Improvised Fire

7/25/2019 Improvised Fire

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Here are the

three most popular methods on how to start a fire with sticks.

1. Hand Drill2. Bow Drill

3. Fire Plow


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Each method has its pros and cons, but to be successful, you must diligently follow specific

instructions. Its hard enough to be successful as is more on this later!, but without employing

proper techni"ues, it can be all but impossible.

In this guide, we will describe each of these three methods in detail and pro#ide simple$to$follow

#ideos to show you e%actly how to start a fire with sticks. &ut first we should talk about 'H( this

sur#i#al skill should be learned.

Why You Should Learn How To Start A Fire With Sticks

'hats the first sur#i#al skill you think of when you hear the phrase )'ilderness *ur#i#al+

I hope critical sur#i#al skills such as water procurement and debris shelter building come to mind.

-nd I bet you also thought about fire starting as well.

'hy &ecause fire is so freaking useful in wilderness emergencies. 'armth, signaling, cooking,

protection from animalsand also hope.

/ire and sur#i#al go together like bullets and guns. 0heres ust a special place in the human heart

for fire and sur#i#al.

/or instance, when all hope seems lost in the wild, a fire will spark some much$needed inspiration

to keep you going.

It ust feels like, if you can make a fireyou can make it!"

r as said by the blind priest in the classic mo#ie /rankenstein, )/ire Is ood. /ire Is ur /riend+.

*ure, fire is good4 fire is our friend4 but a fire is easy, right 5ust whip out your 61.78 gas station

&ic, hold the flame to wood and presto you got yourself a bla9ing, warm campfire.

&ut let me ask you this4 ):o you always ha#e a lighter with you Ha#e you e#er forgotten to pack

one :id it get confiscated by 0*- airport security+

0he truth is, matches get wet, lighters run out of fluid, and both are notorious for going missing

when you most need them.

&ut sticks4 yes sticks, can be found nearly anywhere.

;earning how to start a fire with sticks is not a sur#i#al skill you want to be forced to use. &ut its a

skill that e#ery prepared sur#i#alist should master.

&eing able to start a fire, build a shelter, and craft weapons from natural raw materials is powerful.

0he ability to sur#i#e with only the resources you can sca#enge from the wilderness is called

&ushcraft.

-nd &ushcraft skills are what wilderness sur#i#al is all about.

0hese skills are not ust useful for sur#i#alists4 e#en if youre a camper, hiker, backpacker, hunter or

angler starting a fire with sticks is an essential sur#i#al skill you should practice.

Its one of the few basic self$reliance skills that might someday sa#e your life. *o its time to learn


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this skill4 5ust In

' ( Procure the $ro$er materials"

*ourcing a dry straight stick

/inding dry flat wood to make a fire board or fire hearth!


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) ( Sta*e the materials"

(ou need to ha#e your tinder bundleand kindling staged in such a way that the materials are nearby

and ready to be employed.

?uch of this is basic fire starting 181.

0he process of going from ember to fire is called )working a fire up the ladder.+ 0his is how it

works>

1. (ou begin with a heat source or flame. /or this ember or flame to grow you need #ery dry

and #ery fine tinder.

2. 0hen this tinder bundle pro#ides enough fire and energy to catch larger more robust

materials such as kindling.

3. 0hen finally, the fire is strong enough to catch small dry sticks and logs.

0his is how you go from a small ignition source to a roaring fire.

If you skip these preparation steps, then youre going to find it tough to get a fire started unless you

have a fire accelerant such as gasoline!.

@ow before you start, collect a #ariety of dried kindling> old plants, bits of cured wood, dandelion

fluff, old stalks, dead grass. 0his will act as your tinder bundle. In general, the finer the tinder, the

more flammable.

:ont underestimate this step. If your tinder bundle is not dry and fine enough, youll struggle to

transfer fire from your hot ember to the tinder bundle.

-lso, gather larger twigs and sticks to feed the kindling.

Aindling is wood sticks! slightly larger and most substantial than tinder.

/lammable materials such as dry cedar bark, pine sha#ings, and needles, are all great kindling

options. -ll those resinous dried soft woods that burn fast.

(oull add these slower burning hardwoods to your fire after you#e got it going using your tinder

bundle.

0hats it. Heres a "uick recap>

(ou find all the proper materials dry stick, dry board, dryBfine tinder material,dryBfine kindling materials, and smallBdry sticks!

=repare materials for ideal setup fire drill setup and fire starting materials setup!


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Free Bonus# Downloadyour F+,, - Weird Ways To Start A Fire Without A Li*hter. /atches 0r Sticks!Sur1i1al 2uide" % *uarantee you31e ne1er heard of these - weird techni4ues

/akin* Fire with Sticks# Hand Drill

0he simplest way to create enough incendiary friction is with a setup called a fire drill.

- fire drill looks e%actly like it sounds. Its a drill made with sticks and wood. 0he o#erall setup

mirrors the design of a drill press you would see in a metal fabrication shop.

Its a combination of a long, straight, dry, sturdy stick with one end sharpened to a point and a flat

piece of wood. 0he sticks sharpened tip is set down at a perpendicular angle onto a flat piece of

wood called a fireboard.

&ut before drilling, being successful with this method begins with the proper material selection>

fireboard and sticks. -s we touched on early in this article, the wood materials must be dry. 0hedrier, the better.


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nce a fireboard and stick ha#e been procured, its time focus on creating an enormous amount of

friction.

@ow with this fire drill setup, you place your open hands on either side of the stick. =alms flat, stick

between palms and you rub your hands together making the stick twirl.

0he twirling action of the stick then transfers rotational energy #ia friction at the point of contactbetween stick and fireboard.

=ro 0ip> =lacing your foot on the fireboard will hold it steady while you are twirling.

'ith a hand drill method, the friction is created by twirling the pointed stick with your hands while

at the same time addin* downward $ressure throu*h stick into the fire5oard"

0he combination of s$innin*and $ressure, o1er a $eriod of time, creates the friction buildup

needed to create a hot ember.

=ro 0ip> ?ake sure you ha#e a small notch in the fireboard for the tip of the fire drill stick to rest in.

0hat shallow notch is where the friction will be focused and an ember created. 0he notch also helps

to ensure your drill stick doesnt wobble all o#er the fireboard.

(oull also need to add a side notch on the board. 0he reason for the side notch is that when you are

creating the friction the hot wood fibers need some o%ygen and also need a place to build up.

'ithout a notch, the hot wood fibers ha#e nowhere to build up, and it will take much longer to

create a hot ember.

nce set up, the process is simple but not suggesting its easy!.

5ust gi#e this setup enough friction energy! to turn the contact point of the stick and board into ahot coal or ember.

-nd a hot ember is the Holy rail of creating a fire with sticks.

0his sounds simple, right 'ell, it is, in theory, but heres the catch.

'hile rubbing your hands together to twirl the stick, you also ha#e to push down to create pressure.

&ecause without downward pressure, you wont be able to create enough friction to turn the point

of contact into a small hot ember.

*ignificant amounts of friction are created only by the combination of 1! fast rotation and 2!

downward pressure.

And si*nificant amounts of friction are necessary"

It takes a tremendous "uantity of twirling and pressure o#er time to create an ember hot enough to

light tinder.

So you3ll need to twirl a lot"

-nd then twirl, twirl, twirl and twirl some more until the end of the fire drill rubbing against the fire

board produces a whisper of smoke.

When you see that whis$er of smoke. you3re not done 5ut you3re makin* $ro*ress" You3ll need

to di* dee$ and twirl with e1en more 1i*or"


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If you pause to rest, e#en for a second or two, the friction you#e worked so hard to build up will be

lost. *o no breaks. If you want to succeed, you must keep twirling

0he goal is to twirl until the tip of the fire drill becomes hot enough to grow into a small, #ery hot

ember.

nce a legitimate ember is established, you can stop twirling and transfer the coal from fire board totinder. (ou dont need to rush here, a good ember will be useful for a couple of minutes, but also

dont waste time.

=lace the ember into the tinder bundle and blow on the ember to gi#e it some o%ygen. %ygen will

stoke the ember and help it to transfer the embers energy into the tinder material.

If successful, the tinder bundle will begin smoking and will e#entually burst aflame. 0hen ust work

your way up the fire ladder from ember to fire.

&on*ratulations6(ou ha#e now successfully started a fire with sticks using the hand drilling

methodology.

@ow if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a good #ideo is worth at least 188 times that. *o

here is an e%cellent #ideo by :a#id


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hands and muscles a break. 'hich o#er time may allow for a faster, more successful friction

buildup.

?ake a simple tool and setup modification to take your soft, weak, fleshy hands out of the

e"uation altogether.

/akin* Firewith Sticks# Fire Bow

-nother way on how to start a fire with sticks is with the use of a fire bow. (ou may recogni9e these

from mo#ies of a certain time period where the heroes fashion a bow designed de#ice from a branch

and some twine.

0hey gi#e the fire bow a few smooth pulls, and moments later fire umps to life. -gain, its not as

easy as it looks.

0he directors of those sorts of mo#ies edit out the hours of toil and sweat and instead hop right to

the best part D when the fire starts.

- fire bow is composed of a sturdy branch but, in this case, you want it to ha#e some moisture. 0his

helps pre#ent it from snapping while you are drilling for friction. 0he sort of branch you are looking

for has a slight < shape to it, like a bow.

(es, you can buy a fire bow and practice with it at home, but we are talking about ruggedly li#ing

off the land for a time. &lue light specials wont sa#e you.

0ry making a fire bow at home from natural material so you know what to do in the e#ent of

wilderness sur#i#al.

*o once you ha#e your bow$shaped stick there are a few more steps to create a fire bow. @e%t you

need some string. ?ost string materials can work, twine, shoestring, etc. Howe#er, I keep paracord

with me at all times and thats perfect material for this.

'orst case, if you dont ha#e shoe strings or paracord, you can tear a long strip of sturdy material


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from your clothing. @ot ideal but you can make it work.

-nother wilderness option is to find some tough, fle%ible #ines, like grape #ines.

0he length of cordage you need is roughly one and half times the length of your fire bow.

@ow fasten the cordage to each end of the fire bow, at the tip ends.

=ro 0ip> - fire bow fire drill works better if you select a stick that is larger in circumference than the

one youd twirl in your hands. 0his helps gi#e the bow cordage more area to grab which helps

smooth the twirling process.

@ow since youre not twirling with both hands and are instead using only one hand on the fire drill,

you can use the other hand to apply a stabili9ing bearing block.

0his is a piece of wood or shell! held comfortably in your hand and placed on top of the fire drill to

keep it steady as you twirl. If using wood as the stabili9ing bearing block youll want to add a

natural lubricant to it. - lubricant helps to pre#ent the bearing block from building friction and

working against your twirling efforts. *ome fresh lea#es work for this or a crushed worm or slug

can work as well.

-s before, make sure you ha#e a tinder nest with easily ignitable materials on hand, ready to catch

the coal you create.

@ow you are prepared to drill for fire. 0he fire drill cordage is looped once around the stick so you

can twirl it by mo#ing the bow in a back and forth motion like you are sawing.

0he fire bow string twirls the fire drill, so its point rubs against the fireboard, creating the fire$

producing friction.

(ou hold the fire drill steady in place with your free hand placed on top of the hand$hold, keeping

the fire drill from dancing all o#er the fireboard.

0he fire bow has the following benefits o#er hand twirling alone>

D Its way easier on your hands.

D (ou can create more downward pressure and maintain a similar twirling rate. 0his is due to the

free hand pushing down on the stick through the stabili9ing block.

D 'hen one hand gets tired, you can switch hands, which should help keep up a fast twirling rateand pressure without tiring as "uickly.

E#erything else remains the same. /rictionDhot emberDtinder bundleDkindlingDsmall sticksD

logsD/IFE.


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/akin* FireWith Sticks# Fire Plow

0he third way on how to start a fire with sticks is by employing a fire plow setup. - fire plow uses

the same physics of friction but in a slightly different way.

'ith a plow, instead of friction being created through rotational motion, friction de#elops with a

sliding back$and$forth motion.

*o to accommodate this, a trough is created on the fireboard.

0his trough is where the one end of the tip is placed. 0hen the tip of the stick is pushed into the fire

board at an angle. *o pressure slides the stick along the trough. :oing this "uickly, repeatedly, and

forcefully, creates the friction build up necessary to create a hot ember.

E#erything else from preparation to )working up the fire ladder+ is essentially the same.

&onclusion

@ow is the time to take the knowledge of how to start a fire with sticks and put it to some use. 0hebest way to learn is to practice. I ust supplied the first half of the e"uation, now its time for you to

supply the second half.

-nd once youre successful, Id lo#e to hear about it in the comments below.

Ha$$y Drillin* 7 Plowin*"

Improvised Fire

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