Doan Magnesium Fire Starter Review

pict said:
Codger,

"Maybe even hollow it out some for a photon light."

Now, is that thinking inside or outside of the box? I really like this idea so much that I am going to shamelessly steal it.

This thing is just crying to have a micro-light included but I hadn't thought of how to do it before starting the project. I think you just handed me a perfect solution.

It wouldn't be hard to drill a hole lengthwise down a mag-block to hold PJ cotton either. Cap it off with a little rubber stopper or even tap some threads and make a screw in plug, just a thought. Mac
Click to expand...

I had thought about just using the guts and battery, but that would be reinventing the wheel. Seems it would be easier to hollow out a hole for a perfect flush-with-the-surface press fit of the whole unit. And yeah, drill a hole in the block for PJ balls or whatever. The screw in cap could be from a muzzleloader nipple pick. Hmmm.. a magblock match safe? Or the wick/striker from an old fashioned permanent match.

When you think about it, it would take quite a few years of pretty constant use to scrape thru the block.

Codger
 
KnifeGuy07 said:
Has anyone here ever heard of the Doan MFS ever loosing it's ferrocium?
Click to expand...

Only Coghlans, I have never heard of a DOAN losing the ferro rod. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened, there have been hundreds of thousands of these things manufactured. I do know that Coghlans have put out some real stinkers and this gives DOAN a bad name.
 
Don Rearic said:
Only Coghlans, I have never heard of a DOAN losing the ferro rod. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened, there have been hundreds of thousands of these things manufactured. I do know that Coghlans have put out some real stinkers and this gives DOAN a bad name.
Click to expand...

A week or so I was at my local REI and looked at one of the Coghlans mag bars. It was made by Doan, so hopefully this is no longer an issue.
 
Interesting. The whole Chinese-meets-Wal-Mart-and-back-again thing has me pissed off really. They took the standard Army Matchsafe since Vietnam and made it out of thinner plastic and it's orange now. OK, orange is OK, but they will DO ANYTHING to cheapen something to make another penny. Same thing probably happened with a lot of the Coghlans stuff, they started pumping product through Wal-Mart and had to cheapen what was already a probably cheap line of products.

I didn't even know DOAN was in business anymore...interesting.
 
Never seen or experienced the flint falling out in 30yrs of using them.

An urban myth due to one online story read by many.

As far as I knew Doan has always made the coghlans flint bar. So much for that theory.

Skam
 
I just bought a new Coghlans mag bar in an Ozark Trails package (Wal-Mart house brand), and it is stamped with the Coghlans logo and "made in U.S.A.". I am pretty sure it is the same product as the one sold under the Doans manufacturing name.
 
The only way the Ferro Rod is held in is with a pressure fit and a little epoxy. They can fall out if they land just right on a hard surface. I have a ferro rod that I removed from a magnesium bar before I knew about a better source for ferro rods.
 
Just measured both. Ozark trail (Coghlan's) is .373 & the Doan is .378 in. not a very big difference unless you need a sheath
 
That´s odd, my Doan tools are slightly smaller than my Coughlins. I have two of each. The Coughlins don´t fit in my sheath, but would if I heated up the leather/wax and forced one in. Mac
 
:eek:just remeasured both from sparking edge to shaving edge Coghlans is a bit wider, Doan a bit thicker, both the same length
 
Consider that they might both be cut from bar stock and there is some variation in the stock dimensions.
 
Just a little word of warning to the folks who have said they like to pre-shave the magnesium and keep the shavings stored -

magnesium will oxidize naturally in air (especially with moisture present), turning its lovely shiny lustre to a dull gray. Burning the magnesium is essentially the same process, only greatly accelerated - so essentially, exposing your mag shavings to air for a long time is like working with mag that's already half-burned! It will be much less reactive to a spark, and burn with a noticeable amount less energy, as much of the magnesium-oxygen reaction will have already occurred. This is why the doan tool is in the form it is - because freshly shaved bits are best!
 
Maybe someone mentioned this already....I was practicing last night and used the file on my Leatherman to make some mag powder (held over an Altoids tin to catch it), added some nice curls of wood and voila!
 
I have a pile of the wa-mart "bars" one in the pouch of every becker i own and in several other pouches including a spare in all my packs. I even have and still use the first one i purchased several years ago and i have never had a striker to fall off of any of these. And shavings don't blow away in the wind (one of the few disagreements i have with practical outdoor survival...pretty good little book) if you take the time to set up before shaving.
 
TravelerKid said:
Just a little word of warning to the folks who have said they like to pre-shave the magnesium and keep the shavings stored -

magnesium will oxidize naturally in air (especially with moisture present), turning its lovely shiny lustre to a dull gray. Burning the magnesium is essentially the same process, only greatly accelerated - so essentially, exposing your mag shavings to air for a long time is like working with mag that's already half-burned! It will be much less reactive to a spark, and burn with a noticeable amount less energy, as much of the magnesium-oxygen reaction will have already occurred. This is why the doan tool is in the form it is - because freshly shaved bits are best!
Click to expand...

Traveller,

You had me worried, so I tested some shavings I have had in a 35mm film container for over two years and they caught and burned just fine. These shavings were made by "Skeletonizing," er, drilling thru a Doan mag bar. (I've opened the container several times to transfer shavings to other kits.)


-- FLIX
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top