I don't know if I can describe it well enough, but here goes:
- the biggest mistake most make is to use the power of their arms to strike the spark. There is little control this way;
- if you're doing it like Bear Grylls does, you're doing it wrong;
- instead, squeeze the knife in your strong hand, edge facing up;
- hold the firesteel in weak hand, between thumb and forefinger;
- let the fingers of your weak hand touch the fingers of your strong hand, keeping the hands together;
- hold the firesteel end close to your tinder source (dryer lint and dry tinder work well, though the wax, vaseline, fatwood, and other man-made tinder starters are good too);
- squeeze the muscles in both hands, forcing the spine of the blade down along the ferrocerium rod (stainless, carbon, whatever blade steels: all work as well as another, rather it's the squared edge of the spine that's important, as another poster said). The stroke is actually very short, maybe 1/2" inch along the length of the ferro rod;
- this is worth repeating - use the muscles of your hand to squeeze, instead of stroking using arm muscles. Not only do you have greater control, and will get larger, hotter sparks (globulets of molten metal), but you will not lose control of the knife and have it slam into your tinder pile....ending up with the tip striking a rock or sand or dirt or whatever.
It takes a little practice, but those who do it this way will come along and testify to its effectiveness. Use your hand and finger muscles , NOT your arm muscles, to strike the spark. You know how if you're carving a small piece of wood, you would use your thumb on one end and the knife blade nestled in your fingers, then squeeze the muscles of that hand to make a short controlled cut? We've all done that when needed. Well, same exact principal, just a little different direction and purpose.
- the biggest mistake most make is to use the power of their arms to strike the spark. There is little control this way;
- if you're doing it like Bear Grylls does, you're doing it wrong;
- instead, squeeze the knife in your strong hand, edge facing up;
- hold the firesteel in weak hand, between thumb and forefinger;
- let the fingers of your weak hand touch the fingers of your strong hand, keeping the hands together;
- hold the firesteel end close to your tinder source (dryer lint and dry tinder work well, though the wax, vaseline, fatwood, and other man-made tinder starters are good too);
- squeeze the muscles in both hands, forcing the spine of the blade down along the ferrocerium rod (stainless, carbon, whatever blade steels: all work as well as another, rather it's the squared edge of the spine that's important, as another poster said). The stroke is actually very short, maybe 1/2" inch along the length of the ferro rod;
- this is worth repeating - use the muscles of your hand to squeeze, instead of stroking using arm muscles. Not only do you have greater control, and will get larger, hotter sparks (globulets of molten metal), but you will not lose control of the knife and have it slam into your tinder pile....ending up with the tip striking a rock or sand or dirt or whatever.
It takes a little practice, but those who do it this way will come along and testify to its effectiveness. Use your hand and finger muscles , NOT your arm muscles, to strike the spark. You know how if you're carving a small piece of wood, you would use your thumb on one end and the knife blade nestled in your fingers, then squeeze the muscles of that hand to make a short controlled cut? We've all done that when needed. Well, same exact principal, just a little different direction and purpose.
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