Bow Drill Fire Making - What Is The Point?

Description

Bow drill fire making keys to success: http://paulkirtley.co.uk/2011/bowdrill/

In this video I state my views on the relevancy of learning bow-drill fire making skills in the context of modern outdoor life. Can't we just carry a box of matches or a cigarette lighter? Isn't it better to take a Swedish Firesteel a.k.a. ferro rod for fire-lighting speed and consistency?

If you are going to rely on fire-lighting gadgets, what's the point in trying bow-drill or other friction fire-lighting techniques of bushcraft.?

The fact of the matter is, learning bow-drill friction techniques, hand-drill or any other method of friction fire is not going to make you worse at fire-making in general. On the contrary, learning friction fire techniques of fire making will make you a whole lot better at fire-lighting. So, even if you are lighting fires with matches, breadth and depth of fire lighting experience with other methods will only help.

Someone who has practised friction fire with multiple different types of wood, using multiple different types of tinder, and taking that into multiple different types of small sticks or feathersticks and establishing an actual fire, is much better than your average Joe who goes to the store and buys a Swedish Firesteel, then goes to the woods thinking they can look after themselves.

Enjoy the video. Leave your comments below...

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Paul Kirtley

Professional Bushcraft Instructor

http://paulkirtley.co.uk

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Check out the keynote I gave at the 2016 Bushcraft Show: The Value Of Using Wilderness Skills Closer To Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HdtEZGBwg4

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What's The Point Of Bow-Drill? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TJIrXoAMFI

Tags: fire,bow,drill,bowdrill,friction,bow drill,wilderness,survival,bushcraft,bow drill fire making,fire making,fire starting,fire lighting,friction fire,survival skills,bushcraft skills,self reliance,camping,firecraft,survival craft,woodcraft,survival knife,bushcraft knife,bear grylls,ray mears,paul kirtley,#askpaulkirtley

Video Transcription

the question from Instagram and this is from Andrew Casey nice picture there Andrew his question is he says he's envious of the people attending frontier bushcraft courses and learning new and valuable skills at this time of year and to be less reliant on kit yes that's what bushcraft is about fundamentally to be less reliant on kit and we had an interesting discussion underneath one of the YouTube videos with some people a while back with regards to bow drill some people were saying I would always plan to use a lighter or a firesteel in a survival situation and therefore I would not rely on bow drill well I don't think you can ever plan a survival situation and you can plan the training that you've had and you can prepare by carrying certain pieces of equipment on you and I'm not saying that that is a bad idea as I said in that answer absolutely carry a firesteel on you and if you've learnt bow drill and hand drill and other methods of fire by friction really well you understand more than anyone the value in carrying those things for convenience for reliability for if you're injured for for speed under certain circumstances of course you do but it doesn't mean to say there's no value in learning those other things and if you do perchance end up in a survival situation which might be a survival situation because you've lost your fire steel you have lost your lighter and there are circumstances that that could happen however much you tell me or will i'll make sure it's tied onto my person this that and the other what if you go down some Rapids and your your fire steel is in your pocket and you fallen out of your canoe you go down to rapids you fire steel is tied onto a piece of paracord it's on your belt on your belt loop and it gets ripped off what happens if your trousers get ripped off there are circumstances where you end up with much less equipment than you think you might have and yes some of them we can we could you know we could go down the naked and afraid' route and say what happens if you end up just with a fig

and nothing else but the point is I think it all well and good I've got a fire steel in my pocket I often have a cigarette lighter and or matches in my pocket but it doesn't stop me understand the value of learning and friction fire and all these other things and I think at the heart of bushcraft it is a reduction in reliance on kit it doesn't mean there for that you have to always use that skill under any circumstance that you can think of we're not saying you must use fire by friction in a survival situation or a difficult situation in the outdoors where your friend is wet and borderline hypothermic sure if you've got a better quicker means of lighting fire on you use it but you will be better at lighting fires if you've practiced bow drill I can guarantee that anybody wants to argue against that is dumb okay somebody who has practiced friction fire with multiple different types of wood using multiple different types of tinder and taking that into multiple different types of small sticks or feather sticks and establishing an actual fire is much better than your average Joe who goes to the store and buys a Swedish fire steel of fire rod and goes to the woods thinking that they're going to look after themselves the person who's got them the experience with all those bow-drill woods and tinder materials and kindling materials and all the different methods of preparation is going to light fire with a fire steel better than the average Joe who goes and just carries one

so it even if that's your plan and your fan comes off to use the firesteel then you're still going to be at an advantage so that it to me is also the power of learning these bushcraft skills because you've just got more tools in your toolbox you've got more depth to your ability

you

and you're not reliant on kit you're absolutely supremely happy to have it with you if you're in a difficult situation in the outdoors but you're not as reliant upon it you're not if you don't have it it doesn't mean you always have to take less it doesn't mean you have to go camping just in your underpants a new bow drill every time you light a fire what it means is you've got options you