Swedish Fire Steel

[lagarto]

Pretty basic question for all you experienced folks, but here goes. I just finished putting together what I think are pretty decent outdoor knife survival packs for myself and a buddy. We have Ranger Knives RD 7's for the big work and a swiss hiker, and in my case a CRKT M16-03Z in the pouch plus a Swedish Fire Steel. I know it's pretty basic, but how exactly does the steel work, or rather what's the best way to lay the fire/tinder to catch the sparks. I tried it out using tissue paper just to practice, but found that I couldn't get it to light. Do I need to have really fine fuzzsticks for it to catch, or dry grass, or what? I figure it's pretty useless to carry the darn thing if I can't understand how to use it properly. Thanks for your advice.

Lagarto

 

[alco141]

it helps if you draw the firesteel back against the blade, instead of scrapeing the
blade forward against the steel.. it is mostly a practice makes perfect type of deal, i made up some vaseline soaked cotton balls, and taught my daughters how to make a fire using the ferro road on a doan tool , the cotton balls and some kindling. after an hour or so they got the hang of it. use the back of a saw blade to make your sparks, also part of a hacksaw blade works pretty well

i would suggest you place some tinder in your survival kits also, it is the more time consuming material to obtain, and if it is cold and wet might take you some time to gather. the cotton balls mixed with vaseline are pretty easy to get going, i have dunked them under water and they still light. you need to spread out the cotton ball so that the little fibers show this helps the sparks get going. i have found that more sparke the better so a couple of strikes will help you get your tinder going.

the fire steels throw a lot more spark than the smaller rod on the doan tool. the gerber strike force which has a large rod also comes with some little white cubes of material that will burn even when wet, i have used these wet fire cubes when winter camping, and they will burn long enough to get your fire going also so they are pretty handy to have in your kit, you can even use a small piece of them to start tyour fire, or crumble them up in your tinder bundle to add some flamability.
gerber strike force:
http://www.1sks.com/store/ultimate-survival-strike-force.html

wet fire tinder:
http://www.1sks.com/store/ultimate-survival-wet-fire-tinder.html


alex

 

[Outdoors]

I do it the opposite of Alex, so I guess either way will work.

I make a fairly large pile of whatever tinder I'm using. could be tow/flax, untwisted jute twine, or cotton balls with vasoline. I like to keep it close to or in the fire lay. The swedish firesteels get tinder going in a hurry, and it can be challenging to move a softball sized fireball before it burns out.

Try it out the next time you have a few moments in the backyard or on a camping trip. It's good fun and good practice. I often use my firesteel (or flint and steel) to light a fire in the fireplace at home.

Pat

 

[longbow50]

Like has been suggested, add some good tinder. I carry spark-lite tinder, which easily catches a spark when fluffed up, is waterproof and can be cut into up to 4 pieces each and still retain good firestarting capabilities.

Lots of good tinders that can be made up at home as well. Cotton balls with a bit of vaseline added, cotton dryer lint, cotton and wax, etc.

Tinder bundles can be fun to put together with different materials and they work pretty good most of the time to get a good fire going in a hurry. The last one I put together was cotton dryer lint stuffed with curls of fatwood and the whole mess wrapped in dried tree moss. It went up like a bonfire and burned for several minutes.

It's good to go lite sometimes, but don't forget the essentials that you'll need to keep yourself hydrated, warm and dry. Then, if you're gonna spend much time in the bush, you'll need to eat, so keep that in mind as well. Have fun!