Firesteel or Firestarter to go with RAT

adaman04

adaman04

Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
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My RC-4 is now without a doubt my favorite knife. I'd like recommendations on a firesteel or fire starter to attach to the sheath via a piece of bike innertube. If possible, having magnesium would be nice in case I run out of fine tinder or just need that extra burn.

The one that comes with the Izula looks like it might just be the ticket. Is it the Strikemaster K1 that comes with the RAT basic survival kit? Anyway, I'm looking for something along those lines.

Any help would be appreciated. I'll be back later, I'm going to go find something to hack on. :D
 
I have not quite got the hang of it yet, but the RAT Fire Kit is way better than other fire steels. It does shoot out small "fire balls" instead of a shower of sparks. Once I master it I will be carrying it instead of my LightMyFire Army Fire Steel.

Light My Fire Army Model works GREAT as long as you have good tinder and dryer lint works best.
 
I recommend the misch metal fire rods. I think that's what's on the RAT Fire Kit (unfortunately I don't have a Fire Kit... yet). I've got some misch metal rods that I put handles on and those things throw some crazy sparks! I was trying to light a PJ saturated cotton ball, and the "fire balls" from the misch metal rod left trails of charred wood on the plank I was using!
 
The rat fire kit is my favorite. I have two and I'm ordering more, if that means anything. I have several steels from firesteel.com. I like them. I'd your looking for a bare rod, I do recommend them. It's just in my experiances, the rat kit used with a knife burns longer than even the stupid huge bunker firesteel.
 
Firesteel.com works good for me.

I do want a RAT fire starter because I like the compass and storage.
 
Haven't tried the RAT fire kit, as it only arrived yesterday, but used those goinggear steels. They take a little time to get used to, after having used the LMF steels, but they are nice, especially with the GoingGear superstriker.

I think I'll pack some of that saltpeter impregnated cotton t-shirt rolled up into the container. Loads of fires in there then. When I tested the cotton, I intended to blow some dry leaves into flames ... I thought they were dry, but there were some still wet leaves in them, but a piece of half an inch by an inch of the cotton generated heat long enough to light the dryer parts and to help drying the still wet parts - the cotton burned for a few minutes and I just refused to quit blowing while there was smoke coming from the bundle. And it worked. Unfortunately the camera didn't.

I suggest, get a couple of different firesteels, test them, you can alway throw an extra one in any kit or bag ... I like having redundancy with fire ... one steel on me, in my pocket, always - even at home, and one in every bag at least.

(And under normal circumstances its not even legal to make a fire outdoors here ...)
 
If you get a hunting license that is a whole different matter ...
but ... the amount of time and/or money needed to get that ...

You need to do a course and pass several tests. I'd probably pass the wildlife and plant id test without any course, but I'm not allowed to take the test without the course ...

And then when you got the license and you are allowed to hunt, you still have to pay for the game you take down.

I'm still not really decided but I'm leaning towards it not being worth my while.
 
You guys are no help. All you do it create more choices! Thanks for the help, some of these I've never heard of.
 
FWIW, I like the LMF firesteels and the RAT firekit. Generally it's easier to get sparks from the LMF, and in fairly dry conditions I just use it. The RAT kit, with it's hotter, longer burning coals, is better for wet or emergency conditions.

Do what real RATs do -- buy both!

:D
 
There was a time when I would have recommended the coolest new ferro/MM rod out there. I like them all. Misch metal works best for getting a good hot ball of molten metal, such as the Rat Fire Kit. However, these days, I think I'd have to go with ... the mini bic. Pretty hard to beat. Takes up the same or less room than most fire starters out there and not too difficult to use. If you just HAVE to have some sort of cool rod, get the RAT misch metal. The handle is nice to keep some tinder in like PJ cotton balls or fatwood shavings. Once you get the hang of it, it works better than most of the others I've tried. I'm tellin you though, I know it's not "survivalist" or fancy, but a mini bic lasts a pretty long time. Just have to keep it dry when you want to use it. I have both in my kits. If it's dry, I use the bic, wet I use the RFK.
 
I still think a Ferro rod is the most reliable way of getting fire under most conditions, unless you hands are frozen to the point of not being able to manipulate them. A Bic is my preferred method but you are screwed if the get wet or lose all their juice in your pocket. So, I put them way down on the reliable list.

As for me, if I could only have one ferro rod it's going to be our fire kit. We've had a lot of knowledgeable fire gurus swap to our kit since it will light just about anything you take a brief amount of time preparing. We may not make the best knife in the business but we do make the best Fire Kit in the business, bar none, IMO.
 
I agree the Bic has it's place any fire kit of decent size. One that doesn't have a lighter in it, is foolish IMO. It weighs next to nothing, has a lot of fire in a small package and IF it doesn't work, then move down the list to other, more reliable means. I generally remove the child safety tab from mine to make them easier to use with cold hands/gloves. Waterproof matches also take up next to no room, the downside being their one time use. As mentioned, redundancy is something I like in my fire kit.

The main downsides are that it can run out of fuel accidentally, and if you drop it on a hard surface and launch the flint, spring and striker into orbit, all you have left is a handy plastic bottle of butane. This is part of the reason I'd like a ferro rod of some kind. No moving parts, can get it wet, can't accidentally discharge the fuel. And besides, chicks dig it. :D
 
With regards to Bic lighters, I've had quite a few failures to work in really cold weather. I don't use them anymore.

My first choice is good strike anywhere matches in a good waterproof container. I use an old antique brass Marbles case, nickel plated. As always, my goal is one match per fire in any conditions.

My back up to that is a light my fire ferro rod.

For tinder I carry a small chunk of trade wood (aka pitch wood or fat wood).

For fire starting practice in the winter, I like to drive up into the mountains during a rainstorm or in the snow after work. I bring a cooler with beer and hot dogs, matches, a knife and an axe. The goal is to get a fire started in the wet conditions using one match and the axe, using only tinder and other materials found in the woods.

Find dry fuel, get the fire started, roast hot dogs and then have a beer. Once your done, put out the fire and go home. It's fun and great practice on how to find dry wood and good tinder in wet, cold conditions.
 
Col. Cornelius said:
With regards to Bic lighters, I've had quite a few failures to work in really cold weather. I don't use them anymore.

My first choice is good strike anywhere matches in a good waterproof container. I use an old antique brass Marbles case, nickel plated. As always, my goal is one match per fire in any conditions.

My back up to that is a light my fire ferro rod.

For tinder I carry a small chunk of trade wood (aka pitch wood or fat wood).

For fire starting practice in the winter, I like to drive up into the mountains during a rainstorm or in the snow after work. I bring a cooler with beer and hot dogs, matches, a knife and an axe. The goal is to get a fire started in the wet conditions using one match and the axe, using only tinder and other materials found in the woods.

Find dry fuel, get the fire started, roast hot dogs and then have a beer. Once your done, put out the fire and go home. It's fun and great practice on how to find dry wood and good tinder in wet, cold conditions.
Click to expand...

Actually testing your skills and equipment? What a novel idea!
 
Col. Cornelius said:
For fire starting practice in the winter, I like to drive up into the mountains during a rainstorm or in the snow after work. I bring a cooler with beer and hot dogs, matches, a knife and an axe. The goal is to get a fire started in the wet conditions using one match and the axe, using only tinder and other materials found in the woods.

Find dry fuel, get the fire started, roast hot dogs and then have a beer. Once your done, put out the fire and go home. It's fun and great practice on how to find dry wood and good tinder in wet, cold conditions.
Click to expand...

I think everyone should do something like this on a continuing basis. My thing now is starting my woods heater using friction fire.
 
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