#0034 – Phyre Phryday V/Blog 01/01/2021 – Sycamore (Plantanus Occidentalis) (BD) Bow Drill: HOMESICK FOR JAPAN!

(Color Codes: RED = Materials, BLUE = Link, PURPLE = Method/Technique, GREEN = Janka Hardness)

Hello Global Tribe of PhyreKeepers (GTOP)!

01/01/2021 – Welcome to Phyre Dojo’s 34rd Phyre Phryday Vlog. And… Happy New Year! Gong Hey Fa Choy! (In Cantonese.)

I am INCREDIBLY HOMESICK for Japan, but Japan, as well as a lot of the World, is not letting anyone from the US into their countries, and for legitimate and obvious reasons.

In these videos, I am teaching with TAKU KAWAGUCHI of WILD AND NATIVE (www.WildAndNative.com). https://wildandnative.com/ These are Taku’s students at his bushcraft school where we went over and demonstrated EVERY METHOD IN THE WORLD.

On the first day of the Workshop, we did (BD) BOW DRILL. And, (BD) Bow Drill‘s “claim to fame” is that in fact you could do ANY LOWER DENSITY Woods in the World, that’s approximately on a Janka Hardness Scale of about 300 to 900 respectively.

The (BD) Bow Drill Set here is made COMPLETELY of Sycamore (Platanus Occidentalis). The Bow, Pressure Hand Brace, Spindles, Reloads and the Hearth! ALL from those materials! 

You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to make Phryction Phyre Sets COMPLETELY with the Woods you’re trying to LITE! Can’t wait to make more!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platanus_occidentalis

https://www.wood-database.com/sycamore/

Sycamore (Platanus Occidentalis)  has a Janka Hardness Rating of 770.

(For comparison, Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis Thoyoides) OR Western Red Cedar (Thuja Plicata) (i.e. “Your Cedar (BD) Bow Drill“) are ONLY Janka Hardness Rated: 350…)

Janka hardness test – Wikipedia

This was the 1st time I demonstrated the S.T.E.A.M. possibilities of Phryction PhyreKeeping at this level overseas.

In January of 2020, at the the LES PRIMITIFS Tribe Workshop, Mathieu Hebert, PhyreHacked an even HARDER WOOD with the (BD) Bow Drill: A wood named ANIGRE (Pouteria Spp.) with a Janka Hardness Rating of 990!

https://www.wood-database.com/anigre/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anigre

I have also included ANOTHER (HD) Hand Drill TEST VIDEO. Someone ordered a “Floating” (HD) Hand Drill Set and before EVERY Set goes out, it is PROVEN WITH VIDEO EVIDENCE that it works!

This Set is a 3/8″ Base Diameter Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca Serriola) Spindle with a HearthBoard of Western Red Cedar (Thuja Plicata).

ENJOY!

*****

There is a Universe of many other Methods (Basics) waiting for you to Discover and Explore…

   Still VERY busy trying to update my PhyreDojo site and fulfilling Orders while making these VLOGS and Balancing Life in general…

Gambarimasho Yo! (Japanese for “Let’s Keep Going!)

“May everyone around you feel and be safer because you are there.”Joe Lau, RN