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Help using a Magnesium bar!
- Thread starter peripatew
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2007
- Messages
- 1,421
Very nice, what knife is that? And the little scraper?
:thumbup:
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2006
- Messages
- 140
All true!
The knife is CS ReconScout. Tool for scraping magnesium and making sparks is made of used HSS saw(made for cutting tool steel in machine shops). Actualy this is my old one pictured ...I have made myself shorter and thicker one
I think I have posted some pictures of those here on BF some time ago.
I will try with some pictures of my new setup in a couple of days
Wooowww. I found pics. Those two were made for my friend a few weeks ago.
The knife is CS ReconScout. Tool for scraping magnesium and making sparks is made of used HSS saw(made for cutting tool steel in machine shops). Actualy this is my old one pictured ...I have made myself shorter and thicker one
I think I have posted some pictures of those here on BF some time ago.I will try with some pictures of my new setup in a couple of days
Wooowww. I found pics. Those two were made for my friend a few weeks ago.
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 664
I posted the exact same thread because I could not get the "dime-sized" pile of magnesium. I could barely get any in fact. So I switched over to a light-my-fire firesteel. This thing was 1000% better. I never once started a fire with the magnesium rod, however, I started one on my first ever strike on the firesteel. I believe it has some magnesium in the firesteel itself. I can tell because if you shave some of it off with a knife it sparks just like magnesium. I believe this is why it is so effective.
The best way I have found to start a fire is get some birch bark. Put it flat on some hard surface. Next put your knife perpendicular to the surface and scrape side to side on the bark. This give you very fine shavings of bark. The oil makes it go up in no time.
The best way I have found to start a fire is get some birch bark. Put it flat on some hard surface. Next put your knife perpendicular to the surface and scrape side to side on the bark. This give you very fine shavings of bark. The oil makes it go up in no time.
I agree with my pal Runningboar, UncleSam puts a lot of time, effort and money studying and selecting equipment, there is a reason they chose the mag bar.
I grew up near an Air Force base, and we always had those Mag-bars from pilots survival kits kicking around. I've never had a problem starting a fire with a mag bar. The 5400* temps tend to catch fire to anything that remotely resembles tinder.
Make your pile with a hacksaw blade, an SAK saw, a piece of small file, those little scrapers, or your knife blade. It does take a little effort, but, uit takes a lot less effort and time than using a Bow&Drill. I would venture to say, if you were desparate enough, you could use a rock, rub it against the mag bar, and eventually you would have a pile of mag dust.
I like to cut a solid slivver (curl) or three, put them in the pile of dust, to extend the burn time by a few seconds.
Everything else has more to do with basic firecraft, and not the Mag bar itslelf. Dry tinder, out of the wind, good tinder bundle, proper striking technique, etc. etc. etc.
It's like painting a house, it's all in the prep work.
Everyone has a choice of what they want to use to start fires, but, it's nice to be able to use "any" of them, not just rely on one or two "sure fire" (pun intended) methods.
I grew up near an Air Force base, and we always had those Mag-bars from pilots survival kits kicking around. I've never had a problem starting a fire with a mag bar. The 5400* temps tend to catch fire to anything that remotely resembles tinder.
Make your pile with a hacksaw blade, an SAK saw, a piece of small file, those little scrapers, or your knife blade. It does take a little effort, but, uit takes a lot less effort and time than using a Bow&Drill. I would venture to say, if you were desparate enough, you could use a rock, rub it against the mag bar, and eventually you would have a pile of mag dust.
I like to cut a solid slivver (curl) or three, put them in the pile of dust, to extend the burn time by a few seconds.
Everything else has more to do with basic firecraft, and not the Mag bar itslelf. Dry tinder, out of the wind, good tinder bundle, proper striking technique, etc. etc. etc.
It's like painting a house, it's all in the prep work.
Everyone has a choice of what they want to use to start fires, but, it's nice to be able to use "any" of them, not just rely on one or two "sure fire" (pun intended) methods.