The material you will need

• A bow made with a curved stick, a leather lace or a nylon string.
• A fulcrum made with a dry and strong wood. Leave the bark on.
• A thick plate of wood or shook. You can get it by chopping a log with your hatchet. You will use it as a base for your fire. Make a notch and the beginning of a hole. This base should be long enough for you to stand on in order to keep it on the ground.
• A split hinge on which the top of the fulcrum is to turn without ripping; it can be a stone with a small hole or a strong chunk of wood carved with a knife. Friction will be reduced by adding soap at the end of the fulcrum.  

The wood you can use

Limetree, poplar, hazel, elm, maple, willow, are among the best. These kinds of wood should be very dry whether you choose to use them for the fulcrum or the base of your fire.

Preparing the fire

• A little bit of paper or poplar bark under the notch on the plate of wood.
• A ball of dried herbs or a piece of cloth or a piece of shredded string.

Starting the process

1. Kneel on the ground, put one of your feet on the shook. Put the tip of the fulcrum on the shook where you started your hole. Put the leather lace around it.
Your left hand holds the fulcrum with the split hinge.
2. With your right hand use the bow as if you where holding a saw, first slowly, then accelerate.
3. Some dirt falls on the notch, keep going, some smoke appears.
4. Delicately put the small pack of smoking dirt in the ball of dried herbs. Blow gently and cautiously until a red dot appears, then a little flame !
You won !