MAgnesium (Firestarter) corrosion?

[shane justice]

Guys,

I pulled out one of my "Go Bags" this weekend...

I had an old Magnesium fire starter...the one with the flint embedded in it...and a small Scout style "flint"...

Both of the "flints" were sort of weird looking...sort of a fuzzy glaze to them...the scout style was eroded/corroded next to the handle...

Looked very fragile...86'ed both tof them....

Whats the deal...was it the MAG that did it...or something else...

these were sealed in a zip loc bag.

Shane

 

[Thomas Linton]

The fire steel material can corrode from exposure to atmospheric humidy. Coverage with nail polish is often recommended, expecially for humid areas. The Scout products are liable to corrode from my experience - without any contact with magnesium. The Swedish products that I have seem less prone to the problem, but I paint them over after use anyway. NTTGM.