firesteels overrated

[tommy11]

I bought a cheap firesteel made by Miltec.
After trying it on different things like dry leaves, paper and wood shaving I have to say it sucks..

I only managed to get a bit tissue paper lit once.

So I have to say I much prefer good old matches to get a fire lit or even a lighter...

Are there any bushcrafters out there that still use matches or lighter?

 

[RonW]

I do, but I suggest you do try a decent firesteel first, befor you make your final judgement.
I have a "light my fire" and that works pretty well.

 

[JAG009]

It has been some time since i have used a lighter or matches to light a fire but i see no problem in using what you are happy with as long as you get a fire going

Jason

 

[bb07]

I usually use a bic just because it's so handy but carry matches as well in a waterproof container.
I also carry a firesteel as extra backup, which I use quite often just to stay in practice. I've used cheap ones and expensive ones. Some work differently than others but they all work for me once I get used to their differences.
I don't have any experience with the Miltec brand though.

 

[Retired Member southey]

gonna be blunt here dude, but it is probably your technique, either your not preparing the tinder correctly, or not getting the sparks into the bundle at close enough range for what sparks are there to work there magic. try again matey but put a lot more time into getting your tinder right, what were the wood shavings like? had you shredded the paper? had you completely crumbled the leaves? try laying the leaves on top of each other then twist into a cigar as thick as your thumb, fire the sparks into the and end.

 

[_scorpio_]

try a cotton wool ball or some charcloth first then move on to natural tinders.

 

[tommy11]

It's probably due to a small amount of moisture in the leaves and tinder that I didn't get a fire lit with the firesteel....

 

[satosato]

I always carry a spare BIC lighter with me but so far my firesteel never failed.

 

[Mojoracinguk]

Tommy,
What stricker are you using?
The stricker is important.....it must have a very keen edge top produce big heavy sparks.

Next sparks : its easy to get loads of sparks but they will not have enough energy to lit your tinder (i read a good article on this last year and ever since try only to use fire steels)
The best way i find to get sparks with enough energy, is to move the stricker slowly but with enough pressure to remove metal from the rod.....then keep that pressure but just increase the speed enough to get sparks....these sparks will stay hotter for longer.....and hopfully light what you have as tinder.
Mojo

 

[Sniper]

If your tinder is damp or wet you stand very little chance of getting the fire going, without enough heat to dry it out before it will light. Pick some tinder materials when it is dry or put it into your pocket to dry it out first before trying to get it to light. Then prepare it by scraping/fuzzing/rubbing it to get a small fine hairlike substance and this will catch a spark easily. Birch bark is readily available just about everywhere and to my mind it's one of the best tinders out there. Make sure you have enough of it so grab what you think will be enough then grab the same amount again just to be sure. Practice with the spark rod until you can send a shower of sparks from it directly onto where you want them to go. It's a bit like shooting, you have to aim it correctly. Persevere mate it'll come right in the end.

 

[rancid badger]

gonna be blunt here dude, but it is probably your technique, either your not preparing the tinder correctly, or not getting the sparks into the bundle at close enough range for what sparks are there to work there magic. try again matey but put a lot more time into getting your tinder right, what were the wood shavings like? had you shredded the paper? had you completely crumbled the leaves? try laying the leaves on top of each other then twist into a cigar as thick as your thumb, fire the sparks into the and end.

I'd have to agree with the above, at least in part, if you "fail to prepare, you prepare to fail".

Start with cotton wool, get used to the method, then get hold of some decent birch bark, from a dead tree and as thick as possible.

Scrape the bark, to form a pile of fluffy shavings, about the size of half a ping pong ball.
Strike by scraping down the steel with steady, firm pressure, as described by Mojo.

There is a fair bit of skill involved in using these devices, they are very definitely not idiot proof but once you master the skill, you will find it a very reliable and simple method of producing flame.

You must practice as often as possible, until you have it sussed. Not just the striking but the collection and preparation of the tinder and fire laying too.

Finally; don't waste your time and money on cheap firesteels, buy a "Firestick" from Woodlore for £10 easily the best firesteel available, and I've tried a few over the last 30 years or so

The LMF ones are okay but anything else is a total lottery.

good luck

R.B.

 

[kINGPIN]

When I first started out I used to use my firesteel a lot, now I just use my zippo. I always carry it though as a back up as it it immune to almost everything.

 

[John Fenna]

I have not used matches, lighter or ferro stick in ages - though I carry some of each - real Flint and Steel is my method of preference
It just feels right!

 

[rik_uk3]

They can work well, depends what you try and light and the quality of your steel. I use bics for pure convenience though to be honest but have a fire steel and cotton wool/Vaseline in a fire starter kit.

 

[ged]

I bought a cheap firesteel made by Miltec.
After trying it on different things like dry leaves, paper and wood shaving I have to say it sucks..

I only managed to get a bit tissue paper lit once.

So I have to say I much prefer good old matches to get a fire lit or even a lighter...

Are there any bushcrafters out there that still use matches or lighter?

You've probably have a less than ideal introduction.

It's almost all been said. There are good firesteels, and the not so good. I have some of each and the differences can be surprising. To the eye they might look identical, but when you use them the difference is immediately obvious. The not so good will still work, but where I'll have a flame with one strike with a good steel even if the tinder isn't perfect, it might take anything up to half a dozen if it's not such a good one. Richard is right about the preparation, if you use dry cotton wool for tinder you should be able to get a flame at the first strike with any of them. It took me a while to find the striker I like best, I like a bit of a broken HSS (High cutting Speed Steel) hacksaw blade. I use the broken edge, which has a really sharp corner. Usually the break isn't a perfectly straight line so I use the concave edge. (I don't break a lot of blades, I get them from a local machine shop.)

Firesteels are pretty technical products, so if you're thinking that it's more 'bushcrafty' to use one rather than matches I'd say that you're well off the mark. One of the ingredients in firesteels is cerium. It's a 'rare earth' metal and wasn't discovered until 1803. Not a material that your average bushman would ever come across. Flint and ordinary steel is a completely different proposition, a lot more 'old school' and a lot harder to use effectively.

Damp conditions will damage a firesteel, but unless you've left it in a puddle for a couple of years you can probably just scrape the corroded surface away and still use it. That won't work with a box of matches, and that's the main point as far as I'm concerned. You can rely on a firesteel even if you've just swum across a river with it on your belt. Your lighter might survive that and it might not, but (even if it survives) it will definitely need drying out for a while.

As for using lighters and matches, I use them all the time. I like the long ones, especially for lighting my stoves, because that way I don't get soot and fuel on my fingers. I don't usually use matches because lighters are more convenient, but I carry them as a backup carefully wrapped to keep them dry. OTOH I don't really consider myself a bushcrafter, I just like bumming around in the woods. Preferably with a nice fire.

 

[John Fenna]

Not a material that your average bushman would ever come across. Flint and ordinary steel is a completely different proposition, a lot more 'old school' and a lot harder to use effectively.

If it was hard I would not chose this method over all others
All you do is hit a rock with a bit of metal so that the sparks fall on your tinder - not much harder than using a firesteel... where you scrape metal down a fancy mix of metal so that the sparks fall on your tinder

 

[myotis]

I got a free "army firesteel" when I bought something else, judging by photographs and what the company sold, I reckon it was Webtex. It was my first firesteel and I couldn't get it to work.

Actually taking the time to read about how you were meant to use one, helped, but overall I found it fairly useless.

I bought a Light my Fire one and what a difference, big sparks that were easily produced.

With more experience (but not much as I tend to use matches or a lighter) I can now also get a more reliable spark from the Webtex.

I now also realise the importance of the striker, as the LMF striker gives more easily produced sparks on the Webtex steel than the Webtex striker gives.

So I wouldn't write off Fire steels based on your current experience.

Graham

 

[Whittler Kev]

I have not used matches, lighter or ferro stick in ages - though I carry some of each - real Flint and Steel is my method of preference
It just feels right!

I was going to ask which he meant John.
Do you mean ferro rod or striker when you say firesteel tommy11?
This what I call a firesteel that you use with flint/quartz/etc

 

[Retired Member southey]

That's a very good point Kev, I keep hearing Ferrocerium rods being called fire steels? it's just not so.

 

[John Fenna]

That's a very good point Kev, I keep hearing Ferrocerium rods being called fire steels? it's just not so.

Very true - unfortunately that is the name that the sparksticks are marketed under - causes all sorts of misunderstandings!