#0015 – Phyre Phryday V/Blog 04/10/2020 – A Day Late And A Dollar Short

Hello Global Tribe of PhyreKeepers (GTOP)!

   04/10/2020 – Our 15th Vlog opens “A Day Late And A Dollar Short.” Although many of us are STUCK AT HOME, I am NOT. In fact, I’m REALLY busy. So busy, I didn’t make my self-committed deadline of Phryday. I was travelling a little more than usual this week for my nursing work. 

   The video to your left is a RAW VIDEO FROM 08/24/2013 of me practicing what many might call the “NO-NOTCH” Method. Here, I have a Cattail (HD) Hand Drill Spindle on a simple Sotol HearthBoard. I didn’t have time to PhyreHack something new this week.

   I had visited an old friend, Barry Keegan, who in my opinion is one of the world’s greatest Primitive Technologists or Wilderness Skills Practitioner or whatever we are all calling ourselves. The only reason you haven’t heard of him is because of his incredible humility! Mind you, if I have a question that I think I need a consult on, Barry Keegan is one of the 1st persons on my mind… In fact, he was my go to person on the subject of the “No-Notch” Method.

   So… I have a HYPOTHESIS (educated guess), and that is that the “No-Notch” Method PREDATES the Notch Method. Therefore, I tend to call the “No-Notch” Method – the “PRE-NOTCH” Method. I think that the 1st Coals were possibly Internal Spindle (HD) Hand Drill Coals. 

   Now, mind you, FROM A SURVIVAL PERSPECTIVE, the “No-Notch/Pre-Notch” Method should NEVER be a REAL SURVIVAL CHOICE. If you are the PhyreKeeper responsible for the lives of the Tribe, you wouldn’t say, “Hey, we all might die if I don’t get this Phyre, but I’m going to try to impress everyone by doing it this way instead of the more predictive and trustworthy way.”

   Having said that, from a practice and learning point of view, a PhyreKeeper should at least attempt and try to get a few “Pre-Notch” Coals under their belt for understanding of their craft.

   Some commonly known (HD) Hand Drill Spindles that “can qualify” to attempt the “Pre-Notch” Method are the LARGE PITH TYPES: Mulleins, Elderberry, Cattails, Giant Ragweeds, Ailanthus, Great Burdock, and some others. Personally, I’ve only gotten Mullein, Burdock, Elderberry and Cattail “Pre-Notch” Coals.

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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