Anyone use a Magnesium Fire Starter
- Thread starter Zammo
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Do you mean the type with the little ferro rod set into the side of a block of magnesium that you make scrapings of magnesium to light with the ferro rod, or a good old decent sized, stand-alone, ferro rod ?
I've used both, but tend to prefer the ferro rod for normal firelighting as I normally have no problem sourcing dry tinder to use with it. This saves both time and effort, as well as not having to worry about the little pile of very lightweight magnesium shavings blowing away before I can get them lit.
I carried one of the magnesium block types in my fishing bag for years without using it until I was beach fishing with a mate who took a load of BBQ charcoal briquettes for us to have a fire with. Try as we might, we couldn't find any decent tinder or kindling to get a fire going to light the briquettes with, and lighting them with a lighter wasa no-hoper. Eventually I had a brainwave and drilled a hole into a briquette with the can opener blade of my SAK, filled the hole with magnesium filings (which stopped them blowing away and made sure that all the heat would hit the charcoal) and lit them with the little ferro rod. We soon had a lovely warming fire to sit by for the rest of the night
I've used both, but tend to prefer the ferro rod for normal firelighting as I normally have no problem sourcing dry tinder to use with it. This saves both time and effort, as well as not having to worry about the little pile of very lightweight magnesium shavings blowing away before I can get them lit.
I carried one of the magnesium block types in my fishing bag for years without using it until I was beach fishing with a mate who took a load of BBQ charcoal briquettes for us to have a fire with. Try as we might, we couldn't find any decent tinder or kindling to get a fire going to light the briquettes with, and lighting them with a lighter wasa no-hoper. Eventually I had a brainwave and drilled a hole into a briquette with the can opener blade of my SAK, filled the hole with magnesium filings (which stopped them blowing away and made sure that all the heat would hit the charcoal) and lit them with the little ferro rod. We soon had a lovely warming fire to sit by for the rest of the night
I prefer a firesteel to one, i had one though and took about 20 mins to get a finger nail size pile which then i knocked all over! and the flint wore away before the magnesium did so it ended up on the fire
I had a play with one and I mean to get one for my kit, the shavings burn really hot and take a spark really well.
Is that the same metal as pencil sharpener's are made from?
I distinctly remember in my mispent youth setting them going with bunsen burner's and watching the white blaze
I distinctly remember in my mispent youth setting them going with bunsen burner's and watching the white blaze
the best thing to do is drill holes in it with a power drill at home til it's all gone
and put the shaveings in a tub then mix it with your tinder as needed
on it's own it will flash burn-blink and it's gone
and put the shaveings in a tub then mix it with your tinder as needed
on it's own it will flash burn-blink and it's gone
I prefer a firesteel too.The problem I find with mg is that the flame is so short lived that the bundle has to be prepared pretty immaculately.With a firesteel you can keep firing sparks down at it until you get success 
As an aside youre right that the metal pencil sharpeners are on the whole made from magnesium but they need a great whacking burst of heat to ignite them because of the size.It basically acts like a big heat sink.If you use your leatherman file on them on the other hand ...
As an aside youre right that the metal pencil sharpeners are on the whole made from magnesium but they need a great whacking burst of heat to ignite them because of the size.It basically acts like a big heat sink.If you use your leatherman file on them on the other hand ...
My biggest problem was the wind blowing the shavings away. I guess if I found a shelterd area free of wind it would be fine. I have light fires with it before on calm days. I never owned a firesteel but I would like to get one. They seem nice and the ones I seen throw more sparks than the stricker on the magnesium stick.
I have one in my survival tin but i might take it out an replace it with a normal one it takes up too much room.
the only good thing about the magnesium fire starter is it carrys its own TINDER ie. the magnesium shavings and thats about it, otherwise it's just a regular flint with a thick handle...mind you the swedish flint steel has it's draw backs to as it has no attached tinder to use and you have to find some,but it is thin/slim....for me they are both great items of kit you just have prepare a little and always carry some type of dry tinder with you...vince g. 11b inf...
BOD
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
. Eventually I had a brainwave and drilled a hole into a briquette with the can opener blade of my SAK, filled the hole with magnesium filings (which stopped them blowing away and made sure that all the heat would hit the charcoal) and lit them with the little ferro rod. We soon had a lovely warming fire to sit by for the rest of the night
Thanks. I've always been exasperated by them blowing away.
A year ago I have bought two of those magnesium firestarters (made by Doan). I used one to practice, and kept the other one unused on my keychain. Now, the one for practicing is all used up, but I can light a fire in seconds; no problem at all. I love it!
Now, I'm thinking of buying 5 - 10 more. Just to plant them everywhere (all of my jackets, in the car, on my keychain, in my backpack, on my knife sheath...)
It's a great fire making tool: has tinder, lasts for thousands of fires, works if it gets wet...
I've read somewhere (maybe even here on this forum) that you can shave some magnesium on some cotton wool (maybe even soaked in some lamp oil) and store in a plastic film container. I've tried it... Works great!
Now, I'm thinking of buying 5 - 10 more. Just to plant them everywhere (all of my jackets, in the car, on my keychain, in my backpack, on my knife sheath...)
It's a great fire making tool: has tinder, lasts for thousands of fires, works if it gets wet...
I've read somewhere (maybe even here on this forum) that you can shave some magnesium on some cotton wool (maybe even soaked in some lamp oil) and store in a plastic film container. I've tried it... Works great!
Besides a lighter or matches, I have only ever used a fire steel, superb bit of kit and has been used in storms, rain etc without fail, except on my part in the tinder prep.
i think the shavings are to hard to obtain.ive tried knifes and the blade supplied to get shavings, but i dont rate em when u do get a pile the sparks that come off the rod arent enough to get it going 1st time every time ,and dont touch the magnesium if a small peice sticks to your finger when u strike the flint.OUCH!!!
Some things I've learned from experimenting with these Mg blocks:
1) Use the back of your knife blade to get the scrapings. Rather than running the knife along the flat edge of the block, scrape the corner of it. In this fashion, you're constantly regenerating a "peak" or corner to scrape off. When it gets a little harder to scrape, move to another corner/edge.
2) Larger curls seem to work a little better than a fine powder.
3) If you think you're going to scrape enough Mg off of the block to burn for an extended period to light kindling, you'll be disappointed. The best way to get a fire going using one of these, that I've found, is to use it to get coarser tinder (like pine needles or wood shavings) going and use that to light the kindling.
4) The best way to get the coarser tinder going, that I've found, is to scrape a pile of the Mg and position the coarser tinder just on the side of that, so that you can light the Mg and it'll flare up to light the other tinder. If the coarser tinder it covering too much of the Mg, in many instances, it creates a "fire break" in the pile of Mg and the Mg flares up and goes out without lighting the fire.
5) It doesn't take much Mg to get a fire going in this method. However, care must be taken with the Mg shavings. They must be kept in a tight pile so that it all burns. If the filings are not close enough together, part of the shavings will go up and the rest will remain unlit.
6) In a windy situation, try to block the shavings so that they're out of the wind. As many have said, they're light and tend to blow around in a strong breeze.
All in all, it's an OK way to get a fire going. I prefer the Fire Steel, but that's me. I have several of these Mg blocks and they're not bad, once I figured out the tricks. With the right positioning, you don't need to spend 10+ minutes scraping together a pile of Mg to light. I can usually get a fire going with this in only a few minutes, and most of that is getting the Mg -> coarser tinder -> kindling arranged before lighting.
1) Use the back of your knife blade to get the scrapings. Rather than running the knife along the flat edge of the block, scrape the corner of it. In this fashion, you're constantly regenerating a "peak" or corner to scrape off. When it gets a little harder to scrape, move to another corner/edge.
2) Larger curls seem to work a little better than a fine powder.
3) If you think you're going to scrape enough Mg off of the block to burn for an extended period to light kindling, you'll be disappointed. The best way to get a fire going using one of these, that I've found, is to use it to get coarser tinder (like pine needles or wood shavings) going and use that to light the kindling.
4) The best way to get the coarser tinder going, that I've found, is to scrape a pile of the Mg and position the coarser tinder just on the side of that, so that you can light the Mg and it'll flare up to light the other tinder. If the coarser tinder it covering too much of the Mg, in many instances, it creates a "fire break" in the pile of Mg and the Mg flares up and goes out without lighting the fire.
5) It doesn't take much Mg to get a fire going in this method. However, care must be taken with the Mg shavings. They must be kept in a tight pile so that it all burns. If the filings are not close enough together, part of the shavings will go up and the rest will remain unlit.
6) In a windy situation, try to block the shavings so that they're out of the wind. As many have said, they're light and tend to blow around in a strong breeze.
All in all, it's an OK way to get a fire going. I prefer the Fire Steel, but that's me. I have several of these Mg blocks and they're not bad, once I figured out the tricks. With the right positioning, you don't need to spend 10+ minutes scraping together a pile of Mg to light. I can usually get a fire going with this in only a few minutes, and most of that is getting the Mg -> coarser tinder -> kindling arranged before lighting.
