Survival Fire Making - Friction Fire with Fire Plow

[chuckbyf1]

Tom Hanks you're not.

[primitiveskills]

@chuckbyf1Thanks for your kind words about our fire making instructional vids. If your interested we can send you a list of your local woods that can be used for fire plow, fire saw, bow drill, and hand drill. Hope to see you at one of our courses sometime!

[guila1001]

WOW it actually worked!but i dint have the strength or will to continue until i managed to create fire....but i know it works!thanks for posting this video!

[Balgore8]

You PURCHASED that piece of wood for the fire plough? I want to see it done, in the forest, made from wood debris found within that forest... As would be done in a real survival situation. If you are going to be purchasing things ahead of time for fire-making in the bush, you might as well just bring flint+steel.

[primitiveskills]

@Balgore8 Thank you for your motivation! As you know, a trained monkey can use flint and steel. The skills of our ancestors often required a community of practitioners nurturing the young toward a level of proficiency well beyond ourmodern survival "experts" or bushcraft practitioners. It also required being in the right environment and using the right materials. In the interest of accuracy, we demo with the materials used by cultures that used the tools.

[Balgore8]

@primitiveskills Makes sense. It was still a good video, I just expected with "survival" in the title, it was going to be completely foraged materials. Tonight im going to go out in my local forest, and see if I can craft a bow-drill friction fire using forest debris. So maybe ill get back to you tomorrow with my success, or absolute failure lol. I imagine, any of these techniques can be done with any type of wood, it will just take longer and be harder.

[branni79]

@primitiveskills

great reply and bang on the money dude.

[branni79]

@Balgore8

it matters not to me if your ray mears secret love child. No lecture here just have respect dude the vid is free. Let us know how you get on in the woods. All the best...

[primitiveskills]

Respond to this video... If you want to learn this technique with materials local to the northeastern United States, a hardwood plow on basswood is an effective combination. Good luck and feel free to ask questions as you work toward your first coal!

[Balgore8]

@primitiveskills I live in southern Ontario (canada). What types of local wood are good for these friction based fires?

[primitiveskills]

@Balgore8 Willow, if wild harvested, would need to be dried for some time, basswood (Tilia americana) is my preferred, and cedar, while harder than most with this technique, seems to be the most abundant in the north woods. Be sure to gather from a dead, standing tree whe possible.

[branni79]

@Balgore8

its called practice dude. Once you get the technique down you can use loads of different woods. Pay attention to the technique for now and find out what woods are suitable in your area then the sweating begins. If your this impatient now what you gonna be like when you start proably the hardest friction fire technique? Your not paying this dude money he is sharing his knowledge freely. Have some respect bro as he didnt have to upload this vid and you'd be even more frustrated.

[Balgore8]

@branni79 Well you are right that I should be easier on the guy for uploading his video on this stuff, you are right. But dont lecture me about patience or ability. You have no idea who I am or what my experience level is. Sure, I could be a mouthy little high school kid who has never been in the forest, or perhaps I am veteran military survivalist, who has simply just not used this technique specifically before.

[MuskratBushcraft]

I've been using willow and getting a light brown dust,should I increase downward pressure?

[primitiveskills]

In our region this specific technique woeks on Basswood (Tilia americans), and Sumac (Rhus glabra) well, but finding a dry stalk, or harvesting one and drying it takes more time than most folks are prepared to spend in a full survival situation. If you bring metal tools, & maintain a certain degree of dependence on a culture patterned on instant gratification and laziness, your better off not developing your skill sets beyond flint & steel and/or matches, lighters, char cloth, etc. Good Luck.

[hotheadedjoelhaha]

Way to complicated, special types of wood from another country, all kind of rawhide, make sure you breath, special tinder! I want to see some one run into the freaking woods, come out with some sticks and start a dang FIRE! If Im lost in the woods. How do I start a FIRE!

[primitiveskills]

@hotheadedjoelhaha Hey Joel, the goal is to never be "lost" in the woods, but to gain a proficiency in these skills so that any natural environment is home. "Wilderness Survival" is for lazy people, or peole who don't have the time or commitment to devote toward being connected on that level. If you find yourself in that situation, just carry a lighter.

[nebdar]

@primitiveskills theoretically if one did find their selves in a situation with no lighter at their disposal and didn't have the wood specified in the video, what would u recommend for the plow design? are you saying this technique only works with this type of wood? I've read that as a general rule u want to choose a harder wood for the plowing stick and softer one for grooved piece.

[garthgeezeegee]

thanks

[garthgeezeegee]

i have been trying this for a while with cottonwood, i haven't gotten it but my friend used my set the other day and got a coal with my set.

[primitiveskills]

@garthgeezeegee Okay, so you can rule out the materials. Technique is the next piece to focus on. What color is your dust and are you concentating on speed or downward pressure? Downward pressure is the right answer in most cases. Let me know the color of your dust with your next attempt and we can tweak it from there.

[shagittome]

where the hell in the middle of the forest are you gonna find a cocoanut shell lol

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Mal, Mike, everyone at MPSS... you don't need to answer to a guy like Shannonnunn who seems to live off a vivid imagination... Us in "the business" know what you are capable of, and how much your experience goes (which is far).

Personally, I consider your videos some of the true marks of educational videos here on Youtube. Done by real instructors, in a real setting, not some garage or basement.

Ignore the fools.

[natofyelsew]

coconut is not local by the way...... lol

[TedOfNod]

2:40 LOL

[towatchutube123]

is oak ok?

[liteofmylife]

Thanks for posting this video - good work. Coming from me (a former SF instructor) that's saying a lot. Perhaps this Shannon guy can get the guts to post his own video of his outdoor prowess.

[SurvivalGurl]

That's the easiest I've ever seen someone use that technique.

[MILOSLAVJMP]

Krásná ukázka dokonalé techniky rozdělávání ohně bez použití umělých technických pomůcek jako je nůž, pilka, pazourkový nůž. Zajímalo by mě z jaké dřevo mohu použít v evropě. Tato technika se mi líbí. Děkuji.

[3rogueS]

excellent

[Brokennock]

It's amazing how many viewers can't seem to grasp the concept that someone in Maine or thereabouts might travel to a desert region. Should they wait to learn the technique then? Obviously not!

[fly2000jtb]

I lived in Az for about half my life, but never heard of the wood you are talking about. Maine, might be the accent (no offense meant) I cant understand what you are saying. Soldal? Would you spell it for me, cool video though. Tom hanks did it on one f his movies. Joseph T (fly2000jtb)

[DrChrisBiomed]

sotol

[fly2000jtb]

Thanks alot. I was wondering what he wasa saying. I will look for some in my part of the Az desert, Joseph T (fly2000jtb)

[foydude]

@fly2000jtb That guy doesn't have a Maine accent.

[aerospaceace10]

it would have been better if you used wood that is native to the maine or new england woods it would be more practical

[primitiveskills]

Fire plow is not a New England based technology, it was found on some islands and in the desert. Though it is possible to use cedar or cottonwood for this technique it is extreamly difficult and a unpractical use of technique and materials for our environment. However, every year we go out west to arizona to train and attend winter count and this technique with desert materials is EXTREAMLY practical out there and is fun to use.

[primitiveskills]

Thats why we dont use it to walk out into the wilderness of maine and get a fire with. For that, we stick with our bowdrill and hanndrill

[nathancser]

Wow! Best video on starting a fire from scratch that I have seen on YouTube!

[zjackeroo]

Nice video...

for all the critics, you don't practice climbing Everest by climbing Everest, you practice on smaller mountains.

It is far cheaper to get Sotol shipped to Main than to fly to Arizona for the purpose of practice...then when you do end up in Az, you have one skill practiced and ready to go.

[Caveman0713]

I'm not nit picky, I can use anything and everthing around me. So for you to recklessly slander me is simply immature.

[TheV0iceOfReas0n]

you are being an immature little bitch. It's obvious that this technique was only being demonstrated for informative purposes but you are trying to act all high and mighty like you're some survival god and you are just doing everyone else a favor by slandering this video. If somebody isn't knowledgeable enough to know that this technique is exotic and area specific, they probably don't have a good knowledge of friction fire methods anyway and would probably die either way. So please chill out.

[TheV0iceOfReas0n]

not really, but it does mean that you're not very creative with insults. Have a nice day :D

[kingman14]

i'll try :) thanks!

[kingman14]

IMO if your going to show stupid people how to do this then get some balls and quit reading how to do it with what wood and find some AROUND where you live that works....

[kelsner23]

ok, so the next time im stranded in the woods im going to look around and think hmmm...wheres the nearest store to buy wood at. what can i use thats in my suroundings?????? and whats a good easy to find material to use for tinder??? but nice vid

[Caveman0713]

so you do all this from a strictly historical position? Make sure to put that in your disclaimer. The purpose for bushcraft, primitive living, or as my friend Dave calls it wilderness self-reliance is to UTILIZE what you have in YOUR surroundings to better your position, and your condition of living.Not to buy bamboo from jersey,or to have wood shipped to you via UPS. I enjoy your vids,they're informative but you must understand that some idiot is going to try these, it wont work and he'll die

[luvu2luvme]

he does this for a living,as dave does,the idea is to instruct and you can only become proficiante in using these skills with practice. i little knowledge can save someones life,this has been proved oner and over,even if you just have the idea in your head, its better than having zero knowledge and dying because of the lack of it.i always use goatwillow if i can for all parts, i have used hibiscus also for this type of plough which had equally good results

[luvu2luvme]

please refer to an answer to an earlier comment about the reason he imported the wood

[woodlandsurvival]

ok this isn't primitive he freaking bought the wood from arizona, so when were out in the wild we'll just go to arizona and buy ourselves some wood and make a fire

[primitiveskills]

The reason this material was purchased instead of harvested is because it ONLY grows in the desert south west. As such, this technique was ONLY used in these areas. Because our school is in Maine, hundreds of miles from the desert it is impossible to harvest Sotol.

[shannonnunn]

wow if you cant teach something from the materials you have in your environment dont teach it. if you gotta purchase wood to start a fire something is laking in the strategy, your skill and ability to find suitable products. teach what works and if you never actually been in the woods for at least 3 weeks surviving you have no place being an instructor. i would love to go out with you for a month and see what your made of.

[primitiveskills]

We teach both bow and handdrill as our "survival fire starting" techniques and you can check out our videos on that if your concerned about our survival methods. However, we dont teach or learn the fireplow to use it in a eastern survival situation. We like it for its historical primitive roots and we use it to A: Work on an ancient primitive skill and B: To utalize it if or when we are in the Deserts out west. As we dont live in the desert, we had to get desert materials brought to us

[MrVoiceofreason123]

@shannonnunn Hey jackass, I'm from Arizona and I have this wood around my area so this is useful information for me because I live in the right area. They show all the other techniques so why not this one? Besides, if you were a true primitive skills lover you would try and use this technique with woods it wasn't usually used with.

[shannonnunn]

@MrVoiceofreason123 i live in az now. i lived in nc in the ap mountains for a year learning skills....I lived in a leaf hut in the dead of winter and could start a fire using a wet poplar drill in the middle of a downpour. i suffered and learned and earned the right to express my opinion on the subject. primitive skills has awsome videos and its really good to teach scrubs like you.... i am a lover of primitive skills and my sacrifices to learn them proves it

[MrVoiceofreason123]

@shannonnunn Oh please, like I'm supposed to believe all these bullshit laundry lists of crap you people have supposedly done but have no fucking proof of it. That and your uploaded video is a Halo video. Pffff.

[Storm13Cloud]

@shannonnunn haha that would be fun i think ill find one of my friends and do that XD

[primitiveskills]

It is not just that Sotol is faster to ignite it is one of the few materials that can reasonably work.

This is a DESERT technology so only desert materials work reasonably. This is not something we would expect to walk out into the maine woods and do.

However, it IS a primitive technique that was used extensively so we are interested in it. Our interest in it is purely historic not utilitarian.

[kingman14]

i like how you dont show yourself getting flames off this.... just lots of smoke.... and i hate to break it to ya but you cant keep warm off smoke lol.... thats also too much work lol i think i'll stick with my hand built fire piston or a fire bow

[primitiveskills]

We absolutely agree with you that the bow drill and fire piston are much more reliable techniques in areas with any moisture.

Feel free to check out our videos on either of those subjects. We do not limit ourselves to only what works the best. We do this for fun and to learn.

In actuality a Big Lighter works the best, doesnt it? but that is no fun and that can fail.

[primitiveskills]

If you are worried about our ability to get flame, check out any of our other dozen or so fire videos. Remember we have a ten minute limit on Youtube and once you have a coal, getting fire is almost a given if you have a dry prepared tinder bundle.

[CarterZ123]

what natural woods could i use and what technique would i use for the midwest region such as missouri?

[primitiveskills]

They are material and climate dependant so if we learn all of them we can be prepared for any climate.

[primitiveskills]

We have tried many materials and only had success with Sotol with this technique. We have friends who have used cottonwood but once again- doesn't grow in Maine.

If one of our instructors were to crash (or just happen to be) in Canada we would never use the Fire Plow Technique. It is for desert regions, and would only be used there. We would instead use our Bow drill or even strap drill technique. The reason we learn ALL the friction fire techniques is just as you pointed out.

[MysteryMan159]

i dont mean this at all to be offensive but, why would a person buy something unnatural on ebay when it is more realistic to just go in the woods and find the right woods to make a fire with rather than buy foreign woods on ebay? i mean there would be no ebay to save you if you crashed in a plane over canada or something. but for the sake of the demonstration, sotol is likely much faster to ignite.

one question though, would white pine for a fireboard and maple, oak, or hickory work for a rod?

[primitiveskills]

Your comment is not offensive at all- If people didn't ask questions no one would learn! The reason this material was purchased instead of harvested is because it ONLY grows in the desert south west. Because our school is in Maine, hundreds of miles from the desert it is impossible to harvest Sotol.

It is not just that Sotol is faster to ignite it is one of the few materials that can reasonably work.

[glenm1212]

Sotol happens to be one of the very easiest materials for most friction methods, including fire plow, hand drill, bow drill and others. But many softer woods will work. I've been pretty successful with cedar on cedar (plenty of cedar in Maine!) for fire plow, but it definitely takes more effort than sotol. Also would need better form and control than shown with sotol, because the cedar dust doesn't hold together as well as sotol and it is easier to accidentally destroy it.

[TheSavage493]

you don't have to have sotol but it is good to have a hard wood and a soft wood.

[glenm1212]

I would disagree. Best to have both pieces be fairly soft. A hard wood plow stick would grind through the hearth board too fast, and a hard wood hearth would be too difficult to grind and would tend to suck heat away too fast.

[hathathatkilenckilen]

I try to create Fire since 2 days with plow and hand drill and bow drill technike with lot type ofwoods but i can't do it so FUCK IT! i give up!

[elpidi79]

I suppose this would be a useful skill to learn in case I'm ever close to "sodul" (is that how you spell it?), and maybe this is just me, but I think the hand drill and fire bow look a lot easier. I've read about this technique before in survival manuals (never tried it) but if, as he says, other woods are subprime, I'll just employ the other methods I know. Interesting video though. Thanks.

[lumas1212]

I cant find sodul so im gonna die

[gundog5]

Nice to see the work smarter not harder concept. I learn something new here. Wrap the tools with something to minimize wear & tear on your hands. I'm kickin' myself for not thinking of something seemingly obvious and simple. My hands thank you. :-)

I'll have to look into this fireplow concept. Nicely done!

[nintendowiip]

really cool, love stuff like this

[ZZOTH]

thanks for putting this up!