Can you make and use a bowdrill ? have a watch of this.

Ever had to use one of these in the wilds ? I have, and they are actually very effective IF as the video says, it is done right.

This is a great skill to learn, as every thing you need will be available for years to come. You did rememebr to buy that 300 feet of para cord for $4 didn't you and stash it in your BOB ??



A few things to note - When using the bow, keep it angled downwards away from you i.e. nose down on the bow - This stops the string from rubbing against itself and causing it to snap.

Secondly, do make sure you have a good sized bundle of grasses / material to hand as some times these small coals take a while to get glowing to combustion heat.

Thats all - I recommend at least a days practise out in the woods if you can. Its fun and rewarding when you get your first coal lit fire.

Dont worry, even the survivor kings themselves have trouble in the bush.

(A little light relief in a thread dedicated to survivng disasters)

I've done this before. It took me approximately 5-6 hours over 2 days in total to create my first fire bow and figure out how to work it properly. Once I had it working, I could get smoke within 30 seconds fairly easily though. I never got my notch properly though, never got an ember just a lot of smoke.

The handle and board were made of pine and I made the drill out of some kind of fruit tree wood, probably nectarine or pear, can't remember. I used a quite small piece of braided, waxed string used for crafts or something instead of full-sized rope and I never had any breakage, but I did fold it over twice and twist it into one thicker rope.

reply to post by Yarcofin



First you don't like the fire steel and magnesium strikers, now your having a little moan about how long it took you to make a bowdrill.

5 to 6 HOURS over 2 days ??? Why on earth did it take you so long ? I am well happy I never had your skills instructor ( and if your saying all of this with out ever having been taught properly... )

A bow and block should take two hours MAX from start to finish. You need no longer than this even if your being shown through the stages step by step in a class....

people, trust me. if I have to make a video that proves this 5 - 6 hours over 2 days to make claim is amazingly painfully woefully slow I will.

Yarcofin, I guess your just not cut out for the more arcane survivor tools.


Well, after all you are the man with all the bic lighters so you will never need these tools any how.