Ray is simply very good with his hands. Some of the shows are 'woodworking with Ray' in reality. He's making canoes, skis, furniture....

In one show he had to teach a fellow who was into survival so much he spent months in the woods alone and still had never started a fire with friction alone. Ray also mention that the survival books teach the 'bow' method but he's never seen a tribe use it.
The reality is I think that it's very difficult to start a fire by friction alone.