Coghlan's Magnesium Bar mini-review

I have one of the Wallie World ones just like you. Here's a video I posted on the RAT forum using it. I used a notch that I cut in the end of my RC3 to scrape shavings and also make the sparks.

Nevermind the socks and flip flops :)

 
sorry everyone if i came off a bit harsh in my previous post here. Wasn't having a good day.
 
I had to search back & re-read it.
I would say anybody that stakes their life on a mag bar better practice practice practice.
Me, I'll stick to a Bic, a LMF and a small stash of cotton-balls soaked in WD-40.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I feel like there is unrealistic expectations on the mag bar. The mag bar is flash tinder used to start the kindling that is something like the fatwood (or firestraws). It is meant to be an intense starter flame used to light the rest of the fuel. Firesteel to spark the mag that lights the fatwood.


(at least how I was taught)
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Too me that juse seem like another unnecesary step. I don't need mag shavings to light fatwood or cotton balls. A spark from a ferro rod will do it just fine.
 
My Coghlan bought at wal mart works well. Ten year old cub scouts were starting fires with it.
 
I have to clamp mine into a vice, and use an old 20" large jack plane to get any bloody magnesium off of it. An thats in a warm shop with warm hands. Never mind cold hands in the field. No way. WAY easier methods out there.
 
Bushman5 said:
I have to clamp mine into a vice, and use an old 20" large jack plane to get any bloody magnesium off of it. An thats in a warm shop with warm hands. Never mind cold hands in the field. No way. WAY easier methods out there.
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Sorry you were having a bad day, Bushy. Couldn't get cell phone coverage?

I've been using a Doan's bar for years, and it works very well. No, I wouldn't use it for my primary fire starter — there are too many good alternatives — but it makes a very good last resort backup. It's waterproof, nearly indestructible and light weight. You don't have to shave off magnesium if you don't want to: the firesteel portion works pretty well on its own.

Something that nobody has mentioned (AFAIK) is that you don't have to settle for just very fine scrapings. I scrape off some very fine stuff, then shave off some slightly larger curls, and put it all in a pile. The spark from the rod ignites the fine stuff, which in turn ignites the larger shavings. This gives you a hot (around 5,000 degrees) little fire that burns for around 20 seconds and will light most other tinders very well (c'mon — 5,000 degrees is bloody hot).

Doesn't hurt to carry one just in case.
 
If you like using Mag for your fire starting, then look at some of the other items that you already have with you. I have filed small amounts off the tail of Mag framed snowshoes when I needed a "kicker" to get a stubborn fire started. Also, how about Aluminum? Powdered Alum burns easily. I know this is a little off from the OP, but another idea.
 
dawsonbob said:
Personally, I've never had any trouble with the ferro rod that comes on the Doans. They seem to work every time for me.
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Never had a problem except when I was a lot younger and much more hardhaided. :D

Don't give up on the mag blocks: they're a great survival tool. I wouldn't throw away the PJCB's, dryer lint, fatwood, etc. Rather, I would carry the mag bar as a back-up.
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When you consider what you can carry that would take up the space of a common men's wallet or a pack of cigarettes...well, you can carry a lot of tinder and firelighting stuff! :)
 
Don Rearic said:
Never had a problem except when I was a lot younger and much more hardhaided. :D

When you consider what you can carry that would take up the space of a common men's wallet or a pack of cigarettes...well, you can carry a lot of tinder and firelighting stuff! :)
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:thumbup::thumbup: I was young too, once upon a time (no, no, honest, I really was), so I know what you mean, Don.
 
Bob,

I'm beginning to think you and I are supermen with superman hand strength or some crap. Magnesium is soft. I wonder if these guys are getting some kind of harder grade of Magnesium. I mean, there are different hardnesses of Aluminum, so-called "Aircraft-Grade," etc. Maybe Bushy's got a bum chunk of mag or something, I really don't know. Magnesium is not hard as steel, it's easy to shave.

I'm sort of perplexed about all of this. I don't have Coughlan's Brand, just a bunch of Doan's including my first one and what I can do with that just doesn't jibe with what they're experiencing.
 
From what I read a long time ago, Coghlan's are made by Doan, despite all the claims to the contrary. I'll see if I can find that thread.

Nope, maybe somebody that has the 'search' function?

Doc
 
Here's a thought - maybe it's a question of relativity. I'm thinking that maybe all or most of the people who don't like the mag bar, have never done friction fire.

If they did, I think it would enhance their appreciation of the mag bar. Just a thought.

Doc
 
I just don't get all of the controversy. It won't give you dinner and a show, after all. It's a firestarter! I guess people are expecting the beginning of Apocalypse Now. :D

Whhhhoooooooooossssshhhhhh...this is the end...bew-tee-full friend...this is the end...my only friend...the end...
 
If you have your tinder and your different sizes of wood ready to go, mag bar works like a champ. I've started tons of fires with them and never had a problem. Magnesium doesn't give you a sustained flame but plenty hot enough and long enough to ignite any kind of decent tinder. Chris
 
GWashington1732 said:
I prefer a plain old firesteel though.
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I changed my mind, my last Magnesium bar was total crap, don't remember the brand, I just gave this one a good pile and sparked it, on my junk work table. It's got a new burn spot. This, Coughlans one isn't so bad; I like it. On the spark strip thingy, there is a black coating that you need to scrape off before it will work. I've just got a Gerber mini paraframe stuck on the chain with it for sparking it (It's not good for anything else anyway).
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Here's a thought - maybe it's a question of relativity. I'm thinking that maybe all or most of the people who don't like the mag bar, have never done friction fire.

If they did, I think it would enhance their appreciation of the mag bar. Just a thought.

Doc
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Most people who knock the magnesium bar wouldn't want to deal with the hassle
of trying to build a fire from a coal, be it by friction or flint and steel. This would mean
that you would need to have actual knowledge about the mechanics of fire. I'm sure if
fatwood or PJCB's didn't exist there would be more of an appreciation for magnesium.
 
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