- Joined
- May 3, 2006
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Most firesteel problems fall into two categories: Tinder & Technique.
TINDER - A lot of good info has already been written here. You have two basic groups, "Brought Tinder" and "Found Tinder." To be effective with a firesteel, it must be very dry and very fine to catch the relatively "cool" spark the rod produces. If the fibers you are using aren't catching when sparks land in them, go finer. You also need sufficient air in and around your tinder. A fluffy pile of shavings will work beter than a mound of sawdust, because of the amount of air circulating between the fiibers of the tinder.
If you can find white fluff from dandilions, thistle, cattail down or other plants, you''re all set. This stuff catches very easily and should provide the step up needed to catch your second stage tinder. Don't rely on plant fluff alone, because it goes quick!
You will probably have better luck igniting tinder in a "bird's nest" and transferring it to your fire lay once it has caught, rather than building a fire lay around your tinder and leaving yourself a window to shoot sparks through.
TECHNIQUE - First, most people who try out a firesteel are thinking they need to "strike" the rod to generate sparks. Time and time again I see people refering to the "striker." This is wrong and contributes to a lot of failure. The knife or piece of hack saw blade, or whatever, is more accurately described as a SCRAPER, and the action is one of scraping, not striking. As mentioned above, many people prefer to pull the scraper along a stationary rod, as opposed to running the rod along the scraper. One benefit here, aleardy mentioned, is that you are not as likely to knock your tinder pile with either your hand or your scraper.
As Shearwater mentioned above, slowing down the stroke helps as well. You will increase your control and multiply the number of sparks generated. I find the "Jerk-It" method of numerous quick strikes on the firesteel to be wasteful, inneficient and lacking in finesse. You may in fact be able to get larger than normal tinder to catch a spark in this fashion, but at the cost of half of your firesteel. You are also cheating yourself out of learning how to properly use this tool.
-- FLIX
TINDER - A lot of good info has already been written here. You have two basic groups, "Brought Tinder" and "Found Tinder." To be effective with a firesteel, it must be very dry and very fine to catch the relatively "cool" spark the rod produces. If the fibers you are using aren't catching when sparks land in them, go finer. You also need sufficient air in and around your tinder. A fluffy pile of shavings will work beter than a mound of sawdust, because of the amount of air circulating between the fiibers of the tinder.
If you can find white fluff from dandilions, thistle, cattail down or other plants, you''re all set. This stuff catches very easily and should provide the step up needed to catch your second stage tinder. Don't rely on plant fluff alone, because it goes quick!
You will probably have better luck igniting tinder in a "bird's nest" and transferring it to your fire lay once it has caught, rather than building a fire lay around your tinder and leaving yourself a window to shoot sparks through.
TECHNIQUE - First, most people who try out a firesteel are thinking they need to "strike" the rod to generate sparks. Time and time again I see people refering to the "striker." This is wrong and contributes to a lot of failure. The knife or piece of hack saw blade, or whatever, is more accurately described as a SCRAPER, and the action is one of scraping, not striking. As mentioned above, many people prefer to pull the scraper along a stationary rod, as opposed to running the rod along the scraper. One benefit here, aleardy mentioned, is that you are not as likely to knock your tinder pile with either your hand or your scraper.
As Shearwater mentioned above, slowing down the stroke helps as well. You will increase your control and multiply the number of sparks generated. I find the "Jerk-It" method of numerous quick strikes on the firesteel to be wasteful, inneficient and lacking in finesse. You may in fact be able to get larger than normal tinder to catch a spark in this fashion, but at the cost of half of your firesteel. You are also cheating yourself out of learning how to properly use this tool.
-- FLIX