The Process: As with any firemaking method, preparation is the key to
success in making a fire bow. Once you have your four components ready,
make sure your tinder bundle is as big as possible, at least the size of a
fivepin bowling ball. Fibrous materials like scraped cedar bark tend to
work best.
Then get comfortable and settle in for what may be a long process: it
can take from minutes to hours. You don’t want to get halfway through—
just to the point where you’re getting wisps of smoke—and realize you’re
kneeling on a rock and can’t take the pain any longer. Also, ensure that
nothing will inhibit the motion of the bow.
stroud’s Tip
There are two schools of thought on where to put
your tinder pile with the fire bow. One says that you should
have a small piece of leaf or bark under the baseboard to catch
your ember, which you then transfer to your tinder pile. I feel this
just adds an extra step to the process, as well as the risk that you’ll
drop the ember, or that it will go out, or be blown by the wind.
I prefer to put my tinder directly under the notchedout hole in
the baseboard, so that the ember falls right where it’s intended to
go. Put the finest tinder in the center, just below the notch. Make
sure that you pat down the tinder bundle enough that it doesn’t
sneak up and get caught in the spindle during the spinning process.Rest the baseboard on the tinder bundle to flatten it out (make sure the ground
isn’t damp!). Your body should be positioned such that if you drove a steel rod
straight down through the top of your shoulder blade, it would go through the
back of your hand, through the spindle, and right down to the baseboard.
Place one foot—the one opposite the bowing arm—on the base
board and start slowly with a fluid backandforth motion, applying gen
tle pressure to the bearing block. Don’t forget to breathe! Focus on your
breathing and establish an even rhythm.
I find that placing a bare foot on the baseboard gives me a better
feel and more control than a pair of boots. By wearing boots you also run
(^124) | Survive!