How does it work?
Friction fire lighting is literally the process of rubbing two pieces of wood together, to produce friction, which in turn produces heat and subsequently, produces a glowing ember or "coal".
There are two main divisions, when talking about friction fire lighting techniques. There is the "hand-drill" method/technique and there is the "bow-drill" method/technique.
Roughly speaking, the hand-drill technique involves applying force by hand/with your hands whilst the bow-drill technique involves applying force with a bow drill.
Hand Drill Technique
This is the slightly simpler method of the two and only involves three components; the drill, the ember catcher and the hearth.
The Bow Drill Technique
This invloves a total of six components; the drill, the bow, the hearth, the bearing block, the coal collector and some cordage.
The bow drill technique is the less calorific, less energy consuming technique. However, it does require more preparation.
Pictured above - Bow Drill Spindle
Hand drill technique - This uses a narrow
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Common name: Daisy, Lawn Daisy, English Daisy, Bairnwort, Barnwort, Bone flower.
Physical appearance: There are two varieties of edible Daisy in the UK. The best known is Bellis perennis (the Daisy) but the other, Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy) makes for better eating.
The common daisy is a low growing plant which can be difficult to identify before its flowers bloom. It has relatively small, rounded, spoon shaped leaves, normally dark green. The flower is readily identifiable by its vibrant yellow centre surrounded by pure white petals.
The other species, "oxeye" daisy, has similar but larger flowers growing on longer stalks. The oxeye's leaves are also longer than the common daisy's but has serrated edges. The plant can grow up to a metre in height, unlike the common daisy.
Best places to find: Woodland clearings, parks, road sides, lawns.
Edible parts: Leaves, stems and flowers. The stems taste a little like carrot although no great eating. The flowers have a slightly medicinal flavour.
Time of year: Almost all year round.
Point of interest: An extract of Daisy was use to bind wounds in the Roman era as it was believed this would help with healing. Later on in history, it was thought that an extract of Daisy was a cure for gastro-intestinal ailments as well as respiratory problems. In the modern scientific period, daisy's efficacy at wound healing has been researched and verified.
A milder way to ingest Daisy is as a tea or simply consume the leaves in a salad.
It is both an anti-inflammatory herb and a vulnerary (meaning it improves circulation) herb.
High vitamin C content.
Photos courtesy of Norbert Nagel and Ian Alexander via Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution
Written by Big D
]]>Common names: False Champignon, Fool's Funnel
Seasonality: Summer to Autumn in the UK.
Habitat: The Fool's Funnel prefers open grassland where it often forms fairy rings. The grasses in and around a fairy ring formation is said to be more verdent than normal.
Identification:The body fruit appears as a small white mushroom with a funnel shaped cap. When young, the fruit may appear more brown in colour with a trasluscent aspect. As the specimen matures and dries out, the flesh becomes more uniformly white. The surface may appear to have a cracked appearance. The mushroom may have a frosted appearance. According to the "mushroomdiary.co.uk", when the flesh of the False Champignon is crushed, it emitts a sweetish odour. Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands afterwards! The gills are white with pinkish specs.
Toxicity: Quite. Shortly after ingestion, the person will begin to suffer with greatly increased salivation, sweating and lacrimation (production of tears). With the consumption of larger doses, the patient may begin to suffer with nausea, abdominal cramping, blurred vision, laboured breathing and diarrhea. Fatal heart failure may occur but is rare.
Fortunately, most cases of clitocybe poisoning are not fatal and the above symptoms may gradually subside over the course of two to three hours. Always do seek medical treatment if you suspect ingestion of poisonous material.
Photos courtesy of Andreas Kunze via Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution
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