I've been working on the bow drill for a little over a year now and I'm mostly terrible at it. I can get an ember in perfect conditions, using a pre-tested set, but I have yet to make my own set or get an ember outside in less than perfect conditions. It take a lot of practice.
I haven't managed fire with the bowdrill/firedrill yet, although I have managed blisters and cursing. It's on my bucket list.
But I have learned to make fire with old-school flint and steel using found tinder. (I'm not talking ferro rods, which are blowtorches in comparison).
Upon reflection, the takeaway for me was not the method of making spark, but the concentrated discipline of finding, preparing, and using natural tinder that can take a spark from anything.
Is that the most important part of the equation? I begin to think it might be. It requires you to be intensely aware of the environment you walk through, and to align yourself with it.
I believe you're right, Doug. Getting an ember is only the first step in primitive fire. Getting and sustaining a flame is the universal skill. Learning to turn those hard-earned primitive embers into flame is an excellent way to get really good at fire prep. It's heartbreaking when it doesn't work.
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