Survival: Evolution Of Fire Making

I'am very interested in friction fire making and since a couple of years I also managed to improve and miniatureize my bow drill fire set. So Here's my personal evolution in bow drill sets:

One of my first bow drill sets (2008) consisted of an simple socket and drill made from beech and a bow made from hazel. The fireboard was soft wood collected in the nearby forest. The bow was approximately 60 cm long.

One of my earliest bow drill friction fire sets

 The next set, from late 2008, had an shorter bow but uses a longer drill. At some point in 2009 I used an 40 cm bow which was splitted in half. For drilling the pieces were connected by a wooden clad. The set was used with a 30 cm long drill!

A more elaborated friction fire set

The next step was a considerable miniaturization: The bow was shortened to 20 cm and the rest of the set was made to fit into a little sheath made from leather, attachable to my belt. I experienced much with different designs and materials. The sets below had a laminated (manilkara bidentata/ nauclea diderrichii/ zebrawood) bow and an socket made from manilkara bidentata with an inlet of antler or, at the left, lignum vitae (provides an excellent self-lubrication). The outer left socket was made from lignum vitae alone. The sheath had a button made from shorea laevis or antler, respectively.

miniaturized bow drill friction fire sets

The set below was made in 2010 more for a decoration purposes rather than practical use: The socket was made from six layers of different woods (coconut, manilkara bidentata, nauclea diderrichii, african blackwood, bocote) and an antler inlet encased in manilkara bidentata. The bow was more simple: A piece of nauclea diderrichii, partly laminated with zebra wood and african blackwood.

A decorative bow drill set

The vital parts of my recent (2012) set is made almost completely from lignum vitae. The drill is hazel and the fire board is made from red cedar wood. A thin piece of manilkara serves as fire pan. More and more I'am tending to leave the bow at home, since a straight branch for a bow is to be found almost everywhere and the very short bow (20 cm) is sometimes hard to handle (e.g. when you want to make fire after a long hike).

A bow drill friction fire set made from lignum vitae