I went to see Ray on his tour : An evening with Ray Mears' , he lit a fire on stage on three separate occasions using three different methods ( the above being one of them) all this within an auditorium with 2000 people watching intently .You could've heard a pin drop - each time he got the fire started ,there was an audible sigh of satisfaction to be heard by the whole crowd. Ray was absolutely fantastic : Fascinating , knowledgeable - but yet humble. That was an event I'll never forget ...

He really makes it look easy. I am glad cleared up the misconception about the softness and hardness of wood.

You can trawl through heaps of different videos on how to do this, but at the end of the day, Mr Mears is the best.

I think what people underestimate the most of this video is The amount a physical strength need to make it look this easy

I'm utterly speechless. Wow. That was the fastest fire starting using a stick that I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing!!

Can't believe how fast that wood started smoking. Holy cow!

@ACDCRD

7 жыл бұрын

im 15 and my fastest ember is 9 seconds with my old kit

@NeillWylie

7 жыл бұрын

I'm 9 years old, 7 stone 2 lbs with strawberry blonde hair and my fastest ember is 2 seconds with a bic lighter on the grenwich merridian line.

@edwardfletcher7790

2 жыл бұрын

The wood needs to be TOTALLY dry...

Excellent job Ray Mears! You make it look simple but that's only natural coming from your vast experience. Thank you for openly sharing the technique.

@clivesouey59

5 жыл бұрын

Fuk off he learnt it of the primitives so call stone age

That is so awesome .....I finally found the answer about the hardness of wood. I thought the stick has to be harder than the flat board.

Every time I watch a video like this, I think of one of my elementary school teachers who told me it was impossible to make fire by rubbing 2 sticks together.

@jarodmorris611

9 жыл бұрын

My 6th grade teacher wasn't a rocket scientist. And now....he's an elementary school principle. #DilbertPrinciple

@rustyshackleford17

9 жыл бұрын

It took him four sticks though!

@tSp289

8 жыл бұрын

+Jarod Morris I had a year 4 teacher who makred me down for drawing bowmen in a picture of a motte and bailey castle we were asked to draw in history. He said 'they didn't have bows and arrows back then', meaning in the 11th century.

@jarodmorris611

8 жыл бұрын

That's nuts! No bows and arrows in the 11th century? lol

@rustyshackleford17

8 жыл бұрын

Jarod Morris Welcome to western education. Sounds like they'll make an excellent common core teacher.

Cordage is by far the hardest part of the bow drill to make.

Best explaination in 5 minute. I been watching loads of videos on the topic, and here it was-all I needed. Spesially about the wood to use. Same piece in spindel and board. Thanks. 👍

Bro ! That was fantastic.

That seemed so effortless :D

Ray is truly a legend.

This guy = Beast Mode!!!

Ray is a legend. Makes this look soooo easy, its not. Ray if you`re reading, how do I stop the cordage burning through friction?

@edwardfletcher7790

2 жыл бұрын

Dampen the cordage with any liquid.

Neil D. Tyson had a famous census… while speaking to an auditorium of people he asked “how many people had a good teacher?. The majority of the auditorium raised their hands. He then asked “how many had two good teachers” most of the hands went down. He then asked again for three good teachers almost no hands were raised. Now in the west to get through even elementary school you should had been thought by at least 10 if not more teachers. Realistically, by the time time you are finished with school you could have gone through maybe 100 teachers. That is an appalling thought on the reality of the effectiveness of teachers. So when you hear what hero’s and how great teachers are, just remember which teacher is telling you that and remember your personal history with how good your teachers were.

Awesome. 👀👌🏼

Thank You,Sir.

Ray is awesome

it is easy! the only thing is that he was in perfect conditions and also had the right wood, sometimes that's not the case however..

Enjoyed the video keep up the good work

Very skillfully done.

Nice technique. Very quick.

Thanks so much I am in the process of learning this and although I have seen it many times now that I am attempting it I went back to your video for instruction. Thank you very much!

Fantastic Video & Work Ray. Keep up the great work. Kind Regards Nicholas.

i love that bow :)

seriously. ray mears is awesome. He makes this look so easy and i can tell you from experience, its not!

Ray mears is the original king of survival this guy could live off grid and be as happy as a hog

He makes it look so easy - I've been trying for days and the only time I got near to fire was by accident. If I get stranded I hope I have a lighter or fire steel with me.

@marwanchowdhury9353

7 жыл бұрын

yea it's hard and u need dry wood like completely dry and follow the instructions really carefully and also u should look at other channels if ur really confused

@marwanchowdhury9353

7 жыл бұрын

but he did make a good video

@marwanchowdhury9353

7 жыл бұрын

but he did make a good video

@tomfielding7851

7 жыл бұрын

That we agree on!

AMAZING!

It's all so easy . . . if you're Ray Mears.

just made my first bow drill fire from a piece of maple and a pine spindle. bad ass!

Nice Rolex there :)

awesome brother

making a "set" takes maybe 20 min, but once you have all the components it takes maybe a 2 min to get a fire. Also, once you have a set you can use it to make many more fires with it,

Wait I can use the same wood for the drill and the fire bored?? This will still work

@kevbee8325

3 жыл бұрын

The drill/spindle will have the same density as the hearth/fire board if they’re made from the same wood and wear away evenly. You can use different woods but the drill may wear faster than the fire board/hearth or vice versa. Hazel and willow are good if you’re in the UK. The bearing block doesn’t need to be the same wood.

This guy went Beast Mode using that knife holy shit!

@susanbarbier5053

7 жыл бұрын

ryan freeley It's a good knife. The Fällkniven TK4.

@edwardfletcher7790

2 жыл бұрын

@@susanbarbier5053 That's its inspiration. Its his own knife, a Ray Mears Bushlore knife.

He is a living legend.

@joekelly9369

5 жыл бұрын

Hes a fat rich legend because hes never survived shit , bet you believe everthing your told too

Fallkniven FTW!

Yes yes, try doing this here in Denmark where we have humidity almost year round not below 70% many times 90% :D

@NaeMuckle

3 жыл бұрын

He teaches indigenous people thousands of years old techniques. He's trained the SAS for UK and Australia. You doubt he could start a fire in Denmark?

@navcop031

3 жыл бұрын

We regularly have humidity that’s 100% percent here in Texas and I’ve done this multiple times.

I remember a scene from the Bear Grills show where he’s doing this same method. He’s sweating and fumbling and it must have taken a long time because it Wes bright out when he started but dark when he got a flame.

Ray Mears is the real fuckin deal

Rumour has it that Ray once was in the Australian outback and showing methods on how to create a signal fire using a car tyre to make black smoke ......then later on he poured petrol directly on the open fire to make black smoke but the can burst into flames ,engulfing the whole site and nearly burning half of his crew members.....luckily the crew had minor burns and didn't press charges .

Could you please make a video making a fire without a jungle bolo? No one had a jungle bolo after the shipwreck. Thanks.

Sorcery!

I like fire

Fantastic channel! I like contemplating earth, explore and meditate...

nice

What wood was he using

Haha its nice and dry if it was absolutely pissing down be another story I'm sure

He wears a Rolex. Nice

anyone who has knowledge in fire making i have a question. he mentions he wants to use the same wood because of even hardness (which makes sense, it would have higher net friction). but in his "World of Survival: Heart of the Rift" episode, he followed the Hadza people for a specific tree for the fire drill (which apparently can be used for fire drill for any wood in the area).... so which is more correct? hearth board and spindle from same wood VS. harder hearth board and softer spindle (or other way)? thanks

@busansanai

9 жыл бұрын

***** cool. thanks

@shaunwild8797

9 жыл бұрын

I have read same woods for the bow drill and different woods for the hand drill method.

@MarkThomas123

9 жыл бұрын

If you look at the bottom board, when he is cutting the notch, it sure slices easier than any hard wood I have cut with a sharp knife.. He said, the same type wood, he didn't say hard or soft.. He did say "Hard Wood for the top board, and then put a leaf between the spindle and top board.. If he said specifically "Hard" wood for the top, seems he would want "Less Friction", since there was no use for it to produce any more drag than absolutely necessary, etc.. I think, there is no reason why he would not have made the top board out of the same wood, if he didn't want something "Different",, like, less friction.. I don't know. Just saying what I saw..

@americanpatriot3667

9 жыл бұрын

Two wrongs don't make a right you need hard wood for the spindle and a softer wood for the hearth boards

@MyScubasteve

8 жыл бұрын

+Daniel Isabelle Which woods would you use in the UK? Are you female?

Only one rule while surviving. KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Survival is all about conserving energy and making the most our of materials you have. Simple shelter, simple method of making fire, etc. This is the fastest method of making fire. :)

@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN

9 жыл бұрын

MuffinThief A lighter is even quicker, he had a knife in his pocket plus he had cordage to help, don't get me wrong, I think Ray is great, I used to smoke cigarettes so I got used to carrying two lighters in my pocket, now I always carry one. A bow drill would be good when other options are not at hand, if you can carry a knife though then why not a good lighter. KISS. ;)

@tSp289

8 жыл бұрын

+pa maj In a lot of situations someone might be stranded with neither, especially as smoking is becoming rarer. You can improvise a cutting edge from metal scrap or a broken rock, but not a lighter. Still, I agree that if you're actually out int he bush you'd be a bit stupid not to have a lighter and/or a firesteel. No harm in adding to your repertoire though.

@docv73

8 жыл бұрын

+pa maj ... Except, survival is rarely planned. The odds of being in a survival situation with all of your gear is slim. Planning to have it all is stupid. Slip on a muddy bank into a stream or pond, or get caught in a heavy rain, or even sweat heavily, and everything in your pockets is wet, and your matches and lighter are worthless. Or loose your gear in whatever happenstance puts you in a survival scenario, and you might not even have your lighter and matches. Then what? KISS, but always have a backup plan.

@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN

8 жыл бұрын

Shit happens ;)

Yes.

What kind of wood is he using here? Birch?

What kinda knife was that? 😎🇺🇸✌🏽

The guy that trained the SAS and was called in to track a murderer.

I find it so amusing that people talk about bow drill fires and how many calories are consumed using one. They simply have no idea.

It's only easy if you get lucky with materials or already have a proven spindle and hearth.

well there were a lot of camera cuts in there, but yeah it still works.

fuckin' incredible.

he didn’t even use oil on the spindle

What are the best UK woods to use? I hear willow is one.

@SE09uk

8 жыл бұрын

+mr james Thing is with the uk, its wet so the wood is wet. its best to carry a fire kit with you or make one when your camping dry things out using an existing fire and keep it dry gather sheeps wool, thats a good starter, just watch out for the bugsstraw and the dry tops of long grass is good tooI used to use sun dried rotten wood, thats good because you can brake it to a powder

@Flok6793

8 жыл бұрын

+SE09uk Is humidity really that high in the UK ? I simply use standing deadwood to make fire, even after a whole week of rainy weather here in France. Scraping larger pieces of wood down to the dry core also works most of the time for me.

@descattysBushcraftbydescattys

8 жыл бұрын

hi I like to use hazel as a drill and the baseboard from either lime or poplar,,,, but ive made fire from alder on alder,,,,, just experiment

@NeillWylie

7 жыл бұрын

yeah firelighting is a whole different kettle of fish in the U.K. some days petrol on news paper doesn't work here. pretty grim haha.

@descattysBushcraftbydescattys

7 жыл бұрын

Neill Wylie Definitely lol

He never mentioned what wood was use for his bow drill

What if your shipwrecked without a knife?

Yeet

I live in a damp northeastern mountain of USA. I have pine but wonder if you would attempt what you show here with canes of corn, or sorghum? Would it work you think?

@zombiefighterof1987

7 жыл бұрын

Suzanne Ramoundos Depends on how hard it is, I think corn is pithy so it might not work. Give it a shot, you ain't got nothing to lose.

@HonestDoubter

7 жыл бұрын

Suzanne - I am sure you have white and red cedar around you. Those are QUITE easy. Pine can be used as well - but it if it is spring and the sap is in full flow - not nearly as easy.

@andrewlilley9070

6 жыл бұрын

Rubber burns no matter how wet it is . Pit that into the embers for instant lighting

Question, if i don't have and sharp equipment that can help me make all that stuff, what is the best way to start a fire?

@chris11sholtz

10 жыл бұрын

i'd guess your best chance would be to find some rocks or shells. oyster shells could be used, as could the edge of a fractured rock.

@chancedamont6939

10 жыл бұрын

Then you could tear off strips of fabric from your clothing to make a bow string, presuming you're not naked in the wild.

@J_just_J_yes

10 жыл бұрын

Chance Damont i'm asking about making the wooden block and stick for the fire. even if i make a crude bow for bowfire drilling, without a proper fire board it will be very hard(IMO) since its not flat surface. And thus the question And thanks to chris11, i put some thought into it and yea i think that may work quite well as a knife substitute, thanks! :)

@chancedamont6939

10 жыл бұрын

DualDragon Ace Well after you find that your knapping skills are less than adequate, you can always use the rough surface of a stone to shape wood flat and give a point to a stick like a pencil.

@chris11sholtz

10 жыл бұрын

i didn't mean knapping per se. any type of rock that can fracture into an edge would be fine. flint, chert, quartzite, etc. the rocks naturally break in such a way as to form an edge sufficient for roughly carving and splitting sticks.

Be interesting to know how one would manage in survival situation if one had no knife?

@Ghost_Os

4 жыл бұрын

Are you talking about how the notch would be made, or in general? Either way, stone is the answer. Or since this appeared to be a tropical island, seashells can be made quite sharp as well, though they're more fragile than stone. Depends on the task at hand. You don't have to be able to make a beautiful knife from stone, you can clumsily break pieces off until you get some nice sharp flakes that will serve as a cutting tool.

Don't challenge Ray Mears unless you want to see it done.

Comment to thedr00: What appears to be a 'hole' in the bow is a knot....and if the split wasn't there to begin with, more than likely it split a bit when he was playin' around with it before jumping into the 'drill'. There's nothing left out, and there's no reason someone would 'drill a hole' into the bow. No worries - No cover up happening here, I promise.

@19RedRhino89

10 жыл бұрын

I concur.

ray uses a fällkniven - not his own knife - interesting

@7wildernessSpecialist

5 жыл бұрын

Variable at times.

I always have problems starting a new hole lol

@MrRugercat45

6 жыл бұрын

ACDCRD yep, that’s what he said.

Much respect to Ray but this is too over simplified. The devil is in the details with this process. I have failed many times at this and would love to see a trouble shooting video.

@LiveDonkeyDeadLion

3 жыл бұрын

SD Trujillo keep the bow horizontal. Brace the arm holding the bearing block against your leg. Don’t cut the notch until you’ve burnt the hole and make sure that is burnt black not brown. If it’s brown it means you’re not pushing down hard enough. Nice it’s burnt in, cut the notch to collect your ember and repeat, but this time when you think there’s enough ember keep going. Make sure you put something dry and sold enough to catch your ember and take a couple of breaths before you put the ember in your tinder. When you blow the tinder bundle and ember, move it away from your face when you breathe in, this will get the smoke out of the bundle and ready for the next breath. Repeat and be ready for when it catches. That’s basically how Ray taught me, and the first time I got it right, he helped pull the bow from the other end as I was about to stop as I thought I had done enough to make an ember

Probably the least practical most well known fire starting method

i make primitive hand drill friction fires and the longest i dry my fire kits m i a few hours in the sun

In reality it's not so easy, I have failed many times. String breaking, top piece smoking, spindle not moving etc.

@edwardfletcher7790

2 жыл бұрын

Thread your hiking boots with 550 paracord and leave the laces extra long. Problem solved 👍

Them shorts are too short

what knife is he using? I did pause the vid at 3:39 and I can see our countrys "TRE KRONOR" emblem on it! :)

@seanb6986

5 жыл бұрын

That’s a Fällkniven TK4

Minutes

That is the perfect scenario but what if all the would was wet what would you do

@tSp289

8 жыл бұрын

+Alfonso Zambrano Cry

If anyone is interested, the knife he’s using is the Fällkniven TK4. A Swedish folding knife. Excellent pocket knife. Pronounced Fell kniven. You pronounce the K.

Id use a lighter haaa

And (not ant;typo)

So you just need to ensure that when you get stranded on a desert island that you have a machete and knife with you. Cool, I'll take those on all my future plan trips just in case :-)

@TheLegend-up9vw

7 жыл бұрын

well you could take one of the two tools out of the equation evrything he done there you could have done with one or the other. just carry a knife.

Knife, machete, nylon cord? You're more likely to have lighter with you than any of these!

@Tony-outdoors

7 жыл бұрын

lobo en hs not really you should always have a knife with you always , you can make cordage once learnt this method is fool proof . I dont use it every time I light a fire I tend to use a Ferro rod for convenience, but I will still practice the bow drill regularly as all skills are perishable if not practiced .

@o.ggarcia9827

7 жыл бұрын

lobo en hs wouldnt be cought dead without my knive since 9 years old

He learned from the Black Aboriginal here in Australia how to make fire. Like are said every thing comes from the Aboriginal way of life.

Easy if your marooned with six hundred pound knife

It isnt.

can anyone give any advice one getting blisters on ones fingers from the spindle rubbing them?

@leonardilifter

7 жыл бұрын

use a stone as a top rock.

@thedr00 well I think we should rely on our own intuitiveness on those parts, just go out and practice this, the split is probaly a notch to hold the string in place from slipping

That's where the wood had a not ant the wood had split because of tension you durbrain (thedr00

this is fake, I tried this technique and got any smoke, only polished wood

@MrBlackPistol

8 жыл бұрын

it works, i ve tried it myselfe too

@triumphtinltcomicdg

8 жыл бұрын

MrBlackPistol I know it's works I was joking, but my try was unsuccessful, and after which time you receive smoke? because this material is probably edited

@UKGameShock

8 жыл бұрын

you have to make sure the wood is right dead wood is best i believe but you also need to make sure the wood is dry and not just dry like you cant see water on it the water sits in the wood for a while and is damp on the inside so you need to make sure you get completely dry wood or cut the wood deep enough to the middle that there is no damp.

@ErrorDebug

8 жыл бұрын

depends on the wood

@ACDCRD

7 жыл бұрын

if it polishes rough it up with your knife and try again