A no prize, simple skills contest....Light shavings firesteel

sicily02 said:
Awesome job you guys. I really have enjoyed seeing the pics and the videos that you posted.

LMT66 can you explain why is does not seem to be easy even in ideal conditions. I know every ones skill level is different and all, but what did you find out with doing this challenge?

I found it easy all you do is slice on a branch trying to get real thin shavings and then once you got a golf ball size roughly or bigger if you want a bigger lasting fire for you pics, is to then scrape your fire steel maybe one or or many times in a rapid fastion to get many many sparks onto your curls, but i have never in over 30 years plus practings this way of fire getting a fire going to be hard at all.
Just watching the videos shows ( even with the flute music lol) slice your stick to make some shavings and then scrape your firesteel
once or a few times and then there is fire.
It really is a pretty fun and easy way to get a fire going.

Just wondering what your thoughts were with what you said in your post.

Bryan
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My choice of fuel was a bear to get the fine curls I usually do. It was a long dead oak twig and very hard to control the blade to obtain a nice fuzz stick. I had a scandi along that wasn't much better.
I usually do leave the curls on the stick as it is easier to control the fuel and ignition source. I shaved most of the curls off unintentionally on one knife stroke so I went with the pile. I should have grabbed a handful of dead grass and made a bundle to contain the shavings.

As for my statement about it not being as easy as one might think, I should have clarified my thoughts.
I see countless videos on YT showing people using a ferro rod under ideal conditions with ideal fuel/tinder and having great success. It's a simple skill but not something that should be taken for granted. I've had success with a ferro rod in wet areas, on rainy days and it was quick and easy. Other days with sunny skies and light wind, not so easy.
I think Pitdog sets a good example for all. It seems he experiments constantly with tinders he finds while out hiking. Finding the right fuel for the fire is key.
This is a simple skill but needs to be practiced to understand what works and what doesn't.
 
LMT66 said:
As for my statement about it not being as easy as one might think, I should have clarified my thoughts.
I see countless videos on YT showing people using a ferro rod under ideal conditions with ideal fuel/tinder and having great success. It's a simple skill but not something that should be taken for granted. I've had success with a ferro rod in wet areas, on rainy days and it was quick and easy. Other days with sunny skies and light wind, not so easy.
......
This is a simple skill but needs to be practiced to understand what works and what doesn't.
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I think you hit the nail right on the head LMT. As are all these skills. It takes mother nature to humble you a few times in order to strip the cocksure attitude some folks generate. Fire is one of those things where redundancy, skills and experience are a necessity particularly when you put yourself in the situation where you will need fire as a heat, shelter, water and cooking source.
 
Great stuff Oregon - I hope you were able to find yourself home after burning your map :D :D :D
 
Well i don't have a video but this thread did inspire me to actually try it out. This was my first time actually using a ferro rod by the way. I made a feather stick and was unsuccessful at getting it to light but it was not for lack of trying. I will try again soon. I did learn though that I need to wear gloves as the striker I used cut me in 2 different places. I also learned:

1. I need to make very small curls
2. I need to make a bunch of them....way more than I did.
3. It is a lot harder than I expected but that's the reason for practice.

I appreciate the motivation. As an aside, i did manage to get some pine needles to light. The thrill of making fire after trying so long almost made me feel silly for being so happy. lol
 
pokesalad said:
Well i don't have a video but this thread did inspire me to actually try it out. This was my first time actually using a ferro rod by the way. I made a feather stick and was unsuccessful at getting it to light but it was not for lack of trying. I will try again soon. I did learn though that I need to wear gloves as the striker I used cut me in 2 different places. I also learned:

1. I need to make very small curls
2. I need to make a bunch of them....way more than I did.
3. It is a lot harder than I expected but that's the reason for practice.

I appreciate the motivation. As an aside, i did manage to get some pine needles to light. The thrill of making fire after trying so long almost made me feel silly for being so happy. lol
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This is a great post and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that you went out of your way to practice. Hopefully, you've caught the bug a bit. When I first started getting into using firesteels I became a sparking fiend was was trying it on all kinds of different tinders from flash tinders, coal extenders to fuzz sticks. This challenges was the top of the range of difficult tinders to use with a firesteel. As you get more vigorous with your technique you'll find you can do it. Those LMF strikers do suck and pinch the hands. You might actually find switching to a different striker helps you out a lot. I really like the little carbide ones that GoingGear sells for about a buck a piece. Whenever I order firesteels from him I usually pick up five or so of these extra strikers. They really work great, especially with mischemetal which is more sensitive to the quality of the striker compared to LMF rods.
 
kgd said:
I really like the little carbide ones that GoingGear sells for about a buck a piece. Whenever I order firesteels from him I usually pick up five or so of these extra strikers. They really work great, especially with mischemetal which is more sensitive to the quality of the striker compared to LMF rods.
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Thanks for the info. I will definitely check them out. My finger is sore as can be today.
 
You know, the new flat edged LMF strikers aren't bad. In fact, though I can't present data to support this, in my experience, the newer LMF strikers seem to work better (more and larger sparks) than the GG striker with both the LMF and GG firesteels. I'll try both again when I do this drill, perhaps it's just that my technique differs with each.
 
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I liked this and it's a useful and satisfying skill to acquire.
Birch works well, then add bark and you wont have any fire problems.
My greatest foe in these situations is wind, that really seems to make it impossible.
 
HikingMano said:
You know, the new flat edged LMF strikers aren't bad. In fact, though I can't present data to support this, in my experience, the newer LMF strikers seem to work better (more and larger sparks) than the GG striker with both the LMF and GG firesteels. I'll try both again when I do this drill, perhaps it's just that my technique differs with each.
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Its been quite a long time since I've purchased an LMF (more than 3 years) so that could be the case. I remember a little stamped piece SS in the old ones. Interesting that they improved here. I like the GG ones for what it is worth. They are small and I attach them via the lanyard that connects to my rod and is used to secure the rod to the loop. Bryan Breeden also made me a couple of dedicated strikers that work awesome and I throw one in my kits because it also acts as its own tin knife. Also, lots of people really like using the awl (on side opening models) from their SAK - the farmer being a good example model here.

willgoy said:
My greatest foe in these situations is wind, that really seems to make it impossible.
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<--- thats what challenge #2 is all about buddy!
 
kgd said:
[...]Bryan Breeden also made me a couple of dedicated strikers that work awesome and I throw one in my kits because it also acts as its own tin knife. Also, lots of people really like using the awl (on side opening models) from their SAK - the farmer being a good example model here.[...]
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I had a striker from Gossman, but I eventually gave it because of the weight the weight. It did provide a nice grip and struck pretty well. Nowadays, the LMF or GG strikers are my go to.

In addition to the awl on the Farmer, the little bit of the saw spine that protrudes when the saw is closed strikes pretty well.
 
I as well found it much harder than usual this time to get a fire going, it has been very wet here in PA the past few months,and the piece of pine i was using was very tough to get good curls from - also it was a quite windy today and the wind was controlling my sparks more than I'd like, this is the firesteel from the izula "survival" kit and its really too small to get a good grip on and run the metal down the firesteel without running into your pile of shavings and pushing them all over the place, so i think i'm going to get a larger ferro rod (tho i usually just use a BIC when out in the wilderness) but eventually I got it to go... (for a striker i use a steak knife I stole from an Outback Steakhouse one time)

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HikingMano said:
In addition to the awl on the Farmer, the little bit of the saw spine that protrudes when the saw is closed strikes pretty well.
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you had mentioned that in a previous thread and I completely forgot it this time dammit- going to try it next time!
 
I took a dead ash limb and whittled it down. Did not get a bunch of pretty curls like the rest of you. It took a spark pretty fast.

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I did this as well this afternoon, and used a piece of osage I had. First time using a fire steel with just wood.
I first started with curls and I got it lit but it quickly went out as I was getting the camera.

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So I used the spine of my knife and got some fine shavings.

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That worked really well. I used my JK for the striker.

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OK I tried this again last night. My wife even went out to sit with me /boggle. So if nothing else is accomplished by this challenge it got my wife interested enough that she actually went outside and did something with me. Anyway, I think the wood I am trying to use is too moist. I shaved up a small pile of curls and then scraped a fair sized pile of wood dust. I gathered a couple of small piles of pine needles and other fibrous tender so that when/if I got this pile on fire I would go straight to my fire pit and we would celebrate my victory with a nice camp fire. I scrapped the hell out of that LMF rod and nothing. I scrapped again and again and again. I showered that pile with so many sparks the ants in the area started a BBQ because they thought it was the 4th of July. No joy. I was just about to give up and decided to hell with it I will give it one more try before just using a cotton ball, and I look down and the pile of shavings is on fire. Big smiles all around and we had a great camp fire.

Lessons learned:

1. more curls more curls more curls
2. use wood that is dryer dummy
3. get a better ferro rod and striker
4. work on my technique
and most importantly
5. have more patience

I really appreciate this thread.
 
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