Fire steels: Which do you prefer?

[Moonpie]

I know nothing about fire steels. Thought I'd would pickup a few and learn how to use them.
Which one is your favorite and why?

 

[acorneau]

Ha!

 

[kurt]

View attachment 31308

Ha!

You beat me to it.

 

[Moonpie]

View attachment 31308

Ha!

You're killin' me. LoL

 

[breakingcontact]

I just steal fire instead.

 

[Acera]

Whatever you do, don't think that a Zippo is the answer. Yes, it is an awesome tool and a classic hard working fire starter, they are a PITA to maintain as a survival tool. Flints, fuel, etc. all add up to when you need it the most the fuel has vaporized and it will not light. Good for everyday carry and use where you are constantly able to maintain it, sucks for a survival situation.

In my bag I have a Blastmatch and some prepackaged wet tinder starters. However, that is only for an extreme emergency, the Bic lighters I carry will have to be empty and/or lost before I resort to that.

 

[breakingcontact]

In my bag and in my car I just have a bunch of lighters. In my long term gear I have a magnesium fire starter, one of those cheap ones from Academy.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Moon, not sure what you are wanting to do here, play with it, start a fire, pick your nose. Over the many years I have been sitting in the woods somewhere trying to start a fire I have found the old bar of Magnesium WORKS unless the rest.

You are going to be out for 10 days. It was blue skies and comfortable weather when you left. On day 3, that night the front blew in bringing rain and lower temps but you had clothes to deal with it. On day 6 the next front blew in and it brought more rain and unusually LOW temps. By day 7 everyone was cold to the bone and soaked to the bone. That night it was clear we needed warmth. Rain was finally starting to ease off from the downpour of the past 4 days. Now to start a fire with wet and I meant WET wood.

Out came a bevy of fire starters, some simple, some high dollar jobs. While everyone blamed the wet wood the reality is the fire starters just were not up to the task. Someone said we will never get a fire started and after several hours of working at it, not a single twig had even been lit. An old timer stood up and said I will have a roaring fire in the next 10 min, anyone want to bet against me? One guy said, sure, case of beer and it wen on from there. As the campsite was in the bend of a creek the old timer said I need 2 folks to gather wood for me. Two guys stepped up and he told them to wade down into the creek and bring wood from IN the water...WTH you say Pops? Yes go get some wood from the creek. In short time they brought up a couple of arm loads.

Old timer starting picking thru the wood, the took one, broke it in half and kneeled down on the ground. he pulled out that cheap magnesium block, shaved off some of it, made a V out of the two pieces of creek wood, flipped over the mag block and struck it with his sheath knife, sparks flew, wood BURST into flame and he said bring the wood that put in a pile, break it in half and put it on top of the now burring wood. In less that 10 min, there was a huge fire and a lot of guys standing around it getting warm and dry for the first time in almost a week.


Point being: They all work, but not all of them work when thing are not good.

FYI: was the secret in the magnesium or was it in the wood from the bottom of the creek? It was the wood from the bottom of the creek! The mag just made it start faster...

 

[Acera]

Those ^^^^^^ magnesium fire starters can be found at Harbor Freight for a couple of dollars.

Got one that I cut in half to fit into my knife sheath for that exact purpose.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Those ^^^^^^ magnesium fire starters can be found at Harbor Freight for a couple of dollars.

Got one that I cut in half to fit into my knife sheath for that exact purpose.

And how long have those been around?????? Had one when I was a kid.

I have loved being out and have never cared if it was cold, rain, snow, sleet, just love being out there and the longer the better. Here are some things I have learned: On day 1 all that neat and keen stuff from REI etc etc etc works and works well. Day 2 a few things break, some don't function as you had hoped, day 3 it rains, day 4 its cold, day 5 its hot and every day one more piece of high dollar, equipment is not up to the task. When I became an Officer in the Infantry I had money to buy the "good stuff". As the years went by I had and bought less and less of the "Good stuff" and more and more old US GI issue. Most of it not as pretty, often not as comfy like the rucksack...but I can load that ruck to the point it weighed more than I did and I would wear out a set of shoulder straps in 30 days or less. Yea a few things did make the cut, like the Therma-Rest self-inflating mattress I bought back in the early 70's and now the wife is using it. It has stood the test of time and USE!

 

[breakingcontact]

And how long have those been around?????? Had one when I was a kid.

I have loved being out and have never cared if it was cold, rain, snow, sleet, just love being out there and the longer the better. Here are some things I have learned: On day 1 all that neat and keen stuff from REI etc etc etc works and works well. Day 2 a few things break, some don't function as you had hoped, day 3 it rains, day 4 its cold, day 5 its hot and every day one more piece of high dollar, equipment is not up to the task. When I became an Officer in the Infantry I had money to buy the "good stuff". As the years went by I had and bought less and less of the "Good stuff" and more and more old US GI issue. Most of it not as pretty, often not as comfy like the rucksack...but I can load that ruck to the point it weighed more than I did and I would wear out a set of shoulder straps in 30 days or less. Yea a few things did make the cut, like the Therma-Rest self-inflating mattress I bought back in the early 70's and now the wife is using it. It has stood the test of time and USE!

I like my REI stuff much better than my GI stuff but I dont buy their fancy stuff.

Through slowly buying better gear i carried less and less weight. Not ultralight hiking but light anyways. Esbit stove saved a ton of weight.
When I was hiking I got from 65 pound packs down to 35 fo 6-8 day trips. Man I miss being able to do that.

Anyways for a fire starter, lighters first then the magnesium ones. Have a Gerber knife with a fire starter built into the sheath.

I was always curious how those torch strikers would work.

 

[winchster]

Vaseline soaked cotton balls. 7 minutes of burn time from a spark. Mix in some old fashioned magnesium shavings on top of that and you can light fire in a downpour.

 

[breakingcontact]

I have some of these prepackaged tinder balls but never used them. Lighters always worked for me. Cheap and I kept 2/3 for backup. When I was in the back country id keep the magnesium starter too.

 

[winchster]

The cotton balls are cheaper and burn better than any prepackaged tinder I've ever used.

 

[breakingcontact]

Ill keep the cotton ball vasoline (not gasoline!) combo in mind.

Back to the OP, what other fire steel materials are there? Other designs?

 

[Acera]

Vaseline soaked cotton balls. 7 minutes of burn time from a spark. Mix in some old fashioned magnesium shavings on top of that and you can light fire in a downpour.

Never thought about the magnesium shavings on them, that is a great idea. I have a bunch of just regular cotton balls soaked in Vaseline stuffed into those big straws you get from Jack in the Box and sealed up tight in the bag. May have to make another tube or so with the magnesium.

Ole Cowboy, I did the same thing. Found I liked the 'H' straps a lot better than the newer 'Y' straps on the LBE, some of the old stuff was better than the new, and some of the West German kit was very well thought out and good. Really miss that British parka I traded for and lost

Oh, and one more thing, don't wait until you are out in the field to try and get skilled at using these things. I start the fire pit on the patio a number of times each year with this stuff.

 

[Acera]

Ill keep the cotton ball gasoline combo in mind.

Back to the OP, what other fire steel materials are there? Other designs?

This is not what I would recommend for a survival bag, but fits your question, and it would work LOL.

 

[Acera]

Custer Forge & Welding: Blacksmithing

 

[Acera]

A 9 Volt batter and some steel wool also works.

 

[Acera]

Tesla cars are also a good tool to start a fire...................ijs.