Philippines; The Bamboo fire saw

 

One day in Cebu, Philippines while sitting around the house drinking a few San Miguel Beers “Jungle Wil” , AKA  Cochise rattle snake, AKA “Hell Boy” and I decided to play around with the Bamboo fire saw.

While on our way home from a beer run ,We pilfered a 4′ length of dried bamboo from a construction site near the apartment , then set to work. Using our Bolo Knives and a swiss army knife (saw) we split the Bamboo and Banged out a fire set in the style used by Hiroo Onoda the Japanese WW2 hold out that hid in the Jungles of Luzon for 29 years (My 30 year war).

After a bit of practicing, and trial and error, we succeeded in getting an ember and I was able to blow it into a flame. It was good training but seems to me to be a more difficult method to make fire then the Hand drill or Bow and Drill.

Our friends at the pastolon Aeta negrito village near Subic bay use the Bamboo friction fire method to light all of their fires. I was told by my friend Miguel that Matches cost money, but Bamboo is free in the forest – sound logic.

I have seen my friends Miguel and Tata make fire many times, but it always takes them about 40 seconds to a minute to get a decent ember. A minute or so is still a hell of a lot quicker then I can make one in, The last time I tried this type of fire making it took me about ½ an hour to get my fire going.

Tools:

• Bolo Knife or axe

 Step 1. Select a thick, rugged piece of Dried bamboo. Split the bamboo down the middle with a knife. When you kneel on the ground, the length of bamboo should be tall enough to be wedged between your stomach and the ground.

Step 2. Cut a second piece of split bamboo that is slightly shorter than the 1st.

Step 3. Prepare a place to build the fire. Clear a spot on the ground or find a         shallow, dry hole. Place dry leaves and dead wood in your spot.

 Step 4. Hold the first piece of bamboo firmly against the ground with one edge wedged against your stomach. Cushion the edge of the bamboo with a rolled-up shirt or jacket.

Step 5. Saw up and down with the shorter piece of bamboo. Hold the shorter piece of bamboo horizontally over the vertical piece. Saw for several minutes until a well-defined groove is created.

Step 6. Scrape the back of the bamboo with your Bolo knife to create a tinder bundle (see photo). Put the tinder inside the piece you are using as a saw. Cut a bamboo shim the length of your hand piece. Hold the shim over your hand piece with a thumb on each end.

Step 7. Continue sawing until a hole burns through the shim. Blow gently into the bamboo to ignite the tinder. Light the leaves and dead wood with the ignited tinder.

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