Blast Match Vs Fire Piston

I looked at those ferro rods with magnesium and I'm sure I'll wind up getting one... I always like to buy all kinds of gear and play with all of it. I was looking at the 6"X.5" Rod... looks like a long lasting piece of gear to keep with my fire kit. Of course strikers and such are my last resort items... I much prefer a lighter or match (Which I also have in my bag)... But when and if those run out or fail... it's nice to have a backup.

How delicate are the rods? Meaning... can I just toss them in a bag with other tools and such... or do they chip or crack easy. Should I maybe come up with some kind of sheath or cover to store it in? Maybe a piece of rubber tubing or something. Not to mention a nice piece of rubber tubing could act as a bit of a handle when pulled half way down a 6" rod.
 
Steel-Junky said:
I looked at those ferro rods with magnesium and I'm sure I'll wind up getting one... I always like to buy all kinds of gear and play with all of it. I was looking at the 6"X.5" Rod... looks like a long lasting piece of gear to keep with my fire kit. Of course strikers and such are my last resort items... I much prefer a lighter or match (Which I also have in my bag)... But when and if those run out or fail... it's nice to have a backup.

How delicate are the rods? Meaning... can I just toss them in a bag with other tools and such... or do they chip or crack easy. Should I maybe come up with some kind of sheath or cover to store it in? Maybe a piece of rubber tubing or something. Not to mention a nice piece of rubber tubing could act as a bit of a handle when pulled half way down a 6" rod.
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Nah, just toss them in. They're very durable and reliable. I might suggest, though, that you really play with them a lot to get a feel for how they work. They're not something that you just pick up and there's instant fire. But as soon as you get a grip on what tinder works and how to make it work better, you'll never go back to that lighter!

Start small, with cotton balls or frayed jute twine. Either makes easy to carry tinder, and soaking the cotton balls in vaseline makes them more weather-resilient and burn longer.

PS- Welcome to WSS by the way! I hope you continue to ask questions and stick around. New 'faces' are always welcome.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Nah, just toss them in. They're very durable and reliable. I might suggest, though, that you really play with them a lot to get a feel for how they work. They're not something that you just pick up and there's instant fire. But as soon as you get a grip on what tinder works and how to make it work better, you'll never go back to that lighter!

Start small, with cotton balls or frayed jute twine. Either makes easy to carry tinder, and soaking the cotton balls in vaseline makes them more weather-resilient and burn longer.

PS- Welcome to WSS by the way! I hope you continue to ask questions and stick around. New 'faces' are always welcome.
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As far as the cotton balls in PJ. Is soaking them better than just say dipping them on the spot... I thought I might carry cotton balls and a small jar of PJ and then just dip them in it and then light... or does soaking them make for better tender?
 
k_estela said:
there is no comparison between the magnesium firestarter and a 1/2" ferro rod. It (magnesium's ferro rod) simply cannot send the same amount of sparks down on tinder as a larger diameter rod like the swedish army fire steel or the strike force. If you guys like the doans, try out a 3/8" rod and some natural tinder. You'll be hooked.

Kev
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---listen to kev---

he speaks the truth!!!!
 
The goal is to get the ball coated in it, such that if they get wet the water can't easily get to the cotton. And this means you will have to fluff the PJ-ball to get to 'fresh' cotton. Do this at home, don't carry both the PJ and the cotton balls separated, it defeats the purpose and increases weight.

Another easy trick, using them same stuff, is to shove them into a straw. Shove a cotton ball, then a bit of PJ, then a cotton ball, then PJ, etc. Then heat to seal the edges. When you want fire, just slice the straw open and you're ready to roll!
 
You don't want them too saturated. You need to pull them apart to get them fuzzy and catch a spark. The PJ just helps them burn longer. I tend to not carry pre-treated cotton balls. What I do is use a squirt of hand sanitizer on them as I carry hand sanitizer anyway. Not necessarily the best way or right way but works well for me.
 
Like was mentioned above, look into a Rat Firekit.

I took the rod out of my blastmatch, drilled a hole in it, (Looked like a stick welder, lotta sparks :D), and paired it up with a small hacksaw blade. I am much more confident with it now.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
The goal is to get the ball coated in it, such that if they get wet the water can't easily get to the cotton. And this means you will have to fluff the PJ-ball to get to 'fresh' cotton. Do this at home, don't carry both the PJ and the cotton balls separated, it defeats the purpose and increases weight.

Another easy trick, using them same stuff, is to shove them into a straw. Shove a cotton ball, then a bit of PJ, then a cotton ball, then PJ, etc. Then heat to seal the edges. When you want fire, just slice the straw open and you're ready to roll!
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The PJ helps it burn longer though right? It's not just water proofing. What I've been doing is vacume sealing like 5 cotton balls in a little baggie. That way I have a handful to last all day if need be in it's own little water tight pouch.
 
DJ _Wolf said:
Like was mentioned above, look into a Rat Firekit.

I took the rod out of my blastmatch, drilled a hole in it, (Looked like a stick welder, lotta sparks :D), and paired it up with a small hacksaw blade. I am much more confident with it now.
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How long is the rod when removed from the housing? I figure I can still just use the housing like a handle even if my striker breaks off. I'll look into the rat kit though. Thanks.
 
I have the blastmatch and I think it's great. I haven't broken it yet, but I can see why others have done so. It does produce the biggest shower of sparks of anything I've ever used. Even if it does break, you still have that huge rod inside, and you can use something else to strike it if you have to.
 
The BlastMatch, StrikeForce, and Sparkie (smaller and lighter than the BlastMatch, and all are made by Ultimate Survival Technologies), are fine tools if used according to the manufacturers instructions. If you get rough and careless with them (especially the BlastMatch), you could have a plastic failure (though the ferro rod is still entirely useable). However, I would have liked to see a stronger design with the BlastMatch since many survival situations can push the durability limits of many tools.

I have a large bag of sparking tools (too many for a photo) that I use in my classes. I have learned a lot about the durability of these tools by just watching some of the students with virtually no outdoor firemaking experience or finesse whatsoever (some could destroy a battle tank in minutes). The BlastMatch in the photo has been abused by many of these students and has held together just dandy. Having been a military pilot, I would have appreciated the one-handed BlastMatch in my issued survival vest (it was designed for this purpose) had the circumstances required such.

Yep, I agree, the fire piston is a unique and fickle toy (I have made a few) when compared with other sparking tools.

I much prefer the 1/2" ferro rods (to the left with elk horn handles) over the magnesium/flint combinations to the right. The 1/2" rod simply throws a much larger shower of sparks when compared with other rods. The longer 1/2" rod in the photo, with the carbide striker (simply a Corona sharpening tool), throws a tremendous show of sparks (students love this one). My personal favorite method of starting tinder ablaze is with natural flint, steel, and char. :)
sparktools1tq3.jpg
 
Yeah, I don't like the magnesium bar with striker myself... the main reason is that I'm not gonna dull up my useful knife blade scraping off the shavings and using the spine has always yielded minimal results. So the black itself is useless to me. But the striker works ok. I'll probably get a ferro rod 6"X.5" eventually. But I'm still excited about trying out the blast match when it arrives. And even if it's not as useful... I still think the fire piston is kinda neat.
 
Steel-Junky said:
Yeah, I don't like the magnesium bar with striker myself... the main reason is that I'm not gonna dull up my useful knife blade scraping off the shavings and using the spine has always yielded minimal results. So the black itself is useless to me. But the striker works ok. I'll probably get a ferro rod 6"X.5" eventually. But I'm still excited about trying out the blast match when it arrives. And even if it's not as useful... I still think the fire piston is kinda neat.
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You'll like the Blastmatch. I have been using one of a while with no problems, and the one handed functionality is great. Yes, it is plastic, and yes, it can break, but that 1/2" firesteel is awfully hard to break. :)
 
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