The bamboo fire saw is one of my favorite friction fire techniques. There is something magical about the fact that the process requires only a piece of bamboo and a knife. This method closely matches the popular notion about friction fire as “rubbing two sticks together”.
What do you need for the bamboo fire saw method?
To create a bamboo fire saw set you will need only a few things:
A sturdy fixed blade knife
A length of dry bamboo pole at least 1-1/2 inches in diameter and 24 inches long. A 2 or 3 inch diameter pole would be even better. I used the bottom of a citronella bug repellant torch
A place outdoors with soft ground and/or a large tree
Why use bamboo to start a friction fire?
Bamboo is a remarkable material. First, it is very strong and hard. This allows us to apply a lot of force without breaking the bamboo. Second, the ignition temperature of 265 degrees is fairly low. This makes it suitable for friction fire techniques.
Scrape off a bunch of tinder shavings from the outside of the bamboo
As with any friction fire, we will need to have a tinder bundle prepared for the glowing ember created by the process. Use the blade of a knife to scrape the outside of bamboo to produce thin, curly shavings. You will need to make one large bundle about the size of a baseball. You will also need two smaller bundles, each about the size of a golf ball.
Split the bamboo lengthwise
You will need two long pieces of bamboo. These are made by splitting the bamboo stick two down its length. Use a fixed blade knife and a hefty chunk of wood to baton the from one end. Bamboo splits easily, so once you get it started, you may be able to pull the two pieces apart. It’s best if the two pieces are close to the same size.
Prepare the bamboo hearth board
Choose the larger of your two bamboo pieces and designate this as the hearth board. In use, this will be oriented with the concave side down, leaving the two outer edges point up. Choose one of these edges and shave it down to make a long section that is about as has thin as a butter knife. This will be the edge upon which you saw.
Fashion the bamboo saw
Use the other piece of bamboo to make the saw. Locate the middle of the piece and begin to drill a hole with the tip of your knife from the inside out. Stop drilling when the tip of the knife just barely begins to show on the outside surface of the bamboo. Next, locate the point on the outside where the knife started to come through. Use a knife to make a small groove directly above the hole. This groove should run perpendicular to the length of the piece of bamboo. Bamboo is quite hard, so a triangular metal file can also be used to create this groove.
With the carving complete, place the two golf ball sized tinder bundles into the concavity of the saw. These are placed on either side of the drilled hole. Use your thumbs or a long strip of bamboo to hold the bundles in place. These bundles will catch and hold the hot dust formed when you begin sawing.
Create an ember with the bamboo fire saw
First, place one end of the hearth on or near your belt buckle and the other end against a tree or in the ground. In either case, you must secure the hearth firmly by using your body weight to hold it in place. You will need both hands to operate the saw.
Place the small groove you carved in the saw on the thinned edge of the hearth piece. Using both hands, press the saw downward as you move it back and forth along the hearth. With moderately vigorous action, you should start to smell a somewhat sweet burning smell. Keep sawing. Watch the top edge of the hearth. It should start to turn brown. At this point you may also see a small wisp of smoke. Again, keep sawing.
Next, focus on the spot on the hearth that seems to be the darkest brown and concentrate the sawing motion over this spot. Increase both speed and downward pressure. There should be quite a bit of smoke now. The sawing action over the dark area on the hearth is creates hot dust that gets pushed up into the hole in the saw. The small tinder bundles keep this dust from dispersing.
Now it is time to make the final push. Saw as vigorously as you can, while remaining in control. Keep it up for as long as you can — which won’t be very long. When you’ve stopped, turn the saw over and tap the saw near the groove to help dislodge any ember that might be there. Carefully lift the saw from the two small tinder bundles. If things have gone well, you should see a dark pile of dust on top of the bundles that is smoking on its own. Congratulations, you have made an ember!
Bring the ember in the tinder bundle to flame
Bringing the ember to flame is like any other friction fire method. Carefully place the small smoking ember in the middle of the baseball size tinder bundle. Gently close some of the tinder around the sides of the ember, being careful not to crush or smother it. Now hold the bundle up to allow the heat from the ember to reach more fuel above it. Finally, blow softly and steadily on the ember. As the smoke increases and grows thicker, you can blow harder. After a bit of blowing, the bundle should burst into flame. Of course, you can also drop the ember into any natural tinder source to create flame. Fatwood shavings are a particular favorite of mine.
Resources
* Some of the links on this page go to Amazon and some go to the website of my friend, Josh Enyart, The Gray Bearded Green Beret. I make a small commission on these referrals. I appreciate your support!