Firesteel.com Vs LMF....and some puzzlement

[Tinbasher]

I bought 20 badgers from GoingGear and it works great with a nice sharp edge of some thing hard, knife/band saw blade

 

[Mistwalker]

UST Sparkie! Seriously, it rules and is by far the easiest to use of everything I sell. I've heard a lot of people ask about it's durability, so I'll just say that I have completely used up five of them while giving demonstrations to customers with zero problems.



They are usually ones people pick up off of ebay. There are dealers out there selling some garbage alloys that are of poor quality and are very hard to use. I'm not saying all of the ebay ones are crap, so make sure you buy from a reputable seller.

Thanks for the info Storl, I don't know how I missed this...but I'll be getting in touch soon.

I buy things off line now and again but I never, NEVER do the ebay thing.

 

[IUKE12]

The new firesteel superstrikers from stori are fantastic by the way. Better than anything you can imagine:thumbup:
Show here with Beaver model fire steel.

 

[Mistwalker]

The new firesteel superstrikers from stori are fantastic by the way. Better than anything you can imagine:thumbup:
Show here with Beaver model fire steel.

Thanks, I've been looking at those since he broke them out here. So, it has a thumb ramp on one side for orientation in the hand in the dark?

 

[IUKE12]

It's ramped on both sides if I understand your question correctly. Also, it has a sharp edge either up or down, doesn't matter how you hold it.

 

[Mistwalker]

It's ramped on both sides if I understand your question correctly. Also, it has a sharp edge either up or down, doesn't matter how you hold it.

Ah, so it is non directional and ambidextrous? Cool, I guess he really meant no more worries about how it is turned

 

[Rockywolf]

+1 on anything from storl. I used one of his strikers and firesteels in the rain and poof, fire was had.

 

[Mistwalker]

+1 on anything from storl. I used one of his strikers and firesteels in the rain and poof, fire was had.

Thanks Rocky, I have been talking to Storl and watching Tony's video a few times and I already know I'm going to order a couple. The problem at the moment is that it is getting close to Christmas and this year hasn't been a good one for buying personal Christmas presents...it'll have to wait a while.

 

[aarya]

I've a few different types of firesteels myself. Some, no-name steels, and a couple of LMF-steels. The no-name steels are softer, and more difficult to get sparks out of, but when they spark, they do indeed throw globs of molten metal around. I've found though, that if i use too much pressure, i will get, like you experienced, slivers of metal, sticking to whatever i use to scrape it with. If i then ease up on the pressure, i can get it to spark just fine.
I was just thinking, that you might have some issue with the amount of pressure you put onto the steel, when you spark it. Care to try it out?

 

[Mistwalker]

I've a few different types of firesteels myself. Some, no-name steels, and a couple of LMF-steels. The no-name steels are softer, and more difficult to get sparks out of, but when they spark, they do indeed throw globs of molten metal around. I've found though, that if i use too much pressure, i will get, like you experienced, slivers of metal, sticking to whatever i use to scrape it with. If i then ease up on the pressure, i can get it to spark just fine.
I was just thinking, that you might have some issue with the amount of pressure you put onto the steel, when you spark it. Care to try it out?

Sure, sounds like an idea. I'll try it after while when I'm out back practicing fire craft with my oldest, thanks.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Hey mistwalker, in case you don't know, Thistle (Cirsium spp.) makes fine hand drills for friction fire.

Have you ever made a fish trap before? If not, shoot me an email.

Doc

 

[Anrkst6973]

Did a little experimenting in controlled conditions (read: I built fires in the kitchen on the cutting board. ) and came to 2 conclusions. #1 the type of steel in the knife is a factor, Simply put the plain carbon steels like 01,1095,A2 produce more sparks, The higher chrome types ( German Soligen stainless & some cheaper "dive knife" stuff) dont light it up as well. #2 The size of the knife is a factor in how quick you get a fire. A little tiny knife means you have to hold it closer to the tinder (pure physics) and thus more of the sparks land there aie quicker ignition. Larger blade means it takes more room to move it and thus you have to hold it further from your tinder pile,(or send burning,smoking fatwood slivers all over your kitchen like I did. ) a little striker made from an old hacksaw blade about 3 inches OAL seemed to work pretty good, about half of it being held by the fingers and you can get it really close to the tinder and it puts off lots of sparks with minimal pressure. The striker shown in the earlier post was my inspiration as to how to get it onto my loop and lanyard system. Good thread..love learning new things!

 

[okbohn]

What I have found is that on the Misch metal firesteels, the angle of the striker also matters. Once I figured that out I can get them to spark like crazy.

Also...FWIW it is actually the ability of a striker to shave off the firesteel in the proper size and speed that makes them burn. The shavings oxidize so quickly they burn. It doesn't matter if you use steel or even a piece of sharp glass, they should work fine.

 

[dawsonbob]

As I've mentioned in several threads, and several of us have shown, almost any sharp, hard edge will throw sparks from a misch-metal rod. It really doesn't matter what kind of steel it is, or even if it's glass or stone, it's the sharpness and technique that matter. Just break a rock to get a sharp edge, and you're in business. Yes, good steel (carbon or stainless) is best, but really not necessary.

 

[skitertank]

heres a few things to try to get the best otu of the misch metal steels. these things really ecxel with a VERY sharp edge and a moderate striking speed and pressure.also, i find you get the best shower of sparks when the rod starts getting small edges or angles instead of being round or flat.lastly,since these rods throw hot globs of metal instead of short lived sparks,try holding the steel about 2 inches or so off your tinder and moving the striker instead of the steel. these techniques are what worked for me as i experienced the same situations when i first got the mm rods.once you figure out what works for you they will light bigger and courser tinder,if thats all you were to have. hope that helps

 

[K Williams]

What knife is that? It looks like some sort of Bark River...

 

[Mistwalker]

Hey mistwalker, in case you don't know, Thistle (Cirsium spp.) makes fine hand drills for friction fire.

Have you ever made a fish trap before? If not, shoot me an email.

Doc

Thanks, I'll remember that.

I've made a few of different types but I'll send you an email in a few anyway because living around so much water I'm always interested in new designs for fish traps and fishing spears.

Did a little experimenting in controlled conditions (read: I built fires in the kitchen on the cutting board. ) and came to 2 conclusions. #1 the type of steel in the knife is a factor, Simply put the plain carbon steels like 01,1095,A2 produce more sparks, The higher chrome types ( German Soligen stainless & some cheaper "dive knife" stuff) dont light it up as well. #2 The size of the knife is a factor in how quick you get a fire. A little tiny knife means you have to hold it closer to the tinder (pure physics) and thus more of the sparks land there aie quicker ignition. Larger blade means it takes more room to move it and thus you have to hold it further from your tinder pile,(or send burning,smoking fatwood slivers all over your kitchen like I did. ) a little striker made from an old hacksaw blade about 3 inches OAL seemed to work pretty good, about half of it being held by the fingers and you can get it really close to the tinder and it puts off lots of sparks with minimal pressure. The striker shown in the earlier post was my inspiration as to how to get it onto my loop and lanyard system. Good thread..love learning new things!

I guess I need to practice more with the saw blade as Brian sent a piece of one with it when he sent me the firesteel...I have better luck with my knife but as I said I'm still learning about this type of firesteel.

What I have found is that on the Misch metal firesteels, the angle of the striker also matters. Once I figured that out I can get them to spark like crazy.

Also...FWIW it is actually the ability of a striker to shave off the firesteel in the proper size and speed that makes them burn. The shavings oxidize so quickly they burn. It doesn't matter if you use steel or even a piece of sharp glass, they should work fine.

Thanks for the input guys. Yeah...I'm learning the angle and pressure are a little more particular with these. The edges I am sparking with are pretty sharp.

What knife is that? It looks like some sort of Bark River...

Actually it is a knife I designed that Bryan Breeden made that I call the Sojourner.