7 Methods of Primitive Fire Starting

I have used all of the following methods successfully. Each one CAN produce fire, but is not guaranteed to. My personal favorites are the fire piston and the flint and steel. I have noted a few "ibles" about making both. Certainly you could also purchase both. They are small and easy to pack, and have a high success rate. But I suppose you never know when all you'll have is a few sticks and a shoestring so it's good to know how to use 'em.

Please note that I did not have images available for the techniques listed here so I let Google fix that for me. I noted no copyright notices on the sites where the images were located.

Step 1 Hand Drill

Hand Drill
Using a hand drill is one of the simplest friction methods, but high speed can be difficult to maintain because only the hands are used to rotate the spindle. It works best in dry climates.

Step One Cut a V-shaped notch in the fireboard, then start a small depression adjacent to it with a rock or knife tip. Set a piece of bark underneath the notch to catch the ember.

Step Two Place the spindle, which should be 2 feet long, in the depression and, maintaining pressure, roll it between the palms of your hands, running them quickly down the spindle in a burst of speed. Repeat until the spindle tip glows red and an ember is formed.

Step Three Tap the fireboard to deposit the ember onto the bark, then transfer it to a tinder bundle and blow it to flame.

Comments

[pfred2]

A magnifying glass isn't primitive enough for you?

[MissouriVillian]

If your speaking to me a magnifying glass is about as Sherlock Holmes as I wish to get, but no, it's not what I would call primitive.

[gerbilboy]

You can also make char cloth by putting pieces of the cloth in a can, covering the top with foil, and poking a hole in the foil with a pencil. Then you put the can on your barbecue or whatever to heat it. When smoke stops coming out, the cloth is done.

[HeWantsRevenge]

charcloth is not actually set on fire, throw some in a metal container and then throw near fire to produce

[punkhead58]

Correct, the point is to burn off some of the carbon so that it doesn't combust. To set them on fire is a silly and inefficient waste of material. But, the author can do whatever works for him. 

[MissouriVillian]

I gave directions to the method I use. It works fine for me, matter of preference I suppose. Thank you for sharing and commenting.