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- May 25, 2006
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your choice and why
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ferrocerium or misch metal
- Thread starter CockedandLocked
- Start date
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- Dec 17, 2005
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- 7,809
Misch is really amazing stuff but I've never had much trouble getting a fire started with a standard steel nor an easier time with misch.
I don't typically start my fires from a standing position 3 feet from my tinder.
I don't typically start my fires from a standing position 3 feet from my tinder.
- Joined
- May 25, 2006
- Messages
- 7
seems the misch metal can be found cheaper, especially in the larger sizes
Gaurdian_A1
Gold Member
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I think most people will side with msch metal..BUT i have successfully lit fires with el-cheapo 9 dollar firesteels from walmart or some other hardware store as i have successfully lit fires with LMF firesteels.
They say misch metal will light tinder easier, thus having a larger margin of error when chosing a tinder...meaning that you can light different types of tinder easier than a ferro rod could..but i dont agree.
With my ferro rods and misch metals i have lit the same tinder successfully...birch bark shavings, jute, fatwood, birch shavings, the inner bark of cottonwood, dry grass etc.
the biggest problem with either one is most dont come with a half decent striker...i use the spine of my BK 2 and i get hot enough sparks to lite any tinder that i have tried...But its all within reason..the dryer, thinner tinder you use, the more likely it is to catch fire from a spark.
If you havent practiced and experimented firelighting with a ferro rod or a misch metal, they might as well be fishing lures to you...doesnt help you one bit when you are cold, miserable and on the verge of hypothermia.
-Gaurdian_A1
They say misch metal will light tinder easier, thus having a larger margin of error when chosing a tinder...meaning that you can light different types of tinder easier than a ferro rod could..but i dont agree.
With my ferro rods and misch metals i have lit the same tinder successfully...birch bark shavings, jute, fatwood, birch shavings, the inner bark of cottonwood, dry grass etc.
the biggest problem with either one is most dont come with a half decent striker...i use the spine of my BK 2 and i get hot enough sparks to lite any tinder that i have tried...But its all within reason..the dryer, thinner tinder you use, the more likely it is to catch fire from a spark.
If you havent practiced and experimented firelighting with a ferro rod or a misch metal, they might as well be fishing lures to you...doesnt help you one bit when you are cold, miserable and on the verge of hypothermia.
-Gaurdian_A1
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- Feb 18, 2009
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- 4,573
:thumbup: +1 on this. Best that I have ever used, too.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2009
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- 6,234
I don't have much trouble with anything, supercheap ebay fire rods, magnesium bricks from wallmart, you name it. If you prep your tinder right... a shower of sparks doesn't take long to start it, no matter what kind of material it is.
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- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 11,135
Im with Bushman.....As long as it sparks, I can get the job done. Been using a LMF Army steel for 5 years now, and never wished I had anything more.
I use both types, it just depends what kit I'm carrying.
The Ferro rod is a bit easier to strike.
The MM requires a little different technique (a bit more pressure), but the longer lasting sparks can be a plus.
The key is practice, but that's true of most skills.
Big Mike
The Ferro rod is a bit easier to strike.
The MM requires a little different technique (a bit more pressure), but the longer lasting sparks can be a plus.
The key is practice, but that's true of most skills.
Big Mike
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,484
Take this for exactly what it's worth (ie you have paid exactly $0.00 for this opinion 
)
Both work on combustible tinder :thumbup:
So if you carry pre-prepared tinder (vasaline coated cotton balls, charcloth, fat wood, birch bark etc, etc, etc) or have locally available tinder (like fatwood, dried grass stems, Scotish Thistle seed heads, birch bark, etc, etc. etc) both will work well :thumbup:
The advantage I see with the Mischmetal rods is that they can also be used as a source of tinder by scraping off a pile of the metal first, and using this as a tinder source :thumbup: .
Worth considering if your in an area (or circumstance), where suitable locally sourced tinder isn't available
Sure it will wear down the Michmetal rod faster (by using it as a tinder source), but they really aren't that expensive to start with
Kind regards
Mick
)Both work on combustible tinder :thumbup:
So if you carry pre-prepared tinder (vasaline coated cotton balls, charcloth, fat wood, birch bark etc, etc, etc) or have locally available tinder (like fatwood, dried grass stems, Scotish Thistle seed heads, birch bark, etc, etc. etc) both will work well :thumbup:
The advantage I see with the Mischmetal rods is that they can also be used as a source of tinder by scraping off a pile of the metal first, and using this as a tinder source :thumbup: .
Worth considering if your in an area (or circumstance), where suitable locally sourced tinder isn't available
Sure it will wear down the Michmetal rod faster (by using it as a tinder source), but they really aren't that expensive to start with
Kind regards
Mick
I like the LMF ferro rod better because it's easier to spark and I can control it much better. The misch metal I have to do such a quick and hard strike that if I have it near the tinder I'll just as likely make the tinder fly away. And the misch is more picky about the kinds of striker that it'll work with.