Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron James on September 2, 2010 at 11:39

I have several steels from firesteel, and several small magnesium rods that they sell,, but since the world is gonna fall apart in 2012, I thought I better have more magnesium on hand, so looked around and found some 1 1/4 X 12 inch rods and bought 4 of them,,, will never run out, nor will kids or grandkids.. (still waiting there).
Also bought some magnesium shavings, they rather large shavings and sometimes hard to light, but add some scrapings from a rod, and it lights right up. Is great for those times you want to play, or just show off.

Permalink Reply by danny b on September 2, 2010 at 16:13

where did u git the bulk rod an the shaveings??

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on September 14, 2010 at 13:54

Ouch .. I'm rather balding !!

Seriously .. great tip on the drying matches .. never heard that one before !!

Permalink Reply by Ron James on November 8, 2010 at 0:41

If anyone is looking for magnesium, here is my fav seller on Ebay,
,http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150517255256...
If it says sold, just click on other sellers other items. He always has some, and it works great, and at a great price compared to the small sticks or blocks you see for sale.

Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on May 26, 2011 at 8:03

That list looks almost exactly like mine except for amounts of an item...I had completetly forgotten about Potassium permanganate [KMnO4] as a fire starter--I'd used it to colour "HELP" on snow and as a water purifier.

I also carry dryer lint in a ziplock freezer bag (water container) and the wrappers for light bulbs and cookies, that light, white, corrugated cardboard burns fiercely and wrapped around items prevents their rattling and deadens sounds.

Permalink Reply by KENT GABLE on January 29, 2012 at 1:44

Dear William & Andew, of course aside from the obvious, which is some kind of waterproof container, or waxing the tip of "strike anywhere matches" which can be found in most hardware stores, but my most dependable resource is a "Goblaster Armagedon Fire Steel"! Say "Haw?" Well, checkout their wenbsite at  www.firesteel.com  & watch their videos. Expensive? Yeah, sort of but man! What a spark. They used to come with a nice little handle attached but as usual, that's gone to keep prices down. Still, you have a 3/8" dia. steel & scraper that really works well, under any conditions for around $17.00 + S&H. I don't mean to argue brands with you Andrew. We're on the same wave length. I'm just not familiar with LMF (I'm sure its good if you say so) but there are some makes out there that work, but just barely. The important thing is buying a good one that does.

Still, it ain't worth a "dang" unless y'all have some fast burning dry tinder so I also carry a film canister on my person, in which I keep filled cotton balls impregnated with a little petroleum jelly & some steel wool. Steel wool burns like crazy and will help get the jellied cotton balls burst into flame. A few scrapes on your fire steel and have your kindling ready to make a little teepee and you will have (almost) instant fire even if you fell out of you're boat and had to swim to shore.

Also, ya might want to check out www.survivaltopics.com/  for survival tips and they also advertise firesteel.com at the top of their webpage. Whenever I go out in my boat ( I almost always try to find a remote area) these are always two items I carry along with a reliable knife, 10' of parachord, compass and a light weight space blanket.

The trouble with survival kits is keeping them light enough so that you actually carry them or at least have the basics necessary to survive.

Permalink Reply by Terry Waldele on February 19, 2012 at 4:06

I went to a gun and knife show in Portland, OR today and saw a cool fire starter that I've never seen or heard of before.  Can't remember what it's called, but it operates on the same principle as a diesel engine.  It consists of a wooden tube with one end plugged, a knob-handled steel "plunger" shaft with small recess in the end and an "O-ring"  mounted on the plunger shaft just behind the recess (like a cylinder and piston), and some "carbonized" shredded tinder, a small amount of which is inserted into the recess in the end of the plunger.  The plunger is then inserted into the open end of the wooden tube and slammed home smartly.  The pressure that is built up ignites the tinder in the end of the plunger and blowing gently on the glowing tinder causes it to glow even hotter.  Placing the glowing tinder next to a small wad of tinder on some dry wood ignites it, and with a little gentle blowing, you've got yourself a fire!

The origin of this device, as the maker described it to me, is equally interesting.  According to him, it was originally invented in the Philippines by natives who used bamboo blow guns for hunting.  Apparently, they discovered it when they were making fairly long blowguns by ramming through the bamboo "joints" and noticed that, when they pulled out the ramming tool, the end of it was hot enough to glow red, i.e., hot enough to start a fire.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Aren't we humans amazing?

P.S.  I wonder if Rudolf Diesel visited the Philippines before he invented the Diesel engine in 1893.

Permalink Reply by KENT GABLE on February 19, 2012 at 12:19

Terry- there's lots of different types of fire starters out there. I've seen something similar to what you've described. Being a fisherman & boater, I always think about how quickly this type will dry out if submerged? Same with matches. I guess that's why I gravitate toward the Fire Starter ( and there's many including the Swedish made one too). The one I described produces a shower of hot sparks and that along with vasiline impregnated cotton balls (and a little steel wool helps, too) ignites quickly and produces a lasting flame. That's why I like those over one that produces a hot but smaller ember.

One that I don't like are those popular name brand magnesium bars with a small dia. striker attached. The magnesium is hard to scrape off & ignite and the small dia. rod just doesn't cut it in my humble opinion. With a 3/8" dia. steel and the cotton/vasilene for kindling, I get a lasting flame in no time. I keep the greasy cotton balls in a film canister in my pocket & the "Gobblaster Fire Steel" (or equal) attached to my belt with a parachord leader just long enough to allow me to slide it in my front pocket. That way, it's always there with me, even if I fall out of my boat or do something equally stupid. They have a metal scraper attached, but I always carry at least a dependable pocket knife with me too.

Never hurts to have a couple of disposable lighters in your survival kit either. Red is my favorite color in case I lay it down and don't find it as easily in the grass as with a darker color. Hope this helps? Hopefully we will never need either but be prepared.

Permalink Reply by Chris North on February 19, 2012 at 17:55

A fire piston! I found one on ebay that a man made here in the U.S. (imagine that) and it's a fun way to try lighting a fire. With practice it would be a great tool in a kit.

Terry Waldele said:

I went to a gun and knife show in Portland, OR today and saw a cool fire starter that I've never seen or heard of before.  Can't remember what it's called, but it operates on the same principle as a diesel engine.  It consists of a wooden tube with one end plugged, a knob-handled steel "plunger" shaft with small recess in the end and an "O-ring"  mounted on the plunger shaft just behind the recess (like a cylinder and piston), and some "carbonized" shredded tinder, a small amount of which is inserted into the recess in the end of the plunger.  The plunger is then inserted into the open end of the wooden tube and slammed home smartly.  The pressure that is built up ignites the tinder in the end of the plunger and blowing gently on the glowing tinder causes it to glow even hotter.  Placing the glowing tinder next to a small wad of tinder on some dry wood ignites it, and with a little gentle blowing, you've got yourself a fire!

The origin of this device, as the maker described it to me, is equally interesting.  According to him, it was originally invented in the Philippines by natives who used bamboo blow guns for hunting.  Apparently, they discovered it when they were making fairly long blowguns by ramming through the bamboo "joints" and noticed that, when they pulled out the ramming tool, the end of it was hot enough to glow red, i.e., hot enough to start a fire.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Aren't we humans amazing?

P.S.  I wonder if Rudolf Diesel visited the Philippines before he invented the Diesel engine in 1893.

Permalink Reply by Freddy Ramos on March 5, 2012 at 11:01

The most important part of starting a campfire, in my opinion, is getting the fire started long enough to put small tinder. And for that reasone I use cotton balls with a little bit of Vaseline. This makes a very cheap, very effective firestarter. Depending on how well your fire steel works you can usually get it lit in one or two strokes. The vaseline will allow the cotton to stay lit a lot longer than with out it. I have had cotton balls stay lit for at least 5 minutes before going out.

Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on September 4, 2012 at 19:30

Fire Pistons

TI Survival -- I have the rainbow hued one and the storage capsules for extra tinder, the lighter, wire spools, chop sticks, straw and match case...They make great stuff that works.

Fire Piston

 

Fire Steels

Doan Firesteels -- The granddaddy of them all.

Aussie Survival 

BASEGEAR - Fire Starters 

GOING GEAR - Firesteel 

 

Lighters

EGEAR - essentials 

Colibri

The Lighter Co. 

True Utility - Oh what a lovely company!

 

Tinder & Fatwood

Fatwood  

Nerman Lockhart 

 

Additional Products

Primitive Weapons 

Wildwood Survival -- Coke can bottom for firestarting

Light My Fire 

Primitive Fire Making  

Supreme Products -- Unbelievable saw 

Primal Connection 

 

***Ultimate Survival -- Blastmatch, Strikie, Strike Force and they all work great 

 

Some Just Neat Products that can be used

Gear Hungry 

The Gadget Flow 

The Green Head -- Just love this site -- check out the knives for the flat pack knife set, just wow!

Think Geek 

Oh Gizmo

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on September 4, 2012 at 19:56

There is alot of man made fire starters out there, some good and some not so good. One of the most important things to know when trying to start a fire, is know what makes the best fire tender in your neck of the woods. Just my idea, from an old Cajun camper.

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