Is it possible to create fire by rubbing two things together?

Answer 1

If you are talking about actually simply rubbing two sticks perpendicularly and not a traditional hand drill/bow drill/fire plough/fire saw method I can only say, that in over 60 years of informal primitive skills and survival study I have never heard of a documented case of anyone actually accomplishing that. It just doesn't seem to maximize the necessary speed and force to create an ember. That said, it is wood and friction, so I guess it is possible.

Given that the fire starter had the correct materials he/she would still need to move that stick back and forth very fast and for a long time. I don't think 120 RPM/30 minutes would be an exaggeration and even then I'd be willing bet a few of hundred that that wouldn't produce an ember even on Yucca wood.

The nearest thing to rubbing two sticks together that I have seen (only on video) is the fire saw method.

I have always suspected that phrase, "rubbing two sticks together" came from European explorers, such as those on Captain Cook's expeditions, who saw primitive methods, such as the fire saw or fire plough or hand drill and referred to it as such, thus conjuring up the image of rubbing a stick horizontally against its vertical counterpart.