Firesteels?

G

GroovyMr1337

Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
220
I cannot use a firesteel. I'll be honest with you. I have tried-Under optimal conditions, mind you-to get a fire started with nothing more than things I have found around my backyard, and I have failed miserably. I got a fire one time by striking it around 30 times on a piece of lint, and again on some leaves and paper, but overall, it just seemed extremely tough to use. So, this begs me to ask some questions-
1. Why? I cannot see any benefits that a firesteel has, over, say, a magnesium bar with a striking insert. Why would you want to step back when you don't have to? It would be like bringing a bad knife with you just to see what it is like with a "bad knife".
2. Any tips, things I am doing wrong? I really want to like firesteels, and they have quite a following on Bladeforums, but to me, without special tinder, it seems it would be extremely hard to do.

Thank you.
 
gathering natural tinder is a chalenge some times, that is why most of us carry the vasoline soaked cotton balls, but you can spark a variety of natural materials, try some birch bark that you have frizzed up with your knife. also cat tail down will flash for you, you need a lot. dandelion fluff, milkweed pods also work but you need to gather a fair amount. so spend some time with the tool. it works well and is a waterproof source fo fire, take a walk in the woods and gather your tinder as you go. in the old days in pennsylvania it was a poor woodsman that did not have his pockets filled with some tinder he gathered on his travels.

alex
 
You're right tinder is the key in all fires, its just more apparent with primitive methods. While firesteels don't require "special" tinder, what works has to be very dry and preferably fluffy. Cotton balls and vaseline work very well, cattail or thistle down, cedar or birch bark, or 0000 steel wool all should give you good results.

The mag bar you speak of is just a firesteel with built in tinder, tinder that burns so fast that you will still need good "normal" tinder.

For me the advantage of firesteels are they are not affected by moisture or cold and for their size and weght they will give you more fires than just about any other method.

Just my .02
 
Make sure that you have a good striker. I bought a BS Hotspark and the striker that came with it was crap, I threw it away. Try using the spine of your knife or cut yourself a piece of hacksaw blade, that works great. You really need fiberous material for the spark to catch well. Cotton balls, dryer lint, dry grass really kneaded up well, etc. Keep trying, you'll get it!!
 
I'm not clear about what you are posting. Are you trying to start a fire using flint and steel? If so then you really should make some char cloth. Remember the cloth catches the hot sheared off iron or steel. The flint strikes the steel and shears off a red hot piece.

If you are using a mishmetal type firesteel (one word) such as a BSAHot Spark or a Swedish fire steel then you need to start simply ie with a cotton ball as your tinder nest.
 
Well, many of the "great tinder" that has been mentioned-and I have seen mentioned in other books-is problematic for me, because there is not much of it where I live (Texas) as far as I know. Also, if you need to pack specialized tinder, doesn't that sort of defeat the "foolproof"-ness of the firesteel?

BTW, the model I have is a light my fire firesteel, scout model. Your comments bring up another one of my problems-I can barely get a spark from the spine of my more clipper, and none from my SAK. (both stainless steel). I actually get the best spark from the attachment.
 
Hey Guys...

Groovy...

Well,, I would say that first off I'd say abiggs hit the nail on the head with your Scraper...

Pitch the POS scraper that came with the firesteel, and get yourself a good scraper.. I've found that using the back of the saw on a SAK, or the flat sharp spine of a knife, or even getting yourself a cheap paring knife and snapping off the blade 2 " before the handle makes an Excellent Scraper...

The next thing you need to locate is tinder..

Texas should be Simply loaded with suitable tinder.. I think you just need to look a little harder and try different things..

It is a learning curve for sure..

The reason we carry prepared tinder is for the simple fact dry tinder isn't always found..When a fire is needed right away,, we use the Go to tinder....

Keep at it,, the Firesteel you have is good, get a good scraper,, and your life will change...


ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark said:
Hey Guys...

Groovy...

Well,, I would say that first off I'd say abiggs hit the nail on the head with your Scraper...

Pitch the POS scraper that came with the firesteel, and get yourself a good scraper.. I've found that using the back of the saw on a SAK, or the flat sharp spine of a knife, or even getting yourself a cheap paring knife and snapping off the blade 2 " before the handle makes an Excellent Scraper...

The next thing you need to locate is tinder..

Texas should be Simply loaded with suitable tinder.. I think you just need to look a little harder and try different things..

It is a learning curve for sure..

The reason we carry prepared tinder is for the simple fact dry tinder isn't always found..When a fire is needed right away,, we use the Go to tinder....

Keep at it,, the Firesteel you have is good, get a good scraper,, and your life will change...


ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Thanks man. Do you guys see any problem with carrying the Mag Bar with striking insert? I mean, it is basically just a tiny striker with a mag bar, right? I like the security of having extremely hot tinder right there.
 
Hey Groovy...

No problem...

No,, theres no reason not to carry a Doan tool..

There are alot of people here that swear by them...

I have several of them...
They work excellent under the right conditions for sure....

Magnesium shaving work very well however it is considered Flash tinder..

Your fire set needs to be properly made and you will still need another source of tinder that the shavings will ignite..

The only really big problem is wind and it takes time to prepare magnesium,, other than that good stuff...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Just to add another thing about mag bars, their not bad for me in the sense that I like flash tinders, I allways get things setup, then go. But I find the shavings from mag bars just blow away too much, not like say drier lint, or cotton balls.
 
I tried a magnesium bar for the first time years ago (1970,s) one night when a friend and I were a bit turned around in the Elkhorn mountains south of Clancy Mt. We decided to sit until morning and thought a fire would be nice. It was late Aug and started out a day hike looking for elk sign for the upcoming hunt. Everything worked out ok but I will never forget the extremely bright flash as I scraped the bar after we had been hiking in the dark for awhile . I was temporarliy blinded for at least a couple minutes. it was funny at the time and even now thinking about it but lesson learned for me always test the equipment in the environment it is going to be used. Went on to a move to Alaska and found two rolls of toilet paper( multiple use!!) and a couple bic lighters worked well in that wet environment. I now work overseas alot Iraq Sudan etc and always carry a fire steel.
 
What I do is make a small depression in the ground with my thump, put the shavings in and add tinder over the shavings. This also eliminates the wind factor a bit.

If you buy a magnesiumbar with small flint, make sure it's a Doan like Eric said. As far as I know these are far more superior to the cheap Coghlans. They work too, but the small flint bar will come loose soon. With a Doan I have to see it happen...
Tinder is the key to a good fire. :D

I now mostly use a flint bar (without the magnesium). Tinder is almost everywhere if you know what to look for. (even in wet weather)

CZ
 
I have heard a lot of bad things in this forum about Coghlan magnesium fire starters. I have used them for years (more than 25?) I have never had a single problem with them. I carry one on my belt every single day regardless of where I'm going.

Of course, this is not to say that some people have not had a problem with them.

I prefer a mag bar to a fire steel (although I have them as well) because you're always guaranteed some flash tinder. And yes, I know and use natural tinders.

Doc
 
I like firesteels for backup firestarters. I use mag bars, matches and a lighter more often. But it's good to practice with all the methods you carry. As we all know, even in perfect conditions it's hard to get a fire going sometimes.
 
Coghlan's had a problem with their adhesive. The Striker would come loose from the magnesium bar. That problem was fixed many years ago, like 15 at least. I have a Goghlan's and a Doan or two and have had no problem with either one. I prefer a bare firesteel but either will do the trick.

Anyone who buys either one should practice with ideal tinder such as a cotton ball or Mayadust. Once you have mastered that skill then move up to natural tinders. Oh, and ignore everything Normark said about scrapers. ;) Get a short piece of hacksaw blade and tie it to your firesteel.
 
GroovyMr1337 said:
BTW, the model I have is a light my fire firesteel, scout model. Your comments bring up another one of my problems-I can barely get a spark from the spine of my more clipper, and none from my SAK. (both stainless steel). I actually get the best spark from the attachment.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, you can't use Stainless steel as a striker, because it won't produce a spark, that may only be true for flints, but I thought it was for all firesteels. That's one of the reasons why I prefer carbon steel knives, because the spine can be used if for some reason you lose your striker. As for strikers, quite a few people have mentioned using a piece of old hacksaw blade, so let me be one more to suggest the same thing.
 
Hey Guys...

From talking with the owner of Doan in Ohio..
I was to understand that ALL magnesium bars that are of the Doan Tool configuration were manufacturered by Doan in Ohio, no matter what markings they had on them, be it Military, Coghlans, Coleman, ect ect...

Stingray...

First of all we have to have an understanding between the difference of a Scraper and a Striker....

A Scraper used on Firesteels (ferrocerium) can be pretty much anything that is sharp. Hacksaw blade, knife, hunk of steel or glas,, what have you...

Ferrocerium will throw a spark with nearly anything.. There are some better than others..

Strikers are what is used with natural flint, sometimes a piece of rock..
Basically whats happening here is that the flint or rock is knocking off a piece of the striker,, which ignites..

A striker can be several different things as well,, however they are traditionally D shaped. A file can be used as a striker as well as the back of a carbon knife..
The steel actually gets damaged in the process,, so you may want to use a crappy knife for this job...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Have you tried using charcloth with your ferro rod. Any 'spark' method is enhanced with char cloth.
 
Ok, thanks for clearing that up for me Normark.

For those of you that use a piece of hacksaw blade: Do you use the back of it or the teeth side of it? It seems, for me anyway, that the teeth side of it throughs off better, more consistant sparks.
 
I cant think of where I read it, I think in the SAS Guide, but you are supposed to use the "broken" end of the hacksaw blade and bend it while pulling the firesteel itself and holding the blade in place.
 
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