Survival Fire Making Techniques

While no one anticipates getting lost in the woods, poor weather and other variables sometimes conspire against a quick passage home. No lighter or matches are available, night is falling and the air is growing cooler. Building a fire at these moments can mean the difference between not only cold and warmth, but also despair and hope as well.

  1. Hand Drill

    • One of the more primitive ways of fire-starting, the hand drill method involves rotating the end of a stick rapidly against a flat board to create a glowing coal. Begin with a sturdy stick two feet in length. Find a second piece of wood, softer than the first and as flat as possible. Use a knife to cut a notch in the side of the wood. Place a piece of bark beneath the notch to catch hot embers. Set the end of the stick against the corner of the notch in the wood. Rotate the stick back and forth between your palms, moving your palms down the stick to maintain pressure on the end. Once an ember is formed, gently tap the wood to empty the ember onto the bark, and carefully carry the bark over to a bundle of tinder.

    Fire Plow

    • Like the hand drill, the fire plow involves the use of friction to create heat. To prepare a fire plow, gather a sturdy stick along with a flat, comparatively soft piece of wood. Use a knife or pointed rock to cut a groove up the middle of the flat piece of wood. With a bundle of tinder placed at the end of the groove, rub the end of the stick back and forth along the groove, using it to push the friction-induced embers into the tinder.

    Bow Drill

    • Similar to the hand drill, the bow drill involves the use of handmade bow to rotate a stick against a second piece of wood. To create the bow, affix a shoelace or other piece of string to both ends of a flexible, arm-length stick. Gather another stick, roughly the diameter of your thumb, along with a flat piece of wood to serve as a fire board. Cut a V-shaped notch into the side of the fire board and set a piece of bark beneath the notch to catch embers. Place the end of the stick upright against the corner of the notch and wrap a loop of the bow around the upright stick. Using a rock placed atop the stick to protect your hand, draw the bow back and forth to grind the stick against the fire board. Gently tap any embers from the V-shaped notch onto the bark, then transfer the bark to a bundle of tinder.

    Lenses

    • Lenses are found in everyday objects such as eyeglasses, cameras or binoculars. As a potential fire starter, the lens focuses sunlight onto a bundle of tinder, generating enough heat to cause a flame. When using a lens to start a fire, angle it toward the sun to create the smallest possible beam against the tinder. While the lens method involves comparatively little work, it requires the cooperation of a bright sun.

    Flint and Steel

    • The flint and steel method of fire-starting entails creating a spark by striking steel against a piece of flint or quartzite. To employ this method, pinch a piece of flint or quartzite between your thumb and forefinger. Place a piece of char cloth or bit of birch tinder between your thumb and the flint. Strike the edge of the flint in a downward motion with the back of a knife blade or other piece of steel until sparks ignite the char cloth or birch tinder. Transfer the ignited item carefully to a bundle of tinder.