Hand drills have been used by many primitive societies as a fire drill to start a fire. It is still often learned as a useful survival skill. A hand drill could also be used as a tool for drilling holes in hard materials such as wood, stone, or bone.

For either use, the hands must also exert downward pressure while spinning the rod. As a result, the hands drift down the rod, and must be periodically raised to the top again. These interruptions can be avoided by cutting a notch at the top of the shaft, tying a cord through it, and then inserting the thumbs through loops in the cord. However, skilled operators can either maintain pressure with their hands almost stationary vertically; or, in a movement comparable to floating, can "float" their hands back to the top of the drill.