Tom has taught wilderness and primitive survival skills to more than 15,000 students worldwide over the past 25 years. He has taught everyone, ranging from young children to avid hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and elite military groups such as Seal Team Six. Tom is a nationally certified Wilderness EMT, with a BA in Anthropology and Geography from Rutgers University and a Master's in International Policy related to Indigenous Peoples from the University of Connecticut. He has consulted for TV shows, news programs, Hollywood movies, and has been featured on the Discovery Channel and Weather Channel. Tom currently travels the globe instructing for courses, television, and his RU-vid followers.
Tom’s unique skill set comes from his experience living with remote indigenous communities. He has hunted in the Amazon with the Huaorani tribe, Baliem Valley of Papua New Guinea, lived with a tribal shaman in Sumatra, and the Aborigines of Northern Australia. www.WildSurvivalSkills.com
If you use a granite drill bit at the end, do you think it can cut through granite stone? If so do you think that’s what the Egyptians used to build the pyramids?
The follow comments are for folks refining their hand drill technique (like myself). I come to this video because it's the best on RU-vid (so far). 1- There is no edit on the process. Most videos on RU-vid will have edits during the process. A few are cheating and are not really getting a coal. Tom gets a goal in 56 sec's with 8 passes. He floats for 6 secs with an avg of 6 secs a pass. 2- Full Range of Motion- Note the full range of motion (fingertip to fingertip) of each pass. 3- Pressure: Each pass starts slower and lighter and ends each faster and harder. 4- Posture -- he's using the sitting position. I know someone is worth studying if they can do this method while sitting. The problem with sitting is getting enough pressure on the spindle. It requires a lot of strength and endurance (I still have to use the kneeling posture to get enough pressure). 5- Attitude. Note how relaxed he is from start to finish. Attitude is essential to fire making -- humble, patient and confident as opposed to rushed, nervous and arrogant. Tom is a master teacher of the hand drill. Watch him often and closely.
One thing I would have brought is a flashlight for back up… just in case. Cool vid you are definitely brave. Just don’t risk your safety for views. Glad everything worked out for you.
Anyone know the status of Tom? I've checked in on his channel randomly over the years and I've always wondered why he didnt produce more content. Tom was by far the OG, and one of, if not the best in his craft. COME BACK TOM!
you say in the beginning that you are going to teach people how to make a hand drill fire. But then literally tell us nothing about how to build out the drill, the board, the types of wood, the component set up, etc. It is clear in the video that your base board has a hole in it that is blackened. And the base of your drill is also blackened. But you say nothing about how long it actually takes and make it seem to be a 3 minute procedure start to finish. Sorry, i know your other videos carry good content, but this one was horrible and actually taught nothing at all
Did it once and slept overnight once. Thank you Troop 55. Will never forget, but thanks for the video. Confirmed I haven't forgotten. You are spot on that this is a skill everyone should be taught.
