Baby coal in a tinder bundle waiting to be blown to flame. Ways of the Earth.
The act of creating fire is magical. It is so ancient, so primal and it touches a place deep within us. There are many methods of fire by friction and some work better in some environments than others.
Hand Drill at Tribal Wisdom
One of the most common methods and one that works well in almost any environment is the bow drill fire. Check out this excellent video from Practical Primitive, a skills school in New Jersey.
Another common method, the hand drill. This video is from Tom McElroy.
Another method used in the book is the fire pump or pump drill. If you add a stone or bone point, this device can also be used as a drill. Again, there are many variations on how the pump can be designed.