Masai Hand drill - which wood

[falling rain]

My son has recently returned from a trip to Kenya and as a souvenir from his trip he brought me back a Masai Hand drill set. They demonstrated it for him and he managed to get fire from it. :super: (something that I've not managed yet. I've tried a few times with Elder and got as far as smoke and dust before my arms ached to much to continue) :roll: My son told me they use a small amount of sand in the hole on the hearth and work as a team to get the fire. One holds the hearth while another drills. I havn't tried the set yet but will do soon. Anyway my main question is does anyone know which wood they may use for this. My lad told me he asked them which wood they used and as far as he can remember it began with an H. They also said it was a special wood that they had to travel quite far to get as it only grows near the base of mountains. My son thought they were pulling his leg, but I remember on one of Ray Mears programmes something about this, that they had to go a fair way to get this wood. Does anyone know the name of the wood. Apparently the drill is a hard wood and the hearth is a soft wood although they look very similar to me. A reddish brown colour. The drill is a little redder than the hearth. It would be interesting to know what they use.

Cheers

:wave:

[giancarlo]

I'm not sure what the Masai use... but i just watched the Namibia one for you with the San Bushmen, they use something called the Mangetti (no idea how its spelt i'm affraid.)

The use bits of sand and charcoal in the hearth to increase friction.

Not sure it's that's any use or not.

[Tvividr]

Can't comment on the Masai use of woods as I've only been in Kikuyu land when I've been in Kenya. With regard to the San Bushmen, and the other bushman tribes they can make a fire with just about any piece of wood. They do obviously have their preferences if given a choice of woods.

There is an old story about how the !Kung bushmen got their fire;
Long time ago there was a time when there was no fire on earth and all people ate their food raw. One man, /Ka/Kani, discovered the art of making fire by twirling one stick on another, and so he and his family ate cooked food. However, they did not share their knowledge with other people - until a chance visit by Gao!na, when /Ka/Kani was not home, left them no choice in the matter. Gao!na asked /Ka/Kani's children for something to eat, and they gave him cooked food. It was so delicious that he came back the next day for more, and as he approached he saw /Ka/Kani making fire with his sticks, so he watched from a distance to see how it was done and how food was cooked. After noting where /Ka/Kani hid his firesticks Gao!na went into his camp as if he had seen nothing, and joined in the meal. But his chief interest was not to lay hands on the firesticks, and so, after they had eaten, he suggested that they play a game with the djanis (see below). He then made two djanis with guinea fowl feathers and sticks. However, /Ka/Kani's djani did not fly high enough or drift far enough to draw him away from the place where he had hid the firesticks. So Gao!na replaced the feathers with bustard feathers, and the next time /Ka/Kani threw his djani it flew higher and took longer to come down. Gao!na then caused a wind to blow the djani so that /Ka/Kani had to run a long way past him while chasing after it. Seeing his chance, Gao!na then immediately dashed to the hiding place, and taking hold of the firesticks, broke them into small pieces and threw them into the air, spreading them over the whole world. As punishment for his selfishness /Ka/Kani was changed into a bird, and since then the people everywhere have cooked their food, and from that day there has been a fire lurking in every piece of wood.

A djani is a game common among bushman and black african children in the Kalahari region of Southern Africa. It is a childs toy consisting of a 30 cm long hollow reed with soft underfeathers of (usually) guinea fowl stuck into one end, and a short thong weighted with a nut or lump of gum in the other end tied on with sinew. A large feather is tied on to the reed about midpoint to give the toy its spin when hurled into the air. The game is played so that each contestant have a stick (50-80 cm length) with which the djani is caught and hurled up into the air. The idea of the game is to keep the djani in the air for as long as possible. If one fails to catch and hurl the djani up with the stick, he out of the game. The game is finished when there is only one contestant left.

[Jeff Wagner]

I posted here a few weeks ago about the ease of hand drill success using the stalk of the mullein plant. I have done it now perhaps forty times and can usually get a coal with five passes down the spindle. When the fire gods are smiling its almost easy. Two weeks ago I was invited to perform a fire piston demonstration for our local Boy Scout troop. They were impressed with the fire piston but they were in open mouthed disbelief to see fire made by the hand drill.

[falling rain]

Thanks for your replies everyone.
That's a great story Tvividr. I love the old traditional native stories but didn't know that one so thanks for that. :super: Once a year at Shotover country park in Oxford the council lay on a 'stories by starlight' evening where a chap called Nik Luker comes along and tells half a dozen or so stories in the woods I've been going for the last 4 years and it's nice to sit and listen in the woods with candles burning and hanging from the trees.
I read your post on the hand drill Jeff. I've nearly had it several times but that was with using Elder. I always get it smoking quite well but just need that little bit more umphh to get that ember. As with most bushcraft if you're going to do it well it's about preparation of materials and taking your time and technique I'm going to give it a try with Mullein as you suggested. I'm planning on setting that as one of my targets for 2005.
With Bow drill I just kept on trying until I got it and now manage it just about every time. I'm sure I'll do the same with Hand drill as it's really just a scaled down set up with your hands providing the direct power as opposed to your arm

cheers

[tomtom]

I love the old traditional native stories but didn't know that one so thanks for that. :super: Once a year at Shotover country park in Oxford the council lay on a 'stories by starlight' evening where a chap called Nik Luker comes along and tells half a dozen or so stories in the woods I've been going for the last 4 years and it's nice to sit and listen in the woods with candles burning and hanging from the trees.


Me too.. check this out (http://www.wildwise.co.uk/wsf.html) its alredy been on this year.. but if your down this way next year... :biggthump

Hope you dont mind me pintching your story (http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=2457&highlight=story) Gerd

[bambodoggy]

Guys, I've not tried it so have no idea if it works or not but I've read in several books that the dried stem from a common cat's tail makes a really good hand drill...sorry I can't remember what they suggest for the base board...I'll try and find the book and look it up for you. Might even give it a go myself although bow drilling is still a bit of a task for me....hence I'm no expert and won't be offended if you think I'm wrong :o):

Also, has anyone tried a pump drill? And has anyone actually added a bit of stone/bone to the spindle to make an actual drill for drilling holes in wood?

[tomtom]

Guys, I've not tried it so have no idea if it works or not but I've read in several books that the dried stem from a common cat's tail makes a really good hand drill... Might even give it a go myself although bow drilling is still a bit of a task for me....

think the RSPCA might have something to say about that :nono:

:rolmao:

[bambodoggy]

:o): Nice one! I think you're ok with a tabby but they get funny about the siamese! :rolmao:

[Jeff Wagner]

[QUOTE=bambodoggy]Guys, I've not tried it so have no idea if it works or not but I've read in several books that the dried stem from a common cat's tail makes a really good hand drill...

I have it on good authority that cattail stems work just fine and I am in the process of drying some now. I should be able to report on the results shortly. Much to my surprise, I witnessed success using goldenrod on a cedar hearth board. The stems are rather small in diameter but seemed to perform very well. Its now the season to collect some dead stems and these are also on my list to try.

[KIMBOKO]

My first hand drill fire was with a cattail stem on willow hearth. So I think its a good drill material. I think that it is better for your hands to practice a little and often until you develop a hard enough skin.

The first pump drill I made was too small and not much happened then thinking I needed more weight, I made an enormous pump drill about four foot high and a wooden weight about 18 inches across. I pumped it for a few minutes and thought it hadnt worked then when I went back to it later there was a thick smoke rising from the dust. I usually use a hand drill with flint for drilling needles and a bowdrill and flint for wood or shell. The flint I fix in place with pine resin or sealing wax (cheating). Good luck.

[Jeff Wagner]

The flint I fix in place with pine resin or sealing wax (cheating). Good luck.[/QUOTE]

I also cheat and use ferule-tite archery adhesive to haft my flint arrowheads. Its more elastic and hold better than pine pitch. I have been wanting to try birch tar - Utzi's knife was set in birch. Has anybody tried hafting with this adhesive?

[Tvividr]

........Hope you dont mind me pintching your story (http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=2457&highlight=story) Gerd
Not at all, but it is not my story, it belongs to the !Kung.


.........Also, has anyone tried a pump drill? And has anyone actually added a bit of stone/bone to the spindle to make an actual drill for drilling holes in wood?
I have tried pump drills, but for drilling only. I read an article, on using it for making fire, in the Bulletin of Primitive Technology once, but I have never got down to try it myself. I have attached both stone and metal as drill bits.


.....I also cheat and use ferule-tite archery adhesive to haft my flint arrowheads. Its more elastic and hold better than pine pitch. I have been wanting to try birch tar - Utzi's knife was set in birch. Has anybody tried hafting with this adhesive?
I have tried hafting with birch tar. Depending on the quality of the tar you make, it works something in between Ferr-L-Tite and pine pitch, although it leans more towards the pitch side. It's a mess to make though.
I have found that with flintheads designed like some of the Danish flint points from the last period of the stone age / very early bronce age (in Denmark), and hafted into notches cut into the arrow shaft, then glued with pine pitch mixed with finely powderes charcoal and perhaps a little bit of plant fibres (nettle, linen or whatever) then the pitch mixture would be strong enough. I know a Swedish guy who successfully have hunted and shot several warthogs in South Africa with a replica Holmegaard bow and flint tipped arrows (flint heads made to the above design period). His flint heads were fastened with the above mentioned pitch / charcoal mixture. He achieved several passthroughs, and not one of the flint heads came loose or broke.

[Jeff Wagner]

then glued with pine pitch mixed with finely powderes charcoal and perhaps a little bit of plant fibres (nettle, linen or whatever) then the pitch mixture would be strong enough. I know a Swedish guy who successfully have hunted and shot several warthogs in South Africa with a replica Holmegaard bow and flint tipped arrows (flint heads made to the above design period). His flint heads were fastened with the above mentioned pitch / charcoal mixture. He achieved several passthroughs, and not one of the flint heads came loose or broke.[/QUOTE]

Plant fiber as a binding agent. Brilliant. I had not thought of that. I have used pitch, charcoal and fat but have not been satisfied with the result. Are you able to obtain the recipe from your Swedish contact? I also hunt with flint tipped arrows in an effort to collect a deer using completely hand made equipment. Two hits to date was failed to collect.

[Tvividr]

There's no exact recipy. Everything is mixed more or less by eye measurement, although I find thet the more charcoal you add, the more brittle the stuff becomes. Plant fibres added "untill it is enough".

[Jonesie]

I've been using cattail stems with clematis wood and it works every time.The only thing it does not like is damp days.

[Buckshot]

I've been using cattail stems with clematis wood and it works every time.The only thing it does not like is damp days.

Is that clematis as the hearth wood?

Cheers

mark

[Ed]

Is that clematis as the hearth wood?
Yes you are right there Buckshot. Clematis makes a very good hearth wood :biggthump

Ed

[Buckshot]

Interesting, this is on my 'to do' list for 2005.
I'll see if I can find some now.

Cheers

Mark

[Jeff Wagner]

Over the weekend I had a chance to experiment a bit and in addition to the mullein stalk I can now report success using a very common goldenrod weed stem and a cedar hearth board. The spindle had been drying next to the woodstove for several days.

[greg2935]

Most drill sets across Southern africa are made from "Wag 'n biekie" and Msasa, you can't get either in the UK as they have very little use. Also it is hot and dry out there and is therefore alot easier to get the wood to the correct friction temperature.

Greg

[Stew]

This is a bit of a blast from the past - I didn't see the need to start my own thread.

Today, my parents came to visit and brought a hand drill set they had bought when they recently visited the Masai Mara. My Dad being my Dad, he insisted on buying the one that they demonstrated with, not the others they produced later, as he knew it worked! :rolleyes: :D

When I suggested we go try it out, my Dad was only too happy to as he had only managed a small wisp of smoke on his own.

I'm annoyed that I didn't get any pics of the set - I shall have to get some sent over to me.

The spindle is approx 30cm long and approx 7mm thick along it's entire length. I was surprised by how short it is as when I have seen others such as Rich59 demonstrate, the spindles have been much longer. Apparently the other sets that the Masai were selling had spindles only about 20cm long, which I suspect was because they didn't expect them to be used so were maximising their income vs outlay (although we know how to make the drills longer ;) ) The wood is from the Sandpaper Tree / Bush - named because the leaves are like sandpaper and used to polish carvings, etc.

The hearth is canoe shaped and approx 20cm long. The interesting thing is that the top and bottom was slightly convex, a feature that my Dad insisted is on all the models he saw so he believes it is part of the design and has a purpose. The hearth had three notches cut in with a slight bit of drilling in two and one that had been used. It was evident from the wear pattern on the used hole that the board was tilted in use as the side wall was worn down slightly. I do not know what wood was used for the hearth.

In use, I found it quite easy to get smoke compared to other sets I've tried. I haven't succeeded at hand drill before so was extremely pleased when I got an ember. :D My Dad struggled to put enough umph into it. This is where I think a lot of time spent watching episodes of Ray Mears and observing Rich59 et al helped. The technique I used involved fast bursts of only 5 or 6 strokes before resetting my hands at the top.

I'm really pleased that the Masai and their history helped me finally succeed with the hand drill! :)

Interesting things to note:

- The small spindle diameter meant that the ember was very small as well (at least compared to bow drill embers I get) so more care was needed to get it to flame. The Masai use elephant dung which I imagine works as an extender - apparently getting the flame took some time for them too. I used quite coarse hay as that is what I had to hand but there were a few failed attempts.

- I'm still not sure what help the rocker of the hearth is. Perhaps the extra bit of rubbing on the wall helps produce a bit more dust? I really don't know.

- I was surprised by the short length of the spindle but soon realised that it isn't necessary as I was only travelling half the length of the shaft doing the quick burst hand rubbing and I wouldn't have been able to sustain many more strokes per burst.


I have some pieces of wood drying and I'm looking forward to getting them out to play :D (when my blisters have gone..... )