Primitive Fire

[Xue Sheng]

Unfortunately, there's not much yucca here in NY. It would be interesting to try, but up here I'm mainly limited to oak, hickory, maple, red cedar, and elm.

Who are you trying to kid... there is a lot of yuck in NY, it just isn't made of wood

 

[Rich Parsons]

Have you ever tried to start a fire without matches, lighter, or gasoline? I mean no paper, or any combustibles, not even a hot spark magnesium flint. Primitive fire.

If you have, were you successful?

There are many simple primitive techniques. exp. bow and drill, hand drill, fire plow, fire piston, fire saw, flint and steel(old school) two rocks, lens made of ice. The list continues, but these are what I consider the simple methods.

One time with flint, steel and some very and I mean very dry Birch bark that was just like paper. Having it shredded so that air could get in with the sparks helped.

I did one time as well with a lense and some of the same bark. I just set it up and walked away. I watched from a couple of feet away as I was washing dishes in cold water and then preparing food to be cooked.

In Cub/Weblo/Boy Scouts, but it was more fun to just start the fire with a match and know how easy it was.

Very difficult and

 

[Arizona Angel]

I use to like starting fires with a magnify glass. Could burn pretty little patterns, or my name, into the wood, too.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Flint and steel back in the stone age when I was in high school ( boy scouts)
I was suprised that i could actualy make fire that way but I learned how after a few bad trys

 

[airdawg]

Unfortunately, there's not much yucca here in NY. It would be interesting to try, but up here I'm mainly limited to oak, hickory, maple, red cedar, and elm.

Red cedar on red cedar works really well. One huge hint, dry branches still on the tree. If it is on the ground it absorbs moisture and may not be usable.

 

[airdawg]

Flint and steel, like high carbon steel knife and piece of flint/chirt/quarts/agot...?

 

[Makalakumu]

Have you ever tried to start a fire without matches, lighter, or gasoline? I mean no paper, or any combustibles, not even a hot spark magnesium flint. Primitive fire.

If you have, were you successful?

There are many simple primitive techniques. exp. bow and drill, hand drill, fire plow, fire piston, fire saw, flint and steel(old school) two rocks, lens made of ice. The list continues, but these are what I consider the simple methods.

I did it all of the time in the boy scouts and I used to teach it as part of the Wilderness Survival course I taught. The key is patience. Especially with friction methods.

The easiest way to do it is with the magnesium spark. It burns so hot that it catches most anything and if you have a good bed to catch the sparks, it will get going well.

All of this doesn't help much if you don't have fuel though...

And for those of you who are lamenting the lack of yucca...I would recommend paper birch. The bark is laced with stuff that resembles turpentine.