Bow Drill Primitive Fire Kit - Premium Set complete with written instructions!

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Seller: outdoorlifeproshop ✉️ (5,116) 100%, Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, US, Ships to: US, Item: 303519724493 Bow Drill Primitive Fire Kit - Premium Set complete with written instructions!.

Bow Drill Primitive Fire Kit - Premium Set

complete kit with written instructions!

The bow drill consists of a bearing block or handhold, spindle or drill, hearth or fireboard, and a simple bow. You'll receive fireboards made from two different types of wood and spindles made from three different types of wood so that you'll see and feel the difference when using these woods in different combinations while bow drilling to start your fire.

The bow drill is an ancient and primitive tool used to make friction fire. The bow drill consists of a bearing block or handhold, a spindle or drill, a hearth or fire board, and a simple bow.

The bow drill offers a primitive method of starting fire without matches or a lighter. It’s a method that applies friction to generate heat. The heat eventually produces an ember in the burnt wood dust. The ember is tiny and fragile.  Once formed it is carefully placed into a "tinder bundle" where it is carefully nurtured and coaxed into flame. Once the tinder bundle bursts into flame, it is placed into the fuel that has been assembled ready for ignition.


This Bow Drill will make it feel as if you yourself had to make your own bow drill to make fire. The Bow, Spindles, Sotol Fire Board, and Handhold . are all harvested by hand from natural resources and are all handcrafted. They won't look or feel like you bought them from a store or that they came out of a factory or woodshop. 

Each bow, handhold, and spindle that comes with each Bow Drill Primitive Fire Kit will be unique and won't be exactly the same length or the same size.

Your Bow Drill Primitive Fire Kit: 

You can take the bow string and coil it around the bow in order to carry or pack it easier.

  1. The bow string is tied on one end with a special slip knot. Loosen the slip knot and slip it down the tip towards the handle. 
  2. Hold the knot in place and turn the bow clockwise to coil the string around the bow.
  3. Tighten the slip knot to secure it.

Parts description:

The Bow is simple and strong. It is handcrafted and shaped using Oak or Ash  branches. Ash is actually harder than oak. It is treated with boiled linseed oil to protect it from the elements. Both Oak and Ash are hard and strong woods. Some ends of the bow may be y-shaped and some will have a notch cut out for the string as seen in the photos.

The Bearing block or Handhold is also made from Oak or Ash .  Each handhold has a handmade steel plate insert for the spindle that is virtually frictionless. The steel plate insert is also shiny enough to use as a signal like a mirror in an emergency situation.

The Bow String: 750 Parachute Cord, Mil-C-5040 Type IV which is rot resistant and very tough. This military-grade Paracord is 200 lbs. stronger than the standard 550 Paracord. It was originally used in WWII for military use, Type IV Paracord is lightweight, super strong and contains 11 inner core strands as seen on the photos. I use one long piece of 750 paracord string. Half of the string is already tied to the bow and the other half is wrapped around the handle to be used as a quick back up just in case the other one breaks. Since the back-up string is already tied on the handle end of the bow all you need to do is tie the other end for a fast transition. You can of course take the whole string from the bow and use it as cordage if the need arises.

The Drills or Spindles are made from Sotol, Cottonwood and Cedar . They are carefully hand-cut, hand-crafted and sun dried to make sure they are as straight as possible and that they will rotate nicely with very little wobble, if any, when spinning. Each spindle has been tested and burned in to make sure that they will work properly when used to make a coal ember.

The Fireboards are made from Sotol, Cottonwood and Cedar . All fireboards are burnt in with a /\ -notch cutout. The notch cutout is carved wider on its underside in order to have more room to collect coal dust. Cedar wood is soft and has its own natural oil. If you're skilled with your knife, you can use it to scrape fine dust and lightly carve very thin curly curls from the cedar board or spindles like those that you see in the photos. You can also use a broken piece of glass or something similar to do this just be careful not to cut yourself accidentally.  You can then ignite the cedar wood dust and thin curly curl mound using a ferrocerium rod if for some reason you need to start a fire right away and don't have the time to start one using your bow drill. 

The Coal Catcher is made of thick genuine leather. The leather is big enough to use as an ammunition holder pouch for a sling shot if you have the other parts to make one.

The 15 ft. Jute used for nesting material with your coal ember is made of thick, heavy duty natural jute fiber. You can cut a small 2-inch piece and fluff up the fibers thoroughly then easily ignite it with a ferrocerium rod to make a quick fire if needed. The rope is coiled in such a way that in order to get the length of rope you want, all you need to do is to pull on the loose end until you get the desired length.  You do not need to unravel the coiled rope. Click on this link to see the video: eBay item number: 302153023545. You can also use this jute rope to tie things with if the need arises.

Oakum Nesting Material: Oakum comes from the fiber of virgin natural hemp or jute. The fibrous material of Oakum is very flammable and makes for a great tinder bundle. It makes for a wonderful nesting material when separated and fluffed up to use with your bow drill to start your fire.  It can also be ignited with a charcloth or a ferrocerium rod or fire steel.

Cedar Bark and Cambium Nesting Material: The cedar bark and cambium nesting material is hand harvested. Cambium is the "inner" bark of the tree. It blows into flames very easily.  It makes for a very good bird's nest and tinder bundle. Just twist and crush the bark and cambium to separate the fibers and make it fluffy before use.

Because you have back-ups on how you can make fire by using the cedar fireboard and spindles, jute rope, and oakum even if you accidentally lost or broke your bow you can still make fire using these other parts provided that you have a ferrocerium rod available to ignite them. 

What you will receive with your purchase: 

  • Oak or Ash Bow - hand harvested and hand crafted. Oak and Ash are both hardwoods however, ash is slightly harder than Oak.
  • 750 parachute cord Mil-C-5040 Type IV b ow string plus back-up string
  • Oak or ash  bearing block or handhold with a metal plate insert that is virtually frictionless. 
  • Four (4) Fireboards: Two (2) cedar , one cottonwood and one sotol . 
  • Four (4) spindles: one (1) sotol, two (2) cedar and one (1) cottonwood. 
  • Genuine leather ember coal catcher (may vary in size and color). 
  • 15 ft. thick, heavy-duty jute as a nesting material. Pull on the loose end to get the length of rope you need.  You do not need to unravel the coiled rope.  Click on this link to see the video: eBay item number: 302153023545 
  • Two thick strands of Oakum. 
  • One bundle of cedar bark and cambium. 
  • Written instruction on how to use your bow drill. If you don't know how to use a bow drill yet there are plenty of videos on YouTube that you can watch on how to use one. 

This is my guarantee to you:   If you are not satisfied with your Bow Drill Primitive Fire kit you can return it to me within 30 days so long as it's unused for a full refund. 

Check out my other items:  Click here to see all of my e-Bay items

  • Condition: New
  • Brand: Unbranded
  • Type: Bow Drill Premiun Set
  • Model: Fire Kit
  • Material: Oak, Cottonwood, Cedar, Sotol, Jute, Oakum
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

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