me making

 

 

This was taken in my back yard a few days ago, the time stamp is wrong btw.

 

Can I use flint? Pine sap?

[lawcat]

That's kinda difficult. I remember when first Survivor episodes aired about a decade ago, one team started a fire in a few hours. For the other team, it took a couple of days of rubbing. And I live in a condo, so no fire for me.

[Turtle]

it'd like to try making the bow drill; could be a while though. :artgallery:

 

in the mean time, i think cave women & men didn't make fire every time they needed it. i think once they had a fire going, they kept it going. when on the move, small embers were kept alight in containers & brought out when camp is made and used to start a larger fire. rinse & repeat. :smart:

 

Blackfoot Lodge Tales - Google Books

[Moontanman]

Well with out fire humans are just apes with smart *** mouths...

[Boerseun]

I agree, the people of old kept the hearth going through night and day, and gave rise to sayings like "keeping the home fires burning", which is a direct translation from the original Latin one, which came from an older source, etc.

 

The thing is, they either had the knowledge to start up a fire if the old one died, or we assume too much - maybe they waited in panic and soggy cold, eating raw meat until the next lightning strike lights up a tree and they can collect some embers.

 

But I do know that the San people of the Kalahari are expert at bow-drills, and that's also the route I'm going to take. I've got a feeling that's the easiest on the hands, and will also generate the highest speeds for the quickest results.

[Boerseun]

Progress so far:

 

ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

 

I've spent about eight hours on this, I've played around with different kinds of wood, I've made a bow drill, etc - but I think commercially available wood is simply too soft for this.

 

I'm a-gonna have to hit the hills and look for some proper hardwood.

 

I do have a few blisters on my hands, though.

[Pyrotex]

The bow drill should be a hard wood, yes. The pressure plate could be almost any wood, though pine (well dried out) would be my choice. The secret is the fluff you put around the tip of the drill!

 

Here in Texas, we have the cottonwood tree. In spring, its seeds rain down like a cross between dandelions and fluffy snowflakes. by the jillions. they gather in winddrifts several inches deep on one side of the house. The stuff will burn if you just glare at it and growl. Touch a match to a pile of it, and poooooofffff... it's all gone in 2 seconds.

 

So, some kind of fluffy tinder, with a layer of heavier tinder over that, a pile of brush straw on the side, where you can pick it up and feed it into the virgin flame.

 

Tinder, that's the ticket.

[Turtle]

Progress so far:

 

ZIP. ZERO. NADA.

 

I've spent about eight hours on this, I've played around with different kinds of wood, I've made a bow drill, etc - but I think commercially available wood is simply too soft for this.

 

I'm a-gonna have to hit the hills and look for some proper hardwood.

 

I do have a few blisters on my hands, though.

 

i don't know if you would think it cheating, but i looked up some links. no sense reinventing the bow fire drill is there? anyway, it's a lot of things besides the hardness of the wood. it is the positioning of the "well" in the base board at an edge, it's the lubing of the cap board, it's the diameter of the drill stick & the shaping of its ends, it's which way you wrap the string on the drill, and it's a lot to realize & come up with on one's own. i won't post any links, but leave it to you, dear tender fireless readers, to decide. :hihi: :D

[Qfwfq]

it's all gone in 2 seconds.

which is kind of a disadvantage in starting a more permanent fire.

 

Folks, what that dumb nit in the film took ages to realize was the all important air flow. Any boy scout or any dude that lights a home hearth knows that! :hihi:

[Pyrotex]

which is kind of a disadvantage in starting a more permanent fire.

 

Folks, what that dumb nit in the film took ages to realize was the all important air flow. Any boy scout or any dude that lights a home hearth knows that! :soccerb:

Duhhhh...!

That's why you need TWO (count 'em) TWO layers of tinder.

The fluff to ignite and the sawdust or dried weeds to support a flame.

 

Jeez! I buy you guys books and I buy you more books and all you do is chew on the covers!! :phones:

[Qfwfq]

The fluff to ignite and the sawdust or dried weeds to support a flame.

but if it burn that fast it won't be enough even for the sawdust, and sawdust won't easily be enough for hardwood...

 

I've usually seen fires kindled with light wood, or light to medium, and paper, straw or bracken. Then you have thin sticks that'll last longer once they're going, then bigger sticks, up to logs. Very important to start with very dry stuff, and the airflow is always important.

 

Ive usually done it with those waxy thingies that make it easier, but not always. If I was out somewhere without matches or lighter, but found the right stuff around to start with, I think I would have good chances of doing it in daylight at least.