What is the best bethod?

what do you consider "no tools" ?

My hands only.

You may be able to pull off a bow and drill with only 550 cord. Would be difficult but it's surely feasible.

Fire bow for friction

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1385123965414703373#





The internets are amazing for research such as this.

 

Yep, I've done this.



 

You're going to have to rub them together awfully quickly!



 

great bow and drill thread

You will need some sort of "tools" ....or some well placed lightning at your location

An expedient Bow/drill assumes a knife and your boot lace,  at minimum.

Primitive bow drill assumes you can make a primitive knife (flint napping?) and make/weave some sort of cordage that can stand up to the vigors of the bow drill.

Define "knife" wouldn't a knapped stone do as well? As for a string I'm stumped?

sinew

 

With a long split stick or log planted in the ground and another stick, you can do it with a lot of elbow grease and tenacity.

Why don't you try learning firecraft through several different methods first, then continually simplify your methods?

1.) go to Amazon.com
2.) search for 'primitive fire'
3.) choose a few books, buy
4.) read and experiment

The above statement is 100% correct.  Unless you wait for a lightening strike to gather coals you cannot make fire with just your "hands".  you must use some sort of tool whether it's some sort of cordage, flint/steel, ferro rod/knife, magnifier glass/eyeglasses, fire bow, friction method etc.  Yes, we're splitting hairs here.  There are hundreds of videos on youtube on how to start fire without matches, lighters, commercial fire starters.

One big thing is that you must practice with whatever method you choose.  You can't just read a book or watch a video on how to do it - to "ME", easiest way to start a fire 'with my hands' is using flint/steel. 2nd best is fire bow.

When I was a scoutmaster  we tried this ( bow )  and other methods . We had several eagle scouts and experienced leaders in a DRY environment and we had NO luck getting a fire . We could get smoke and squeaking  but no fire .

Yes it can be done but it is not EASY !!!

The most favored method besides a match or lighter was Flint and steel .

Myself I preferred a 9 volt batt w steel wool .

Good luck to you

Natural cordage for string.  I use palmetto or yucca.  Learn how to reverse twist the strands and use a limber bow for natural cordage.

We don't have stones around here, so I am limited to knapping the bottom of glass bottles for a knife replacement.

Learn which woods are the best for friction in your area.  Mine are cedar, cottonwood, cypress, ash, and yucca stalk.  Should be dead and dry (not from the gound).

You should be able to indent the wood with a fingernail.  I have been trying dead pine this week, with little success.



Youtube is your friend and the devil is in the details, so pay close attention.

correct



 

I thought of that, but makeing someting to kill an animal to have a large sinew would create a whole new set of problems. Like how to whittle a gun?

Damnnit. Got me.





Actually I've read that one tribe of Indians used "throwing sticks" to take down medium game. I think they were like these:







Not sure how successful I'd be with that though.



 

The sinew was a good answer,  great answer!

Early man was as much a scavenger as he was  a great hunter,  so,  the sinew "could" hypothetically come from a semi-fresh carcass that is scavenged,  versus the need to be the one who made the kill.   But still,  unless it's deer along the side of the road,  stumbling on a carcass could be he precursor to freezing looking for the sinew.

This is a good discussion,  and really sheds light on how tough early man really had it.

I've heard about survival courses where for the final exam, the military has dropped a guy ,
naked, so he has to start from absolute scratch and work his way up the hard way.

I would fail. And I fancy myself a pretty good survivalist.



reference the rule of 3s





 

You can make string good enough for a bow drill with all kinds of bark fiber woven together.  Pick one that is relatively tough and flexible and peel it into thin strands.

Maybe the push stick method for a "no tools" fire making solution?

Or the darned hand drill.
 Makes my hands hurt just thinking about it!

George Clooney and Kevin Spacey taught me how to light a fire with my mind.

throwing a lit cigarette out the window seems to work well when it dry out

a fireplow or hand drill would eliminate the need for cordage, but are not as good as a bow drill.

I've done the hand drill, but I REALLY would not want to try that in cold and wet conditions. I'd be mostly frozen by the time I found suitable materials and got them ready unless I got REALLY lucky in my search. Honestly. I would not stop to search for the materials, I'd gather them on my way out of my situation. I would start following a terrain feature or to the sound of a road, or just picking my best guess of a direction based on where I thought I was and what I knew of in the area. If I could pick up the materials along the way and it was getting to the point I was going to have to stop before I found help then I'd start looking for a good camp and work on that fire once I had a spot and supplies collected. I'd also look into a way to carry that fire with me the next day if possible. Some sand and a coal, a slow burning torch.... something.

This is why if I'm going to be anywhere remotely uncivilized I have a few options for fire starting and some basic tools, like a knife and multi-tool. Some cord or string generally, but with a knife you can almost always find something that will work in nature.

Fire is easy with a lighter or matches.
Its a bit harder with flint/steel or a mag block.
Its really hard to start with sticks.

One sunny and dry afternoon I decided it was time to test my new glock field knife.  Had some para cord in my pocket and figured I would try to start fire with some sticks.  Tried the plow method with no luck. Tried the hand drill and got some smoke... Then I built a bow drill and went at it for about 4 hours with different tinders and other materials.  I got darn close.  At one point I got a tiny glowing ember but I could not get a fire going from it.  After that I grabbed my fire steel and was able to start a fire with one stroke/shower of sparks using the tinder I had collected and been trying to use with the bow drill.  Long story short I will never go into the woods without at least two methods of starting fire.  Lighter/ matches/ mag block or fire steel.  If I was in a real wilderness survival situation I would not want to depend on my ability to start a fire with sticks.  If I was in a situation and in need of a fire I would already be in rough shape......  I may try a bow drill again some time.  I am pretty sure that with enough time and good enough tinder I could probably get a fire going but in a survival situation I dont like the odds of pretty sure/ probably/ maybe.  I have spent alot of time out doors and I have still yet to master fire with just sticks.

I can offer one bit of advice:  It takes alot of practice and alot of time to master fire with sticks.

This has been a goal of mine lately.  However, I've had zero luck.  I think my issues are with my wood selection as I've been using an electric drill to see if I could even get an ember.  Even using lumber from home depot I get nothing more than a little smoke and a pile of brown wood, but no ember!  Damn it!

I think ill try oven drying my wood to see if it will help.