Video: Wilderness Expert Creates Forge Blower with No Modern Tools
OutdoorHub Reporters 08.02.16
We’re not sure at which point wilderness survival becomes wilderness domination. If you can make a set of tools out of wood and stone, a permanent dwelling with a stove, and something as sophisticated as a forge in wilderness, then you aren’t exactly the type to be eating worms and huddling underneath a leaf hut. YouTube’s Primitive Technology shows up again just to rub in how woefully unprepared the rest of us are at long term survival in the wild. In this video, he demonstrates a new type of blower that does not need a complicated belt and wheel system, but uses a principle that every Boy Scout should be familiar with.
“I invented the Bow Blower, a combination of the bow drill and forge blower to make a device that can force air into a fire while being easy to construct from commonly occurring natural materials using only primitive technology,” he wrote on YouTube.
“Instead of making a large wheel and belt assembly to step up the speed of rotation, I opted for a 75 cm long bow,” Primitive Technology explained. “I made a frame to hold the rotor in place consisting of two stakes hammered into the ground with a socketed cross bar lashed on to hold the top of the rotor. I made bark fibre cordage and tied the end to a stick. I then looped the cord around the rotor and held the other end in the same hand holding the stick. I then pushed and pulled the bow causing the rotor to spin rapidly, forcing air into the fire.”
No bad for an operation with no modern tools and only what resources he had at hand. Looks like it won’t be long until he’s in the iron age.
Primitive Technology has garnered something of a cult following for his simplistic and impressive videos, and this latest one is no exception, gathering more than six million views in just a few days.
Watch how he does it below:
