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The below clip demonstrates how effective the fire plough can be with the right materials. A friend gifted me some Malayan Cherry which has a lot lower combustion point than UK woods and so it is more suited to the fire plough. As can be seen in this clip an ember is formed ridiculously quickly (7 secs) which is the fastest I've done on any method! And this is why the fire plough is the main method in places like Polynesia where there is wood suited to this method. Here is a video I have recently made about the fire plough...... After many many attempts over the years at attempting the fire plough which is most likely one of the earliest friction methods attempted by our ancestors, but certainly not the easiest, I have finally managed to tempt an ember from the wood using this method favoured by the Polynesians. I still need to practice more to refine my technique as I'm still a little hit and miss. This is my 2nd successful attempt over the last two days. Some observations: This was Hazel on Poplar - the Poplar has been seasoned. Poplar is a soft hardwood. You don't want the wood too soft/or going punky as you will get dust before it gets hot and you will rip through the set too quickly. You don't want a deep channel. With the right wood combination you shouldn't end up with a too deep channel If the dust is fluffy then it will roll which is what you want to happen - I noticed this with this set The hand grip I am using works really well - I learnt this from a Samoan fire plough video. It allows you to apply pressure and use your shoulders more and put body weight behind it. So the fire plough is possible in the UK. It takes practice and finding the right combination of wood. The stick\plough is important too and you want to shave the end narrow so it is about 5mm wide . I may upload a another vide once I am more confident with the method.
I have now added a new page on the website for the Fire Plough as there seems to be very little information on the Fire Plough within the UK, so I hope this helps. See here. |
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