Blast from the past- BSA firesteel kit

[Gaspumps]

Found this while rummaging through some boxes-

This is late 70's vintage. I remember having a couple of them and using them on a District Camp-o-ree Klondike Derby in the flint & steel fire starting. We were one of the few to get a fire going.

 

[Thomas Linton]

The "metal match" as an outdoor fire-starting tool goes back into the 1960"s IIRC. Angier had it in one of his books. It's emergence as "the" solution, with some advocating it as superior to the match, is more recent.

Wazza metal ring for?

 

[357survival]

I bet the metal ring is a keyring to put the two other pieces on

 

[lambertiana]

Nice find.

I still have a BSA firesteel on my keyring, I've had it there for almost 30 years.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Pretty good. They are very corrosion-prone once the thin coating is penetrated. They have disappeared ion a kid's pocket in a single, sweaty weekend, leaving a handle and grey dust.

 

[JD Mandrell]

Perfect size for small kits, one stays on my key rings 24/7.

 

[tknife]

That is a cool find. You should add it to your current kit for its use, and nostalgia :thumbup:

 

[acv]

Pretty good. They are very corrosion-prone once the thin coating is penetrated. They have disappeared ion a kid's pocket in a single, sweaty weekend, leaving a handle and grey dust.

I still have one that's about 30 years old. And while I agree corrosion is a concern with a little care they can last a long time. I've never had one disappear in a weekend though.

 

[JD Mandrell]

I've got one that's been on my ring for a good 6 years that's fine, still sparks away.

 

[Thomas Linton]

We had him turn out his pockets, thinking it had broken off. Then we noticed the hole down into the little plastic handle. Summer. 90's. High humidity. Sweat = hot salt water. It had been used, but was largely there before our adventure began.

MUCH ;larger rod: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ferrocium-rod-corrosion-several-years-neglect

This posted by "Ron," the proprietor of firesteel.com:

Yes, I've seen this type of discussion come up from time to time on the Internet, and have to say there is some interesting mis-info out there.
The phenomena they are seeing is rusting of the rods. Because the rust looks a little different than the rust of iron, it may be confusing them as to what it is.
I've written an article similar to the subject being discussed on the EDC forum. It is based upon iron firesteels but does equally apply to the rods your members are talking about:
http://survivaltopics.com/flint-and-steel-what-causes-the-sparks/

Essentially, what is happening is that a firesteel rod must have the ability to rust, as rusting is the oxidation process which causes the sparks when you scrape or strike it.
Rusting releases heat, so that if you can get a very small object to rust fast enough, the heat given off can cause the object to glow very hot - this is the spark you use to start a fire.
The metals in a firesteel rod do include iron, but more importantly also have rare earths that are even more prone to spontaneous oxidation than iron when they come in contact with oxygen in the air.

Just like iron, modern firesteels may rust more quickly if exposed long term to moisture, water or salts (including body salts) so it pays to make sure they are stored dry.
What I like to do is wipe down my firesteel rod with any kind of grease or oil from time to time. For example, I carry a small bottle of olive oil when I am in the forest, which I use for cooking. A thin coating of this oil will keep the rod from exposure to moisture in the air or from rain etc that might soak my backpack. Just as you might do with your knife or other gear that can rust.

For long term storage, as you might do for a bugout bag or preparedness cache, you could apply rustoleum or other commercial metal protector.

This from a seller in Oz:

A Warning about Corrosion

Corrosion is a major problem with all ferrocerium rods, which is noticed when the ferrocerium rod begins to turn into a dirty grey powder. The problem of ferrocerium rod corrosion was considered sufficiently large that a new kind of ferrocerium rod was developed that contained a larger quantity of iron in it. This type of ferrocerium rod is called a ‘Durable,’ since it is considered more “durable” than the “standard” type of ferrocerium rod, which is known as a ‘Standard.’ The extra iron in the ‘Durable’ significantly reduces the effects of corrosion and also its brittleness, however, the price that is paid for this extra protection is a slight reduction in spark production. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it does allow us to scrape off shards of ferrocerium rod into a pile and then ignite it all in one go, which is next to impossible with the ‘Standard’ type of ferrocerium rod. Beside which the sparks that are produced seem to be hotter and have a longer life span than those produced by the ‘Standard’ type of ferrocerium rod and there is only a minute reduction in spark production.

Corrosion normally occurs when a ferrocerium rod is stowed in a humid environment, such as a damp or wet container of some kind for a long period of time. There is, however, one thing that is more corrosive to a ferrocerium rod than a humid environment and that is saltwater, such as seawater or sweat. If you leave a ferrocerium rod in salty water it will completely corrode it away to nothing and faster than you would possibly believe; I can’t give you a time since I have never wanted to waste one of my ferrocerium rod just to find out, but if you are willing, I would love to know!

Based upon this we would always advise that you look after your PyroFlint™ with the same careful manner that you should look after a knife. A PyroFlint™, or any ferrocerium rod for that matter, should never stored either wet or damp in a wet or damp container, especially a wet or damp leather container, since the tannins in the leather will only exacerbate the problem of corrosion. You should never allow your PyroFlint™ to come into contact with seawater, or in fact any water, for very long periods of time unless it unavoidable.

To help overcome the problem of corrosion we would advise that you coat your PyroFlint™ with either enamel paint, nail varnish or bees wax, especially if you think that it will be taken into a corrosive environment. Protecting your PyroFlint™ in such a way will not affect the performance of the PyroFlint™, however, it will need to be reapplied after use, if it is to remain protected, to this end we would highly recommend the use of our Shark-Tinderbox Pure Yellow Beeswax. Pure Yellow Beeswax is pliable and very slightly sticky when brought up to body temperature, which will readily stick to the surface of a ferrocerium rod, it is not easily rub off and can also be easily be rubbed or smeared onto an unprotected area after use without the need to apply more beeswax. This makes it an ideal medium to protect your PyroFlint™ or in fact any ferrocerium rod.

 

[acv]

Wow, gone in a weekend! I've seen corrosion on them before but never had one disintegrate in my pocket. Good lesson I guess, always have a backup.