Who made your firesteel/ferro rod?

Sufler

Sufler

Joined
Oct 15, 2005
Messages
1,886
Not until just recently did I start looking at ferro rods beyond the REI found small Light My Fire which is the only ferro rod I own. Thinking I need to go bigger. What's your ferro rod and where did you get it?

Thanks!
 
I use firesteel dot com steels. Lately I've been getting the pre-drilled for lanyard models. One of these steels with a super striker and you are king of the forest:)
 
Nano Stryker
Adam @ AA Forge Knives made a custom that I bought
Shawn @ SDS Knifeworks also made a couple of customs that I bought. I'll try to get a pic up shortly.
The top one is from Adam, the lower two are from SDS Knifeworks. The bottom is an Exotac NanoStryker XL


 
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Esee fire steels have worked very well for me, I like the storage and compass, and lately the exotac with a smaller storage compartment. Doesn't hold a whole lot of tinder but enough to get a fire going fast. Fits on a sheath better than the esee.
 
For large steels, I use the cheap Cohglan's brand ones. They work just fine, although I've had 2 that the rod came out of the plastic handle fairly quickly, but super glue it back on and they've not came off again.

Yes, they are very inexpensive, but they work every time.
 
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I bought mines on a small store in north of Atlanta called Going Gear, great guys, great service and I was in Atlanta at the time so it was a no brainer for me.
 
Firesteel-Firesteel Armageddon (massive beast of making 1000's of fires, the if I could only take 1 firesteel)

Exotac-Habilus Fire Rod (this one is my favorite, can easily replace rods, has excellent tender storage)

Gerber-Bear Grylls (had to try it, way to huge for minimalist kits)

Kershaw-Looks like a rebranded firesteel (almost worn out, worked just fine but a little spendy)

Coleman-Cheapie Magnesium with ferro rod glued on (not my favorite, but cheap and fairly reliable)
 
I havs had
two firesteel.com firesteels
a strike force
a swedish firesteel
an egear firesteel
a coughlan's firesteel
and a no name one
by far, the biggest, brightest, easiest to throw, and most plentiful sparks came from the firesteel.com firesteel
 
Another vote for firesteel dot com. I use one of the Corona sharpening tools as a striker. It's like having the power of Greyskull
 
I'm a fan of carrying the largest firesteel that is practical. Bigger gives you more to hold on to, and more surface area for creating sparks. Think about trying to use one with cold, potentially dexterity-compromised hands and/or with gloves.

I have a couple LMFs and they're ok, but I really like the Armageddon.
 
FireSteel Armageddon GobSpark.. My first steel and my last.. This thing is a spark thrower.. JMO!! John :)
 
It is interesting that the ferrocerium rod has has so many names over the years: man-made flint; metal match; Hot Spark; magnesium [?!] rod; mischmetal; and lately fire steel (which used to be the steel you hit with natural flint to "to strike a spark.")
 
i must've tried all the usual brands available on most stores (light my fire, gerber/bear grylls, coughlan's, etc.) but goinggear and firesteel.com's blanks mostly are my goto since i have the esee one and i just replace the rod when it wears out. a few weeks back i bought an exotac firerod (looks similar to esee's but with a much smaller capsule) and i'm starting to favor that one since i can keep it with my main knife (i'm currently in the mood to neck carry a mora) without the whole thing getting too bulky/heavy.

jay_baseline_loadout_020114_02_zps2a93b3c8.jpg
 
worn out esee fire kit...i make feathersticks and start fires at home for fun/practice.

esee_firesteel_snapped.jpg
 
I got a giant one off of either amazon or ebay. It's like 4-5in long and a quarter inch thick. I wrapped some duct tape around one end for a handle. IIRC duct tape is combustible too.
 
Firesteel.com or goinggear.com is where I've gotten mine, decent prices and a wide variety of sizes.

The magnesium bars from firesteel.com are great too.
 
I've gotten a few from the popular auction site, direct from China. They have been hit and miss, some have been really good, and a couple take some serious grunt to throw sparks. I do a couple wraps of 2mm cord, and super-glue for a handle.
 
Exotac poly striker ... comes with a tungsten striker ... that striker will rips gob of molten muck off any ferro rod ... amazing little tool right there and the guy ships to Australia , without charging an arm and a leg to do it
ok stepping down off the soap box now :) I dont own shares , truly .
 
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