Most woods will only partially submerge, giving you a fraction under 1.0. If the piece of wood totally submerges under the water, then it is denser than water ( Lignum vitae, a vine found in Florida, does this) and will result in a specific gravity of over 1.0. Measure the length of the portion of your wood specimen that was underwater and divide that into the total length of the wood to get a percentage. You can mark the water line with a pencil-otherwise you can see the boundary between wet and dry wood.ģ. You want to notice where the floating water line is, so don’t let your wood bounce into the water. I like to dip the non-working end (the tip of the spindle that doesn’t end up in the hearth board’s socket) first-there’s something counter-intuitive about purposefully dunking your fire sticks underwater. Slowly submerge your spindle or hearth board until it begins to float. Fill a tall, narrow vessel with water (bucket, graduated cylinder, capped PVC pipe).Ģ. The paucity of relative density data for our tree species in California caused me to measure it myself as follows:ġ. Given my interest in the discussion of the merits in having a softer spindle versus a softer hearthboard, which has been entertained in some primitive skills publications, in Table 2 you will see my measurements of the specific gravity, or density relative to that of water, of all the woods. This tells me that, since hand drill is generally more difficult than bow drill, I tend to misjudge the relative ease and difficulty of hand drill attempts more than with bow drill.
A previous, similar bow drill exploration of 1,946 wood combinations (go to for that data) gave me an average of 3.2 from all effort ratings-a figure that exhibits a more consistent estimation of effort comparison. By definition, this number should have been much closer to my arbitrary average rating of 3. Wanting to somehow check the accuracy of this effort rating system, I calculated the average effort for all attempts (4.0). The fifteen woods that proved easiest to use as spindle materials are: yarrow, horseweed, box elder, CA buckeye, mule fat, blue elderberry, coast redwood, cattail, big-leaf maple, mugwort, bull thistle, scotch broom, Douglas fir, CA figwort and sow thistle. A 4 was given to a successful attempt that took longer than around four minutes and required multiple sockets (having burned through the first one). I also offer a very subjective effort rating for each attempt, with a 1 representing a low expenditure of energy (around a minute or less in duration), a 2 corresponding roughly to a two minute endeavor, while a score of 3 defined what felt like an average effort (three to four minutes). Table 1 displays the successes and failures I incurred trying to attain an ember with each of the 370 possible wood combinations. Throughout these experiments I took care to adhere to the technological parameters afforded by the paleolithic and mesolithic standards that I aspire to emulate-no metal implements were used. There were many aspects to the nuances of hand drill that I was curious about, and my results are outlined below. In order to better understand this evolution from friction to fire, I gathered spindles from 52 native and 22 non-native species of trees, shrubs, forbs, and lianas (plus one grass) and applied them via hand-powered rotational friction to four species of hearthboards (clematis, two redwood pieces of different densities, CA buckeye, big-leaf maple). What an absolute miracle it is to start with twigs and branches (or roots or shelf fungi!), add refined kinesthetic form and determination, and be able to coax not only the essence of combustion out of a seemingly inert material but finally one of the most important catalytic tools humankind has ever harnessed! Hand drill can provide an exacting metaphor for the span of human life-from the obvious anatomical symbolism of human union between the genders to the birth of a spirit in need of nourishment and encouragement in order for it to be sustained and grow into a breathing and consuming (and perhaps sentient, for it seems to be drawn toward its needs) entity, distinct from its genesis. Since learning about it two years ago, I have been consumed by its delicate intricacies, tempermental nature, and its sheer power to transform physical prowess into self-reliance.
I can think of no other Stone Age skill that satisfies and intrigues me as much as the hand drill method of friction fire. A Friction Fire Inquiry: Hand Drill by Storm
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