Magnesium Fire Starter Thoughts

E

effer

Joined
Feb 13, 2009
Messages
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OK, I got the magnesium fire starter some time ago. The one like this:
Mag_Firestarter.jpg


Played with it on several occasions and I find it difficult to use. Shaving magnesium from the bar takes a LOT of work and a lot of time. I know magnesium burns very hot, but I'm not sure if it worth the effort.
What's the best way to use it? Included small saw blade is uncomfortable and very slow option to get magnesium dust/shavings. Back of the knife blade improves it a bit, but still is not that great. File? Maybe something else?

I really like fatwood and weber cubes (wetfire) even more. Having these two options I'm not sure if magnesium bar can offer me something else.

So my questions are: Where magnesium bar would be a better option (extremely cold conditions?) and what is the best way to use it?
 
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best way to use it is in a survival situation when one doesn't give a crap about comfy fire striker, they just need to get one started... I have used one for the last three years or so, and I don't have issues getting a flame with it. Pre-shave the magnesium while watching a movie or something, 220 grit sandpaper works best I find. then funnel the shavings into a couple of dime bags to throw in your tinder box. You shouldn't have to pay money for brand name fuel or tinder, there's almost always something in your environment readily available you can use that will take a spark. Jute, petrol jelly cotton balls, there are a dozen different things you can use that if you are careful and deliberate will produce a flame with very little work with a fire rod.
 
PayetteRucker said:
best way to use it is in a survival situation when one doesn't give a crap about comfy fire striker, they just need to get one started... I have used one for the last three years or so, and I don't have issues getting a flame with it.
Click to expand...

I don't have much issues getting a flame with it either. My only problem is that it requires a lot of time and effort to get one started using it as opposed to some other methods. In most cases I just used the attached ferro rod alone without touching the magnesium. I totally understand the 'last resort' approach, I'm just questioning if it provides any real advantages versus say stick of fatwood and a ferro rod. With fatwood I can get shavings easier, they catch sparks just as good. I also can cut little pieces off to keep the fire going for quite some time.


PayetteRucker said:
Pre-shave the magnesium while watching a movie or something, 220 grit sandpaper works best I find. then funnel the shavings into a couple of dime bags to throw in your tinder box.
Click to expand...

To be honest with you, I really don't like the pre-shaving stuff to carry with me in a separate tin or bag. It takes more room. Also in case of fatwood, it not as water proof as the whole thing.
With this magnesium bar, I will probably pre-shave half of the bar some time later to get some use out of it. Will try 220 grit.

PayetteRucker said:
You shouldn't have to pay money for brand name fuel or tinder, there's almost always something in your environment readily available you can use that will take a spark. Jute, petrol jelly cotton balls, there are a dozen different things you can use that if you are careful and deliberate will produce a flame with very little work with a fire rod.
Click to expand...

Well, paying money for fuel or tinder is questionable. I paid some money (very little) for that magnesium bar (probably just like you). Cotton balls cost money (though dryer lint could be used), petrol jelly costs money. Time and comfort costs money too. For me, Weber cubes (wetfire) are very comfortable to use. At 15 cents a piece (24 pack for $3.49) these big cubes are very easy to light with a spark, they burn for a long time, they are quite reusable and easy to carry. There is nothing wrong with perol jelly cotton balls, it is a great fire starting material except that I don't like much messing with them. For 15 cents a cube and zero effort I can get a prepackaged weber's material that has some advantages over jelly balls. This is just my preference and in no way I'm trying to advertise this product. I'm just trying to explain my point.

I also want to figure out in what situation magnesium bar could be a better option.
 
Magnesium bar is for throwing in your bag, trunk, pack, canoe, atv or whatever and forgetting about it. Then if you ever do need it, days, months or years later it will still work, wet or dry. Chris
 
I use them for long term storage kits. The problem with many of the awesome tinders like wetfire, weber cubes, trioxene etc is that they WILL degrade over time if the packaging gets perforated at all. In a kit that will be stored for years possibly this is unacceptable to me.

I make up a time proof fire kit with a mag block, saw scraper, aluminum screw-top tube filled with PJ Cotton. I bundle these items in a length of inner tube rubber to act as a secondary tinder. If the ferro rod portion of the mag block is heavily coated with a waterproof sealer the kit will last forever in along term storage.

In use the quickest method is to just use the ferro rod to ignite the pj cotton which then ignites a slice of the rubber. This works best in damp conditions. The magnesium is there as a booster if it is very cold out. Mac
 
I've used them for years, but recently bought one ( Coghlans) where the flint sparked very poorly or not even at all !! So, make sure it works before putting it in your survival gear. Petroleum jelly/cottonballs are always a good tinder back-up to have.

The shaving of magnesium takes time and manual dexterity, and I find this difficult with very cold hands, so prepping some beforehand is a good idea in colder climates.
 
Use the back of a knife with a flat finished spine, then scrape the corners of the mag bar, then the edges those scrapes make. Don't try to scrape flat down the whole back of the bar. I've used one enough times to know what to expect from it and feel comfortable that I could use it effectively if it was all I had, but in general I go for dryer lint mixed in with a little vaseline.
 
hiwa said:
I've used them for years, but recently bought one ( Coghlans) where the flint sparked very poorly or not even at all !! So, make sure it works before putting it in your survival gear. Petroleum jelly/cottonballs are always a good tinder back-up to have.

The shaving of magnesium takes time and manual dexterity, and I find this difficult with very cold hands, so prepping some beforehand is a good idea in colder climates.
Click to expand...

ditto, add in damaged hands (accident damage) and trying to fuss with mag bars is pointless. I stick with PJCB and fatwood
 
I completely agree Effer. I can start a fire with a magnesium block, but it seems like a lot of effort, and there's a long list of other commercial and natural tinder that is less effort for me that I would use first. Not a bad idea, though, to pre-shave the block down and put in a little plastic bag thingy. I'd rather have the mag block than nothing, but I think it's my least favorite fire aid. William
 
effer said:
I don't have much issues getting a flame with it either. My only problem is that it requires a lot of time and effort to get one started using it as opposed to some other methods. In most cases I just used the attached ferro rod alone without touching the magnesium. I totally understand the 'last resort' approach, I'm just questioning if it provides any real advantages versus say stick of fatwood and a ferro rod. With fatwood I can get shavings easier, they catch sparks just as good. I also can cut little pieces off to keep the fire going for quite some time.




To be honest with you, I really don't like the pre-shaving stuff to carry with me in a separate tin or bag. It takes more room. Also in case of fatwood, it not as water proof as the whole thing.
With this magnesium bar, I will probably pre-shave half of the bar some time later to get some use out of it. Will try 220 grit.



Well, paying money for fuel or tinder is questionable. I paid some money (very little) for that magnesium bar (probably just like you). Cotton balls cost money (though dryer lint could be used), petrol jelly costs money. Time and comfort costs money too. For me, Weber cubes (wetfire) are very comfortable to use. At 15 cents a piece (24 pack for $3.49) these big cubes are very easy to light with a spark, they burn for a long time, they are quite reusable and easy to carry. There is nothing wrong with perol jelly cotton balls, it is a great fire starting material except that I don't like much messing with them. For 15 cents a cube and zero effort I can get a prepackaged weber's material that has some advantages over jelly balls. This is just my preference and in no way I'm trying to advertise this product. I'm just trying to explain my point.

I also want to figure out in what situation magnesium bar could be a better option.
Click to expand...

Never used or heard of Weber cubes. I can't get PJCB's to take a spark for some reason, so I usually use jute or sagebrush bark or something like that to make a bed to take a spark and in turn light the PJCB's for a substantial flame. A dime bag is exactly that, a ziploc bag the size of a dime-it won't take up any real amount of space and will fit in a tinder box. That makes the most sense to me anyway... like anything that costs 4 dollars at Walmart, it probably isn't the most ideal product. It does the job though.
 
I have scrapped the magnesium block with the file on my leatherman wave and I have used a sharpened striker to get the shavings; however, in an emergency I'd prefer to use the actual edge to shave the magnesium block rather than the back of the blade, I know it is hard on the edge but it's a lot easier and faster to get suitable magnesium pieces this way (no big deal if you use the same little portion of the blade so you dont ruin the entire edge, which can be re-sharpened anyway).



Jaime Orozco.
 
soemone here mentioned petroleum vaseline or something...

VIC is petroleum based as well... it works too... and you can sniff that for nasal congestion...

EDIT: I just read this "At 15 cents a piece (24 pack for $3.49) these big cubes are very easy to light with a spark, they burn for a long time, they are quite reusable and easy to carry."... one dollar at the 99 cent store gets you a container with a lot of VIC or even petro jelly and another dollar for cotton (does not have to be balls)... and the effort is minimal...
 
I have used the awl blade on my SAK to shave the mag and also to throw sparks on the fero or flint rod, whatever it is. Seemed liked it worked OK.
 
Magnesium sure makes a hot fast burn. After scraping piles of it and trying to keep it from blowing away the PJCB straws are a better way to go for me.


PayetteRucker said:
I can't get PJCB's to take a spark for some reason,
Click to expand...
Same problem here but found I was using too much PJ at first.

Try again if you get a chance. Make sure the CB package says 100% cotton and test a plain fluffed out CB (no PJ) by hitting it with sparks. It should light right up. If so add a little PJ to another fluffed CB keeping dry cotton to the outside and experiment to get a max burn without over saturation.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Some previously posted thoughts on the subject.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.
I found this thread very interesting.


Shelf like of magnesium bar is an interesting point as well. Although I usually double check my stuff ahead of time, I can imagine how finding still working magnesium bar couple of years later can be useful.
I'm wondering how storing magnesium bar versus fatwood stick will stack up after a year or two.
 
I use one all the time just shave and strike I have not had any problems at all I use he back of the knife blade to shave and strike I prebuild a "birds nest" before I start shaving and shave into it.. I can understand if you have problems with your hands how much of a pain it would be!!
 
^ yea my grip at times can be an issue.......

i have clamped a magbar into a vice, put a pie plate underneath and used a hand plane to get massive qauntities of shavings......

.....problem is soon as i shave the mag bar, i want to light em up!
 
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