People asked last time how long a batch of 50 bricks takes so I recorded the time taken for each step: Collecting/carrying 25 pots of clay to pit =1 hour Collecting 3 pots of water and mixing in =10 minutes Carry clay to floor = 20 minutes Make 50 bricks = 30 minutes Fix 2 bricks (that cracked while drying) =2 minutes Turn bricks =1 minute Collect wood = 1hour Collect wood = 1 hour Collect wood = 1 hour Collect wood = 40 minutes Total wood collecting time =3 hours 40 minutes Stack kiln =15 minutes Drying bricks fire =2 hours 45 minutes Firing bricks = 3 hours Bricks out = 10 minutes Ash bricks = 15 minutes
I feel like he keeps making and storing, I'm hoping we find out soon what he's working towards. 250 bricks, mortar, charcoal, good production areas. I feel something big is coming.
The theme of every few uploads or so is to produce better yields and higher quality of iron. He keeps trying to improvee his smelting results. This video seems to show that he is upscaling every part of his industrial production. More bricks, more charcoal, everything is bigger and better.
@@ApathyBM Yea every video like this is just an "inbetween video" between the iron or big build videos to keep his subscribers engaged. Helps to do something different for himself for a while too
I think it's a mix of a) a very reasonable desire to ensure content continues to come out at a fair pace (also hopefully works out in his favour too) b) showing improvements in the processes. Yes this is all things he has done before, but it's rare to see him show bricks, ash, charcoal and iron firing all in one video, usually it's one or two of these max. There is definite improvement in all these processes thanks to his continual development of efficiency. The iron will eventually be used for something significant once he's got enough, I suppose it's whether or not it's enough to change the type of videos dramatically. I'm imagining the fact that he is able to get iron in a non traditional way is already a big task in Australia and it's not like there is random other deposits for other metals in the area he has available. Ideas might be things like needles for sewing, any form of iron tool for chopping wood quicker (though his current methods don't seem too bad), and a more permanent furnace or other heating appliance. Historical development was largely down to how hot a furnace you can get and what you could melt down with it, but not sure what else John can do with hotter furnaces than he is doing already (perhaps slightly more efficient yields).
I just realized, the shorts are the only thing he got from civilization. I guess no one wanted to watch and wait several years for him to be able to make shorts.
No intro, no social media plugs, no clickbait title. Truly genuine and sincere content that speaks for itself, thank god you put an end to those stupid production “primitive” videos that were making their rounds about a year ago. I’ve been watching you from the very beginning and I’m still so happy and excited to see what you’ve done every time I get the notification that you upload
@@peta23 There were a bunch of channels trying to copy Primitive Technology's shtick, but would fake everything that he does for real. Some were just completely ridiculous like claiming to have built a huge swimming pool by hand with "irrigated" water from a source that didn't exist, doing a ton of digging with heavy machinery that they accidentally left in frame, that kind of thing.
Yes I know what you're talking about. Shameless content for views/money. Yeah, this channel is the OG. You'll never get a "smash the like button" from him lol@@skootz24
18:02 The sound of air passing through that kiln, and the reverb bouncing around the brick hut is soooo good, plus the moment it catches on fire is icing on the cake. Wow.
I hope people understand how much of a flex starting a fire with your bare hands is. If you’ve ever tried it, you know exactly how much technique goes in to it. Cheers guys
Not only that, he's made every sort of fire lighting labour saving device - he did a whole video on ingenious fire drills that look a heap easier to make a fire with...but he does it this way because he can.
@@iReStarcraft I read somewhere he skips a lot of the firestarting with firesticks because it actually takes like 15 minutes, and he has to edit those out since its boring
I second the notion; so much of primitive society revolves around producing and preserving food that those topics are very worthy of several videos. @@primitivetechnology9550
Needs to move his rinse station next to the clay station for ergonomic efficiency but he has not discovered that advancement yet. I think stacking wood vertically in the kiln will give a better packing., thus better output of charcoal. Less air space in the kiln is best.
@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial It's fine, he can just explain that the birds started it, so he was just firing back at them to stop them starting bushfires :) Look up "firehawks" there's 3 bird species in northern Australia that start bushfires to hunt (and the eagles attack & take down hanggliders & paragliders & light aircraft & magpies attack drones so kinda reasonable for him to build flying weapons to defend against Aussie birds isn't it?)
It could just be that he's storing resources but hasn't decided what to do with them yet. In any case it's very interesting seeing how he's able to slowly make the process more and more efficient.
Absolutely love your channel. I think the first thing I ever subbed to on UA-cam. John, consider the health of your lungs as you're constantly working with wood ash, brick and clay dust, etc. Not just from your fires but walking on the dirt floors. Primitive peoples wouldn't notice it long-term as their life expectancy was short but you will notice it at 40-50 if you aren't careful! -A concerned stonecarver
I like that this type of content on UA-cam. It doesn’t have heavy clickbait, fake internet personas or over the top reactions about the silliest of things, it’s just pure craftsman.
@LabGecko It's actually really easy to do in large batches. You just make a big pile of sticks or split logs, cover it with mud, turf or clay but leave the center in the top open to start the fire. Once you get it started you close off the top then walk away. Within 24-48 hours once it stops smoking and cools off you break it open and collect your charcoal. You'll know it's good when it sounds kind of metallic when you tap it. If some larger pieces aren't done just save them for the next batch.
Thank you for continuing to make and share these videos. You’ve inspired me to try out digging up some clay in my back yard to make bricks and pavers for our garden 🙂
Go work, buy pavers.. anything you make will be 99% inferior. Wake up mate, silly outlook. Go back to your job at cabellas/millets and buy them (Brits wondering what cabellas is, and yanks wondering who millets are 😂
Mission Dan and icu both seem like fun hangs. Please icu, do tell us all, what the apocalypse means. Cause non of us are smart enough to know. Dan, who gives a fun of if they wanna waste their time, it's their time to with as they please. They'll be outside learning something. You go be a slave at your job, some of us enjoy doing these kinds of things.
This could be made so much more efficient by having multiple people work in paralell. There is so much time wasted just going between the mine, the pit and the kiln. Goes to show why people started gathering in larger and larger tribes, and settling near large deposits of clay. Amazing content. Keep it up mate.
naw man, screw that. i want to do all parts of the process. us sitting in our designated locations like the jobs we work today, just doing one thing is making us unhappy.
@@Khunark It depends. Some people are happy sticking to one career forever, and becoming ridiculously expert and/or comfortable with that career. No easy thing - most careers are inherently unstable in one way or another. I'm probably the other sort. I have to alter my career every 3-8 years to stay happy. That might mean a small change, like a new location or slightly different equipment, or a large change, like working with new equipment for a different purpose. Either way, exposure to many different jobs - provided one takes the effort to truly learn and get invested in each job - brings a wealth of experience that makes one more useful no matter what kind of job one winds up with next. Another option is a middleground. Have a relatively stable career, extremely modest needs, then invest any spare time in hobbies, adventures, DIY projects, etc. There are many ways to live an adventurous life. Not all of them require significant amounts of experience or money.
@@Khunark absolutely agreed. Just pointing out that back in the past, when time and calories were scarce people cared about efficiency and therefore banded up together to reduce such dead time.
Tribes are not created from gathered of people because there will be conflicts of interest in the future between families, but tribes are born from the sexual reproduction of one family, resulting in unique clans in various places. because they come from one ancestor, one tribe will be able to unite to maintain the values taught by their ancestors to realize common prosperity, that why we have family name
One of only two channels where if I see a post I will drop whatever I’m doing and watch immediately. Always a great day when we get more primitive technology.
@Elliottklassen@@Kelnx what're those channels if y'all don't mind me asking? (this is literally the only channel I am actively subscribed and have notifications turned on for)
@@userofthemind6913 For me the other two are Chef Jean-Pierre because he's awesome and I like cooking as a hobby, and the other is Matt Mitchell who does "Bless your rank", the weekly SEC meetings, and other funny skits based on Southern humor. Totally different from Primitive Technology.
@@Kelnx ahh I gotcha! I was curious because I saw another person post about this being one of 3 channels they have notifications for and they mentioned a few other "primitive" channels. Thanks for the response :^)
Looks like the next video or two could be pretty big. That is a lot of prep work for whatever the next project will be, presumably. Tons of bricks, mortar prep, and Iron smelting.
What I find interesting about this video is that it's not anything new. But it demonstrates years of experience and experiments being put into action to upscale production and efficiency The fact that a lot of charcoal and bricks are being produced makes the prospects for the next structure very exciting
Ive said it before but I love that you show us the fire making every time, it's like magic. :) Also this process is making me very appreciative for how people can become so attached to their equipment when they're working so closely with it on the regular.
That’s something I hadn’t come to appreciate yet, but totally understand. First, the sheer investment it takes to get the tool in the first place, and then the amount of expertise you build from using it that’s going to be intimately tied to that particular tool working exactly the way it does, while another tool might be different enough that you have to relearn a lot of what you already know to use it equally.
Actually, these videos were recovered from an archeological dig. This is the first homo sapiens sapiens kickstarting civilization from scratch. And yes, he did make the camera first, with ash and clay.
15:55 I love how all the smoke rushes out the remaining exit holes it can find once you plug the top exit. I wish I had your level of patience and creativity with personally shaping your processes
I bet these kilns are full of critters after a firing, nice and dark and warm. I wouldn't put my hand in one, not without taking a close look inside first. 😅
@@MB-qm9sr Townsends does everything legitimately, but their content is based around the American colonial period. That, and the majority of it is focused on cooking. Still some really good non-cooking stuff though (hollowing out a canoe, building a log cabin, building ovens, etc.). Edit: The other one that springs to mind is Kris Harbour Natural Building. He uses modern tools and machines, but is off grid and does everything himself.
I have 2 suggestions for the charcoal collection, first of, you could put a bowl under the mesh to catch the small pieces and charcoal dust. I'm sure you could do somthing with that. The second suggestion is to lay a simple clay floor underneath the suggested bowl to prevent dirt in the small stuff that missed the bowl. Edit: completely forgot to say you make awesome videos!
I feel like the last few videos have been far more settled, as if you have figured out the best way to do several things and can now progress. I feel like you are working towards something bigger,so I'm excited to see when that eventually comes to fruition!
This comment probably won't reach you. But I'm deeply happy that you started to make videos again after the hiatus you took. It doesn't matter the subject of the video, but it always brings peace to my heart after a hard day at work. Thank you so much for keeping this channel alive. ❤
@@PTemnikov And how do you know what I do? The inspiration is not just about the hands-on, it's about the mindset and using what's available, rather than buying off the shelf.
that feeling of to be satisfied when you just made a usefull thing totally from nature by your self. yes i made a short rope from pieces of a trunk i found, and i'm ridiculously satisfied over it
@@mitchdalitz146 It's been over four years since an agriculture video. It would be very cool to see a new one (though that seems unlikely for a while, he's clearly got other things he's working towards right now).
I really love your videos. It's so cool to see all this old technology being preserved into our times and beyond. You're providing a great service to humanity!
Great video as always, consider using the calcium bricks for the iron production, the calcium oxide will react with the silicon dioxide and other impurities in the iron mineral, forming a slag that not only will protect the reduced iron from oxidizing, it is also useful for making concrete because it will be mostly calcium silicate (literally one of the main components of concrete), also try heating to a higher temperature the charcoal to produce coke, it should make the iron production easier, if you are interested in producing sponge iron, try looking for information about "forja catalana", keep up the great work!
He tried using the calcium oxide in another video but it reduced his iron yield. The current theory is that his bacteria iron’s impurities are basic, and as such, adding sand (or sluiced magnetite) may actually increase the yield.
@@PracticalPotato I agree that adding magnetite increases the yield, however I think it is more important to define what type of iron you want to obtain, in the case of sponge iron it is more important to make sure you have the reducing atmosphere, while if you want to obtain a liquid iron puddle it is more important to control other factors such as temperature and slag.
Impressive to see how efficient your process has become, any plans to branch out into using water wheel type energy to automate certain processes like the fan for the kiln?
As mostly all the comments mentioned before this, these videos are amazing. Incredible work effort, and I actually feel like I am learning some survival skills. I watch these with my kids who are also very captivated by your prowess. Not only that but the videos are genuine without click bait or the usual social media garbage. I am hoping to see that iron collection go towards a primative tool, like a hammer head, or axe, to further your production efforts. Im sure its extremely difficult to get a furnance to 2700 degrees, but basic steel would be an awesome accomplishment to achieve. John, please don't ever stop making these videos.
In a world of faking trends seeing your authentic work is amazing. I see this stuff and think people actually had it do these things to live. Appreciate the good things. Awesome content man.
I've always wondered if you'd consider inviting people to come and learn from you in person. I would definitely consider travelling halfway across the world to learn and assist you with your hard work!
One suggestion I have is to process the ash to extract carbonates. 1. Fill a pot half full with dry ash 2. Fill the pot the rest of the way with clean water and stir for a few minutes 3. Let ash fall to the bottom and then decant the water into another container 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a total of 3 ash washings. 5. Now make your ash in to bricks for storage. 6. Evaporate or boil the water that you collected from the ash washing. It will contain plenty of Sodium Carbonate and Potassium Carbonate. These are great fluxes. This way you will have the carbonates for flux and ash for mortar. With a fine enough sieve, you can separate out fine charcoal and harder calcium compounds that could possibly be calcium carbide which fizzes when in contact with water, producing acetylene gas.
The amount of effort being put into these projects is hard to understand when half sitting on a sofa, complaining that bricks are boring to watch. Not to mention the immense time-consuming and persisting trial and error we don't have to endure. Always a pleasure watching your uploads, thank you sir.
Always brightens my day to see you've posted a new video. This one was awesome, you got so much done! I'm excited to see what you'll be making with those bricks.
Fantastic work as always. I know you've previously done work on farming, foraging, and producing spears, bows, etc; I'm interested to know whether you've ever measured how much food/energy you're expending on days of work like these spent making bricks and charcoal, and whether it would be possible for you to feed yourself at the same time or if this really would take a village to sustain?
Mass agriculture and food storage would definitely be required for him to be fully sustainable. I think it could be done, but a village, or at the very least, a few more body dedicated to farming would be a boon to production.
guys chill, he is making another batch of bricks in brick furnace so he has enough bricks to build another brick furnace in order to make more bricks.... and I love it! :D
Not gonna lie, this was the first Primitive Tech video I got bored with and fast forwarded. At least it wasn’t the 1,000th iron prills video (although, from the storage of charcoal in this one, I assume we’ll see that again next time). This channel was amazing before you ran out of ideas.
I always come to this channel to learn and relax. There's no music, just the sounds of nature and it's straight to the point. I always watch with subtitles as it gives me a better insight on what's going on.
I have to admit, I did start this video by thinking oh god another brick and charcoal video, but this is clearly building to something and has made me pretty excited.
I love your book man, great stuff that you've recorded it all down and now I have a little piece of your work to keep with me just incase. Been thinking how cool it would be to make this a hobby too and start from scratch to see if I can do anything.
Man.. something about this is very hypnotic to watch. Engineers without peer of their time overclocked their brains so that us the descendants don't have to fear getting eaten by wild animals everyday. Thank you ancient engineers.
It's always a joy to see a new video from you, and really enjoy the progression you're making. But it occurred to me watching the brick making that I could watch a slow tv version of this to, like just the brick making from start to finish, a visual and audial meditation. But also to get a sense of the enormous amount of work that's involved in what you're doing, we get glimpses of it, but are never permitted to really know how much effort goes into this work and videos.
I've been watching your videos for a long time, and I love them. For some reason a few questions came to mind with this one... 1. What's your experience of the "long tedium" of these basic projects? Do you get bored/frustrated? Or is it a meditative process? or something in between? 2. While in the midst of these basic projects, how much does it make think about early societies and the development of trades? For example, do you ever wish there was someone whose specialization was making bricks, so you could spend more of your time on working with the bricks? 3. (came to mind when you were using the rotary blower mechanism at around 18:07) How much research have you put into early tools and processes, vs choosing instead to discover tool efficiencies on your own with experience?
Ahhhhhhh that's better 😊 thanks mate , love every episode and have just started on a small setup at the back of my property for this very purpose and to revegitate the area also , with the addition of a small dam I now have a reserve to source from when it's dry . Beautiful spot mate and we all love your videos so much ! ❤
Your charcoal kiln was VERY effective. Have you considered adding the partially fired clay shards (cone of the charcoal kiln) as a supplement to our bricks? I believe that would make a stronger brick. Second thought - now that the kiln is undercover from rain, have you considered adding an outside wall of green brick? I imagine if you stack them green and dry, the inside of the outside wall would come pretty close to bisque temp. Flip the outside in for the next firing and you would have dead dry bricks which will fire much faster because you are not using energy to drive off all of the water first. 😊 Love your content!
@@lukejohnson614 Actually, I was referring to his brick making kiln which is only one brick thick on edge. Much heat traveling through those walls. But now that you mention it, If the cone of the charcoal retort was clay, it too would be a good way to "upcycle" his clay for brickmaking. A much more consistent brick with some percentage of soft bisque crushed to powder slaked with his wild clay. 👍
I've never been so relived to watch something. my girlfriend of 5 years left me Tuesday. I feel lost. I don't know who I am. I don't know what I want to do. But I know you made my anxiety leave for a brief moment, and I thank you for that.
This guy is the most og primitive survivor. He doesn't cheat like the others do. Other primitive survival channels got their idea of this guy. Bro just created his own niche.
Fantastic video as usual. :) Can't wait to what all the bricks are for. Here in Denmark, the average brick per square meter for houses is 66. If that is similar, then it's gotta be quite the project. :)
Really enjoyed the extra detail and information! Would love to know what you meant by "improved with better stacking" for the charcoal? Was it a tighter stacking or a looser setup for the dry sticks, or some other method? Love your videos so much!
He means a tighter stack. The less room for air and fire the more efficient the conversation. He actually used to build a kiln around a wood stack in old videos so he could make it as tight as possible.
It might be a good idea to build a rack for the bricks to keep them elevated for better drying and storage. It can have multiple levels so you can dry more bricks for longer periods without running out of space and having to rotate them, especially if you're not wanting to dry them with fire every time.
People asked last time how long a batch of 50 bricks takes so I recorded the time taken for each step:
Collecting/carrying 25 pots of clay to pit =1 hour
Collecting 3 pots of water and mixing in =10 minutes
Carry clay to floor = 20 minutes
Make 50 bricks = 30 minutes
Fix 2 bricks (that cracked while drying) =2 minutes
Turn bricks =1 minute
Collect wood = 1hour
Collect wood = 1 hour
Collect wood = 1 hour
Collect wood = 40 minutes
Total wood collecting time =3 hours 40 minutes
Stack kiln =15 minutes
Drying bricks fire =2 hours 45 minutes
Firing bricks = 3 hours
Bricks out = 10 minutes
Ash bricks = 15 minutes
You're so thorough. Well done mate, you're a real one.
You have a factory, you can trade your bricks for a fur, grain and meat 🙂
Fixing two bricks was my favourite part 😊
You've got some incredible discipline and patience doing all this yourself. Got plans for these bricks yet or still waiting for inspiration? 🙂
How do you not get lye burns when you handle the ash?
I feel like he keeps making and storing, I'm hoping we find out soon what he's working towards. 250 bricks, mortar, charcoal, good production areas. I feel something big is coming.
Being Australian, he’s probably going to build his own pub.
@@Oldtanktapper I'm looking forward to the brewing videos
The theme of every few uploads or so is to produce better yields and higher quality of iron. He keeps trying to improvee his smelting results. This video seems to show that he is upscaling every part of his industrial production. More bricks, more charcoal, everything is bigger and better.
@@ApathyBM Yea every video like this is just an "inbetween video" between the iron or big build videos to keep his subscribers engaged. Helps to do something different for himself for a while too
I think it's a mix of
a) a very reasonable desire to ensure content continues to come out at a fair pace (also hopefully works out in his favour too)
b) showing improvements in the processes. Yes this is all things he has done before, but it's rare to see him show bricks, ash, charcoal and iron firing all in one video, usually it's one or two of these max. There is definite improvement in all these processes thanks to his continual development of efficiency.
The iron will eventually be used for something significant once he's got enough, I suppose it's whether or not it's enough to change the type of videos dramatically. I'm imagining the fact that he is able to get iron in a non traditional way is already a big task in Australia and it's not like there is random other deposits for other metals in the area he has available.
Ideas might be things like needles for sewing, any form of iron tool for chopping wood quicker (though his current methods don't seem too bad), and a more permanent furnace or other heating appliance. Historical development was largely down to how hot a furnace you can get and what you could melt down with it, but not sure what else John can do with hotter furnaces than he is doing already (perhaps slightly more efficient yields).
Dude keeps rocking the same shorts for 8 straight years. That's what I call dedication.
I just realized, the shorts are the only thing he got from civilization. I guess no one wanted to watch and wait several years for him to be able to make shorts.
@@iyziejaneAlso his knowledge. Maybe not a physicsl things but certainly essential to making these videos.
And to be this guy >🤓👆: his camera too
Its cos he made all these videos the same week, 8 years ago. His charcoal powered modem just takes a while to upload.
@@hazbutler, are we sure he does not have steam power now?
My thoughts exactly!!! I want to know what brand those are !! And if Primitive Technology is not sponsored!!! WHY NOT !!! I'd buy them.
No intro, no social media plugs, no clickbait title. Truly genuine and sincere content that speaks for itself, thank god you put an end to those stupid production “primitive” videos that were making their rounds about a year ago. I’ve been watching you from the very beginning and I’m still so happy and excited to see what you’ve done every time I get the notification that you upload
what "primitive" videos are you referring to?
@@peta23If you search "debunk primitive technology" there are videos calling out the fakers but validating this channel.
@@peta23 There were a bunch of channels trying to copy Primitive Technology's shtick, but would fake everything that he does for real. Some were just completely ridiculous like claiming to have built a huge swimming pool by hand with "irrigated" water from a source that didn't exist, doing a ton of digging with heavy machinery that they accidentally left in frame, that kind of thing.
Yes I know what you're talking about. Shameless content for views/money. Yeah, this channel is the OG. You'll never get a "smash the like button" from him lol@@skootz24
Y'all realise these videos are fake right? .... google it: ( primitive technology fake )
18:02 The sound of air passing through that kiln, and the reverb bouncing around the brick hut is soooo good, plus the moment it catches on fire is icing on the cake. Wow.
yep. it's lit
Like, both literally & figuratively
Absolutely fantastic when he capped off the charcoal pile too. The white smoke blowing out the bottom is very satisfying.
@@jehoiakimelidoronila5450😊😊😊😊1😊😊😊
I hope people understand how much of a flex starting a fire with your bare hands is. If you’ve ever tried it, you know exactly how much technique goes in to it. Cheers guys
I was about to comment about that. I think that was under 1 min purely by hand.
Not only that, he's made every sort of fire lighting labour saving device - he did a whole video on ingenious fire drills that look a heap easier to make a fire with...but he does it this way because he can.
@@professornuke7562 more so that sticks are easier to maintain and replace than drills
@@iReStarcraft I read somewhere he skips a lot of the firestarting with firesticks because it actually takes like 15 minutes, and he has to edit those out since its boring
Yup. Beat me to it.
Even using a firebow is hard, and I live in a place where the trees *try* to catch on fire!
Do you plan on making any more videos on primitive agriculture, like the yams or maybe something else? Thanks for your videos, I have learned a lot!
Bro I was just thinking about the yam videos yesterday hahah
Not the diabetical taters😭
I was thinking about planting some yesterday, I'll have to find a spot to plant them. Thanks.
I second the notion; so much of primitive society revolves around producing and preserving food that those topics are very worthy of several videos. @@primitivetechnology9550
@@primitivetechnology9550 I also really liked the agriculture videos
I’ve seen you making bricks and coal like a dozen times or so and I still click immediately once a new episode comes out. I love this channel.
And they say all addictions are bad
You're becoming more and more efficient. This process has been such a joy to watch.
Needs to move his rinse station next to the clay station for ergonomic efficiency but he has not discovered that advancement yet. I think stacking wood vertically in the kiln will give a better packing., thus better output of charcoal. Less air space in the kiln is best.
@@je-fq7ve For sure, and IIRC one of the captions said that a later charcoal burn had a better haul due to more efficient stacking.
that was probably how he got more efficient stacking. @@IceDragon978
Oh, he is ramping up for a major build. This channel is top tier, never losing any of its originality. Thanks for educating us John!
He’s building a flaming trebuchet so he can acquire more land
@@PerpetualWaneNot possible. He’s in Australia, fire laws are EXTREMELY strict due to their nasty habit of snowballing into massive bushfires
@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial that was a joke… even if he wasn’t in a highly flammable area, noone is launching flaming trebuchets anywhere
@@TheEmeraldMenOfficial It's fine, he can just explain that the birds started it, so he was just firing back at them to stop them starting bushfires :)
Look up "firehawks" there's 3 bird species in northern Australia that start bushfires to hunt (and the eagles attack & take down hanggliders & paragliders & light aircraft & magpies attack drones so kinda reasonable for him to build flying weapons to defend against Aussie birds isn't it?)
It could just be that he's storing resources but hasn't decided what to do with them yet. In any case it's very interesting seeing how he's able to slowly make the process more and more efficient.
Absolutely love your channel. I think the first thing I ever subbed to on UA-cam. John, consider the health of your lungs as you're constantly working with wood ash, brick and clay dust, etc. Not just from your fires but walking on the dirt floors. Primitive peoples wouldn't notice it long-term as their life expectancy was short but you will notice it at 40-50 if you aren't careful!
-A concerned stonecarver
I like that this type of content on UA-cam. It doesn’t have heavy clickbait, fake internet personas or over the top reactions about the silliest of things, it’s just pure craftsman.
I can't count the amount of times I've watch you make bricks, but it never gets old I love it.
For my money it’s the charcoal 👌😙
@@Kragar01 I love all of it, but charcoal most for me too. All very relaxing to watch, but looks like a lot of hard work to do.
i can count, it was 7 times
@@TimsturbsLook at Mr. Big Brain over here, all fancy with them numbers and all
@LabGecko It's actually really easy to do in large batches. You just make a big pile of sticks or split logs, cover it with mud, turf or clay but leave the center in the top open to start the fire. Once you get it started you close off the top then walk away. Within 24-48 hours once it stops smoking and cools off you break it open and collect your charcoal. You'll know it's good when it sounds kind of metallic when you tap it. If some larger pieces aren't done just save them for the next batch.
Thank you for continuing to make and share these videos. You’ve inspired me to try out digging up some clay in my back yard to make bricks and pavers for our garden 🙂
This knowledge will be useful after the apocalypse
@@LuisSierra42 ...Do you even know what the Apocalypse really means and what it's used in reference to???
how are you this outraged by the use of the word "apocalypse"@@ICU2B4UDO
Go work, buy pavers.. anything you make will be 99% inferior. Wake up mate, silly outlook. Go back to your job at cabellas/millets and buy them
(Brits wondering what cabellas is, and yanks wondering who millets are 😂
Mission Dan and icu both seem like fun hangs. Please icu, do tell us all, what the apocalypse means. Cause non of us are smart enough to know. Dan, who gives a fun of if they wanna waste their time, it's their time to with as they please. They'll be outside learning something. You go be a slave at your job, some of us enjoy doing these kinds of things.
I’m sorry this channel never got back to John’s pre-hiatus viewership numbers. He deserves it.
This could be made so much more efficient by having multiple people work in paralell. There is so much time wasted just going between the mine, the pit and the kiln. Goes to show why people started gathering in larger and larger tribes, and settling near large deposits of clay. Amazing content. Keep it up mate.
naw man, screw that. i want to do all parts of the process. us sitting in our designated locations like the jobs we work today, just doing one thing is making us unhappy.
@@Khunark
It depends. Some people are happy sticking to one career forever, and becoming ridiculously expert and/or comfortable with that career. No easy thing - most careers are inherently unstable in one way or another.
I'm probably the other sort. I have to alter my career every 3-8 years to stay happy. That might mean a small change, like a new location or slightly different equipment, or a large change, like working with new equipment for a different purpose. Either way, exposure to many different jobs - provided one takes the effort to truly learn and get invested in each job - brings a wealth of experience that makes one more useful no matter what kind of job one winds up with next.
Another option is a middleground. Have a relatively stable career, extremely modest needs, then invest any spare time in hobbies, adventures, DIY projects, etc. There are many ways to live an adventurous life. Not all of them require significant amounts of experience or money.
And then we invented cubicles so we don't distract each other while working
@@Khunark absolutely agreed. Just pointing out that back in the past, when time and calories were scarce people cared about efficiency and therefore banded up together to reduce such dead time.
Tribes are not created from gathered of people because there will be conflicts of interest in the future between families, but tribes are born from the sexual reproduction of one family, resulting in unique clans in various places. because they come from one ancestor, one tribe will be able to unite to maintain the values taught by their ancestors to realize common prosperity, that why we have family name
One of only two channels where if I see a post I will drop whatever I’m doing and watch immediately. Always a great day when we get more primitive technology.
3 channels for me, but yeah I definitely drop what I'm doing for this.
@Elliottklassen@@Kelnx what're those channels if y'all don't mind me asking? (this is literally the only channel I am actively subscribed and have notifications turned on for)
@@userofthemind6913 For me the other two are Chef Jean-Pierre because he's awesome and I like cooking as a hobby, and the other is Matt Mitchell who does "Bless your rank", the weekly SEC meetings, and other funny skits based on Southern humor. Totally different from Primitive Technology.
@@Kelnx ahh I gotcha! I was curious because I saw another person post about this being one of 3 channels they have notifications for and they mentioned a few other "primitive" channels. Thanks for the response :^)
@@Kelnx Ahh... You like onyons!😁
Looks like the next video or two could be pretty big. That is a lot of prep work for whatever the next project will be, presumably. Tons of bricks, mortar prep, and Iron smelting.
a sweet patio for the hut
What I find interesting about this video is that it's not anything new. But it demonstrates years of experience and experiments being put into action to upscale production and efficiency
The fact that a lot of charcoal and bricks are being produced makes the prospects for the next structure very exciting
Ive said it before but I love that you show us the fire making every time, it's like magic. :)
Also this process is making me very appreciative for how people can become so attached to their equipment when they're working so closely with it on the regular.
That’s something I hadn’t come to appreciate yet, but totally understand. First, the sheer investment it takes to get the tool in the first place, and then the amount of expertise you build from using it that’s going to be intimately tied to that particular tool working exactly the way it does, while another tool might be different enough that you have to relearn a lot of what you already know to use it equally.
@@babybirdhome and just having to do upkeep on it, evaluating how it's performing and what can be improved... It's really gripping!
Somewhere I imagine there’s a whole village that he’s built, video by video 😳🤔
Chocolate village
Actually, these videos were recovered from an archeological dig. This is the first homo sapiens sapiens kickstarting civilization from scratch.
And yes, he did make the camera first, with ash and clay.
Primitive technology is doing more to solve the housing crisis than most local councils, state govs, and union jobsites
I was wondering that, why is he making so many bricks?
@warden821 hopefully another* brick house!
I hope everyone has a good day!
15:55 I love how all the smoke rushes out the remaining exit holes it can find once you plug the top exit. I wish I had your level of patience and creativity with personally shaping your processes
9:41 look at that big-ass spider 😧
where?
@@salimfahribanu9234 on the kiln, near top left.
@@salimfahribanu9234I can't seem to spot it either
I bet these kilns are full of critters after a firing, nice and dark and warm. I wouldn't put my hand in one, not without taking a close look inside first. 😅
Took me a sec to find it. I think that’s fairly small for Australia lol.
Still 1 of the 3 channels I have ever found that does this stuff legitimately. Great stuff!
Which are the other 2?
What's the other two? Cheers
WHATRE THE OTHER TWO BRO
WHAT ARE THE OTHER TWO MAN PLEASE ANSWER
@@MB-qm9sr Townsends does everything legitimately, but their content is based around the American colonial period. That, and the majority of it is focused on cooking. Still some really good non-cooking stuff though (hollowing out a canoe, building a log cabin, building ovens, etc.).
Edit: The other one that springs to mind is Kris Harbour Natural Building. He uses modern tools and machines, but is off grid and does everything himself.
9:47 Anyone else notice the big ass spider on the side of the kiln?
And what about the weird green ant at 15:21
Oh, I missed him. I did see that big green ant though. ⬇️
Genuinely the best dirt burning content on the platform. Can't wait to see what you are working towards.
I have 2 suggestions for the charcoal collection, first of, you could put a bowl under the mesh to catch the small pieces and charcoal dust. I'm sure you could do somthing with that.
The second suggestion is to lay a simple clay floor underneath the suggested bowl to prevent dirt in the small stuff that missed the bowl.
Edit: completely forgot to say you make awesome videos!
This man is a true legend. Never spoke a word yet has the coolest content💯
He hasn't discoverd language yet. Seriously though, no music or talking is great.
Imaginr he speaks and he has a super squeeky voice like Mickey Mouse or Toad
Turn captions on ❤😊
as they say, actions speak louder than words.
I feel like the last few videos have been far more settled, as if you have figured out the best way to do several things and can now progress. I feel like you are working towards something bigger,so I'm excited to see when that eventually comes to fruition!
or a setup for something silly, "BEHOLD! My patio!" lol
I like how you give me very precise dimensions as if I’m going to recreate it myself someday
This comment probably won't reach you. But I'm deeply happy that you started to make videos again after the hiatus you took. It doesn't matter the subject of the video, but it always brings peace to my heart after a hard day at work. Thank you so much for keeping this channel alive. ❤
John, you have been an inspiration to my grandson (and to me), for the last 6 years he's watched every one of your videos and read your book.
If he was a trully inspirational, you'd go to wilderness to make bricks and smelt ore🙃
@@PTemnikov And how do you know what I do? The inspiration is not just about the hands-on, it's about the mindset and using what's available, rather than buying off the shelf.
My son also got the book to have as reference!
The sheer amount of labor involved in your projects is staggering.
Thank you.
The best content on modern UA-cam is a man playing with mud for eighteen minutes.
that feeling of to be satisfied when you just made a usefull thing totally from nature by your self.
yes i made a short rope from pieces of a trunk i found, and i'm ridiculously satisfied over it
As always thanks for a very informative video. Any plans on doing a "planting crops, preparing/ storing food series using primitive tech"?
He already has
@@mitchdalitz146we need more!
Also, we need to know of ways to provide a sustainable protein source!
@@mitchdalitz146 It's been over four years since an agriculture video. It would be very cool to see a new one (though that seems unlikely for a while, he's clearly got other things he's working towards right now).
Never gets old watching you make bricks. Exciting to see what you will build with them!
I really love your videos. It's so cool to see all this old technology being preserved into our times and beyond. You're providing a great service to humanity!
It's honestly amazing how much air flow good kiln design and planning can create.
Great video as always, consider using the calcium bricks for the iron production, the calcium oxide will react with the silicon dioxide and other impurities in the iron mineral, forming a slag that not only will protect the reduced iron from oxidizing, it is also useful for making concrete because it will be mostly calcium silicate (literally one of the main components of concrete), also try heating to a higher temperature the charcoal to produce coke, it should make the iron production easier, if you are interested in producing sponge iron, try looking for information about "forja catalana", keep up the great work!
He tried using the calcium oxide in another video but it reduced his iron yield. The current theory is that his bacteria iron’s impurities are basic, and as such, adding sand (or sluiced magnetite) may actually increase the yield.
좋은 설명을 주셔서 매우 고맙습니다
@@PracticalPotato I agree that adding magnetite increases the yield, however I think it is more important to define what type of iron you want to obtain, in the case of sponge iron it is more important to make sure you have the reducing atmosphere, while if you want to obtain a liquid iron puddle it is more important to control other factors such as temperature and slag.
@@user-mu4mw6ou6s 시멘트 생산용 스펀지 철 또는 클링커를 얻는 산업 공정에 대한 자세한 정보가 필요한 경우 "Boateng, Akwasi Acheampong - 로터리 킬른, 제 2 판"을 검색할 수 있습니다.
Just great to watch some calm/nature type videos after so many other videos.
The advertisements that pop up in the middle of John's videos are a stark reminder of why I watch John's videos
"... did some mining off camera..."
This channel is the best silent content on youtube
Remember to turn on CC, peeps!
looking forward to seeing what's coming up as a result of all this brick production. I'll bet it's gonna be epic!
Impressive to see how efficient your process has become, any plans to branch out into using water wheel type energy to automate certain processes like the fan for the kiln?
As mostly all the comments mentioned before this, these videos are amazing. Incredible work effort, and I actually feel like I am learning some survival skills. I watch these with my kids who are also very captivated by your prowess. Not only that but the videos are genuine without click bait or the usual social media garbage. I am hoping to see that iron collection go towards a primative tool, like a hammer head, or axe, to further your production efforts. Im sure its extremely difficult to get a furnance to 2700 degrees, but basic steel would be an awesome accomplishment to achieve. John, please don't ever stop making these videos.
In a world of faking trends seeing your authentic work is amazing. I see this stuff and think people actually had it do these things to live. Appreciate the good things. Awesome content man.
I've always wondered if you'd consider inviting people to come and learn from you in person. I would definitely consider travelling halfway across the world to learn and assist you with your hard work!
One suggestion I have is to process the ash to extract carbonates.
1. Fill a pot half full with dry ash
2. Fill the pot the rest of the way with clean water and stir for a few minutes
3. Let ash fall to the bottom and then decant the water into another container
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a total of 3 ash washings.
5. Now make your ash in to bricks for storage.
6. Evaporate or boil the water that you collected from the ash washing. It will contain plenty of Sodium Carbonate and Potassium Carbonate. These are great fluxes.
This way you will have the carbonates for flux and ash for mortar. With a fine enough sieve, you can separate out fine charcoal and harder calcium compounds that could possibly be calcium carbide which fizzes when in contact with water, producing acetylene gas.
What an incredible watch, no music, no invasive talking, just lots of doing, i loved it, and i learnt !
The amount of effort being put into these projects is hard to understand when half sitting on a sofa, complaining that bricks are boring to watch. Not to mention the immense time-consuming and persisting trial and error we don't have to endure. Always a pleasure watching your uploads, thank you sir.
This is what happens when you're 6 years old making mud pies and your mom says "That's enough now. Come inside" but you never do.
Bro is building the roman civilization. One brick at a time
Literally one of my favorite channels, and so relaxing.
Great work again John. I never get tired of these videos and upon finishing one I’m always looking forward to the next one 👍🏼
If a Zombie apocalypse happens, I want this guy on my side!
Second captain, first pick.
If you can find him by the time you realize the apocalypse actually happened.
He may already be hiding just chilling, eatin some bbq
Him and Colin Furze. Together theyll make the ultimate superhero team
A crucial teammate. Not a frontliner in the immediately ensuing battles (far too valuable for that), but indispensable during reconstruction.
@@padenvan
Truth. A "protected asset"
I'm not sure why i enjoy watching you make bricks and charcoal over and over but i do.
This man worked my whole shift to make us proud under 20 mins plus production.
Always brightens my day to see you've posted a new video. This one was awesome, you got so much done! I'm excited to see what you'll be making with those bricks.
Really appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos
Primitive videos are LEGIT the best. They give you actual survival techniques as well as showing how the Celts and all that would have survived!
2 things people can stare at forever.
1. Fire.
2. Watching other people working.
It's always a good day when Primitive Technology uploads, literally look forward to it every month. Keep it up!
Fantastic work as always. I know you've previously done work on farming, foraging, and producing spears, bows, etc; I'm interested to know whether you've ever measured how much food/energy you're expending on days of work like these spent making bricks and charcoal, and whether it would be possible for you to feed yourself at the same time or if this really would take a village to sustain?
Mass agriculture and food storage would definitely be required for him to be fully sustainable. I think it could be done, but a village, or at the very least, a few more body dedicated to farming would be a boon to production.
guys chill, he is making another batch of bricks in brick furnace so he has enough bricks to build another brick furnace in order to make more bricks.... and I love it! :D
Not gonna lie, this was the first Primitive Tech video I got bored with and fast forwarded. At least it wasn’t the 1,000th iron prills video (although, from the storage of charcoal in this one, I assume we’ll see that again next time). This channel was amazing before you ran out of ideas.
The only TRUE primitive channel is back! Don't forget to turn on captions
I get excited when new prim tech vids come out. You’re a gem, bud!
I always come to this channel to learn and relax. There's no music, just the sounds of nature and it's straight to the point. I always watch with subtitles as it gives me a better insight on what's going on.
I have to admit, I did start this video by thinking oh god another brick and charcoal video, but this is clearly building to something and has made me pretty excited.
Thanks once again for the relaxing and amazing content, always a joy to see you post
I love your book man, great stuff that you've recorded it all down and now I have a little piece of your work to keep with me just incase. Been thinking how cool it would be to make this a hobby too and start from scratch to see if I can do anything.
Man.. something about this is very hypnotic to watch. Engineers without peer of their time overclocked their brains so that us the descendants don't have to fear getting eaten by wild animals everyday. Thank you ancient engineers.
It's always a joy to see a new video from you, and really enjoy the progression you're making. But it occurred to me watching the brick making that I could watch a slow tv version of this to, like just the brick making from start to finish, a visual and audial meditation. But also to get a sense of the enormous amount of work that's involved in what you're doing, we get glimpses of it, but are never permitted to really know how much effort goes into this work and videos.
Fico muito feliz quando tem vídeo novo.
I love seeing the area used for breaking sticks into usable lengths as it shows a significant amount of previous use! 😄
I noticed that too! It's the sort of lifehack that I wouldn't expect to find in books or movies.
The only channel i want to hear and volume up even Mr. Plant don’t say a word
I've been watching your videos for a long time, and I love them. For some reason a few questions came to mind with this one...
1. What's your experience of the "long tedium" of these basic projects? Do you get bored/frustrated? Or is it a meditative process? or something in between?
2. While in the midst of these basic projects, how much does it make think about early societies and the development of trades? For example, do you ever wish there was someone whose specialization was making bricks, so you could spend more of your time on working with the bricks?
3. (came to mind when you were using the rotary blower mechanism at around 18:07) How much research have you put into early tools and processes, vs choosing instead to discover tool efficiencies on your own with experience?
Ahhhhhhh that's better 😊 thanks mate , love every episode and have just started on a small setup at the back of my property for this very purpose and to revegitate the area also , with the addition of a small dam I now have a reserve to source from when it's dry . Beautiful spot mate and we all love your videos so much ! ❤
Your charcoal kiln was VERY effective. Have you considered adding the partially fired clay shards (cone of the charcoal kiln) as a supplement to our bricks? I believe that would make a stronger brick. Second thought - now that the kiln is undercover from rain, have you considered adding an outside wall of green brick? I imagine if you stack them green and dry, the inside of the outside wall would come pretty close to bisque temp. Flip the outside in for the next firing and you would have dead dry bricks which will fire much faster because you are not using energy to drive off all of the water first. 😊 Love your content!
I believe the cone of the charcoal kiln is mud just like the walls, not clay
Edit: yep, caption at 14:10
@@lukejohnson614 Actually, I was referring to his brick making kiln which is only one brick thick on edge. Much heat traveling through those walls.
But now that you mention it, If the cone of the charcoal retort was clay, it too would be a good way to "upcycle" his clay for brickmaking. A much more consistent brick with some percentage of soft bisque crushed to powder slaked with his wild clay. 👍
i like this sort of update/recap, seeing how u have refined all these processes over the years and watching how they all connect
I've never been so relived to watch something. my girlfriend of 5 years left me Tuesday. I feel lost. I don't know who I am. I don't know what I want to do. But I know you made my anxiety leave for a brief moment, and I thank you for that.
Thanks for uploading! Can’t get enough of your content. Eager to see you tackle iron!
He did already make a small iron knife in an older video.
Do you plan on using the iron that you smelt into some kind of tool like a hatchet to make your work easier? Thanks for your amazing videos!
I guess that's what the coal is for.
In other videos on his channel He has made some small knives before.
I'm pretty sure it's for ceremonial purposes
Yea i saw the knife, that why i ask, im curious if he wants to take this further
This guy is the most og primitive survivor. He doesn't cheat like the others do. Other primitive survival channels got their idea of this guy. Bro just created his own niche.
The pioneer of primitive tech videos for free consumption. Thank you!
Fantastic video as usual. :) Can't wait to what all the bricks are for. Here in Denmark, the average brick per square meter for houses is 66. If that is similar, then it's gotta be quite the project. :)
I am thoroughly enjoying watching your early iron age content. Stone age was amazing too but this iron age tech is just so satisfying to watch.
the guy is a one-man-industry by himself... Amazing work!
I could probably watch like 20 more videos of a guy making some bricks and I would actually enjoy it
Really enjoyed the extra detail and information! Would love to know what you meant by "improved with better stacking" for the charcoal? Was it a tighter stacking or a looser setup for the dry sticks, or some other method? Love your videos so much!
He means a tighter stack. The less room for air and fire the more efficient the conversation. He actually used to build a kiln around a wood stack in old videos so he could make it as tight as possible.
@@Russo-Delenda-Est Makes sense! Thanks for this :)
Alright. I'm tired and it's time to fall asle... Brick And Charcoal Production
this guy is really cool
he is showing us how our ancestors back in dirt ages used to live
I love how this is the ONLY real channel for this
Awesome video, as usual! Will you ever do any primitive food/agriculture related videos? I think it'd be very interesting.
He does have some agriculture related ones somewhere on the channel
On one of the other replies he said he's thinking about planting something again.
Glad to see this back, Always worth watching on UA-cam.
It might be a good idea to build a rack for the bricks to keep them elevated for better drying and storage. It can have multiple levels so you can dry more bricks for longer periods without running out of space and having to rotate them, especially if you're not wanting to dry them with fire every time.
Love your videos! For me they have a relaxing effect while watching. Makes me wish I were there helping in your projects.