ok, i know this sounds ignorant but, ive always just kept an issue sparklite, magbar, and a box of the real deal british lifeboat matches in my kits, and never needed all these high speed individual ferro rods and whatnot. but i ordered the really inexpensive flint rod/hacksawblade/mag bar set from ebay, and while it works good, and ive already started two fires with it, it doesnt seem to spark NEARLY as much as the flint on my mag bar. i mean it isnt even close. is one ferrocium, and the other true flint? i see all the rods being called 'flints' but only some called ferrocium. Im taking it ones natural and ones man made. I hear that the ferro rods throw way more sparks than the natural flints. what have you guys seen.
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Ferrocerium rod source
- Thread starter upnorth
- Start date
Buddilee,
All the rods are ferrocerium, which is a metal alloy, not true flint, which is a hard rock.
There can be a lot of variables involved with how well it throws sparks, from diameter, to thickness of the layer of corrosion, to the sharpness and hardness of the striker, to the way you are holding it and striking it.
Which reminds me, I've been meaning to add an article, about how to use ferro rods, to my website...
All the rods are ferrocerium, which is a metal alloy, not true flint, which is a hard rock.
There can be a lot of variables involved with how well it throws sparks, from diameter, to thickness of the layer of corrosion, to the sharpness and hardness of the striker, to the way you are holding it and striking it.
Which reminds me, I've been meaning to add an article, about how to use ferro rods, to my website...
I see. So theyre all ferrocium then?
All I know, is that i cant get a spark ONE from my new little 'flint rod' from ebay, unless i use the SAK awl/leatherpunch. I NEVER have a problem with my tiny little rod thats on my mag bar. I can use ANYthing to scrape it, and that thing throws soo many sparks, itll light your dam house on fire man. its a night and day difference. thats why i got soo curious. thats why im going to order some from the campingsurvial.com store, and see whats cookin. I was lookin to see if i could replace my magbar with just a rod, in my pouch thats on my blackhawk sheath. My reasoning was, that if its dry enough to use magnesium, to start a fire, then its dry enough to just hook up some weeds or a fuzz stick for tinder instead, and save some space in my pouch.
All I know, is that i cant get a spark ONE from my new little 'flint rod' from ebay, unless i use the SAK awl/leatherpunch. I NEVER have a problem with my tiny little rod thats on my mag bar. I can use ANYthing to scrape it, and that thing throws soo many sparks, itll light your dam house on fire man. its a night and day difference. thats why i got soo curious. thats why im going to order some from the campingsurvial.com store, and see whats cookin. I was lookin to see if i could replace my magbar with just a rod, in my pouch thats on my blackhawk sheath. My reasoning was, that if its dry enough to use magnesium, to start a fire, then its dry enough to just hook up some weeds or a fuzz stick for tinder instead, and save some space in my pouch.
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- Oct 19, 2005
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Ferrocerium is a metal alloy, while flint is a brittle rock. Kind of glasslike. Industry calls Ferrocerium mush metal. There are probably a bunch of alloys of it, and its probably the alloy you got that doesn't spark as well. JMO.
I recently did a search for a manufacturing source, and it led me to a factory in china. So no telling the quality of the individual rods.
With ferro rods I look for a nice thick one because the metal is brittle. The last thing I want is for it to break on me in a pinch.
I recently did a search for a manufacturing source, and it led me to a factory in china. So no telling the quality of the individual rods.
With ferro rods I look for a nice thick one because the metal is brittle. The last thing I want is for it to break on me in a pinch.
