Ferro Rod Thingys.

[TeeDee]

I thought we may have a bit of a compare & contrast possible review of Ferro Rods & Associated gizmos.

Photos of the items or links would help.

We have all I'm sure, purchased and used a fair few in our time and have formed opinions about what does and doesn't work.

So who remembers or possibly still even uses the USA Doan Magnesium block ( large matchbox sixed block with ferro rod and chained striker )
I never had a good experience with them personally.

 

[Onelifeoverland]

The bigger the better for me in terms of ferro rod.

I find having a stable platform to perch the bottom of the rod on whilst still having enough surface area to spray a good shower of sparks over my tinder works best for me.

I think me ferrocirium rod of choice is about 130mm long including antler handle with about 85mm of that being usable rod.

OLO
www.onelifeoverland.com
//probably typed on mobile so please excuse typos!

 

[Silverclaws2]

I thought we may have a bit of a compare & contrast possible review of Ferro Rods & Associated gizmos.

Photos of the items or links would help.

We have all I'm sure, purchased and used a fair few in our time and have formed opinions about what does and doesn't work.

So who remembers or possibly still even uses the USA Doan Magnesium block ( large matchbox sixed block with ferro rod and chained striker )
I never had a good experience with them personally.

Aye I have experience of the magnesium block to report good things about them, but to say make sure one gets a genuine magnesium block as opposed to some as there is magnesium and there's magnesium. Their only downside as I remember was the time taken to shave a useful pile off. But a ferro rod on the DOAN, I thought it was flint rod on those blocks, not ferrocerium

 

[Stew]

With any tinder that’ll take a spark from a ferro, the magnesium wasn’t needed. I’ve not been in a situation where I needed the extra umph of the mag. I suppose if it had been survival then maybe.

 

[TeeDee]

With any tinder that’ll take a spark from a ferro, the magnesium wasn’t needed. I’ve not been in a situation where I needed the extra umph of the mag. I suppose if it had been survival then maybe.

So what do you use now ? A stock Ferro Rod?

Have you tried any of the Gadgets above??

 

[Stew]

Basic ferro. I have a number of the orange handled at 9:35. Can ignite feather sticks with it so never felt the need to change.

 

[TLM]

I have one Mg-FeCe block and several std FeCe rods, mostly use it to light gas, I still have not figured out how to light Trangias alcohol burner reliably.

 

[Stew]

Just fire it in. Works every time.

 

[Billy-o]

Never owned a bespoke one. Just occasionally buy a few and glue-on some rough and ready pine handles as an affordance. I remember I did a batch with handles from some of the kids discarded or busted toys once. The holes just happened to be just the right size.

I do like the look of that great big one in the pic there. It'd be fun to stick it on a grinder for a few seconds.

 

[MartiniDave]

Here's my experience over the last 17 years or so by brand/vendor:

Light my fire - Very good.
Woodlore /Ray Mears - Excellent.
Mountain Warehouse own brand - hard to get a decent spark, therefore very good for practicing.
The Bushcraft Store - Excellent, even the little striker supplied is multi use and works pretty well.
Cheapo (i.e., not a Doan) magnesium block and striker - slightly worse than useless.

In short, I practice with the poor ones, and carry the decent ones.

Dave

Edited to add - Any that I carry or keep in kits/bags etc get a generous coat of fairly garish nail varnish to prevent corrosion and make them visible.

 

[TLM]

Does anyone know how many actual manufacturers of Mischmetal rods there are?

 

[Broch]

I bought a pack of 10 on amazon for £14 and I put wooden or antler handles on them. Once you break through the hard surface they produce a good shower of sparks but not the fireworks display I get out of the 'Light my Fire' rod. Here they are but they've gone up in price!

LIFECART 10pcs Survival Ferrocerium Flint Fire Starter Rod Kit Lighter Magnesium Tool Stone : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop at Amazon.co.uk for LIFECART 10pcs Survival Ferrocerium Flint Fire Starter Rod Kit Lighter Magnesium Tool Stone : Sports & Outdoors.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[TeeDee]

I bought a pack of 10 on amazon for £14 and I put wooden or antler handles on them. Once you break through the hard surface they produce a good shower of sparks but not the fireworks display I get out of the 'Light my Fire' rod. Here they are but they've gone up in price!

LIFECART 10pcs Survival Ferrocerium Flint Fire Starter Rod Kit Lighter Magnesium Tool Stone : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop at Amazon.co.uk for LIFECART 10pcs Survival Ferrocerium Flint Fire Starter Rod Kit Lighter Magnesium Tool Stone : Sports & Outdoors.

www.amazon.co.uk

And how do you fair starting a fire into a natural tinder bundle? I ask as a lot of the Gadgets seem to come with a Magnesium option.

Do most here find the Magnesium an unrequired element ?

 

[Broch]

And how do you fair starting a fire into a natural tinder bundle? I ask as a lot of the Gadgets seem to come with a Magnesium option.

Do most here find the Magnesium an unrequired element ?

Depends on the tinder of course but scraped birch bark as an example I would expect 100% success - the same with something like cotton wool.

 

[Jared]

Does anyone know how many actual manufacturers of Mischmetal rods there are?

Only aware of JX Metals

 

[TeeDee]

Well , I had some spare money in my Paypal account so I've the following coming if anyone wants an impartial review.

Survival Multi Tool Magnesium Fire Starter Kit Flint + Saw + Whistle + Army Necklace

Items included: 1 x whistle, 1 x saw, and 1 x flint The 3 tools are chained together to avoid one being left behind Works equally well when wet Makes a perfect survival toolkit when you go camping, hiking, trekking, etc The most important item of safety gear when hiking is a reliable...

www.survivaldepot.co.uk

Fire Sparkle - Survival Kit

This Fire Sparkle is light weight, easy to carry, and will work even if previously soaked in water. New improved FERROCIUM ROD makes it super dependable. Easy to carry around your neck, in your pocket or in your Kit Bag.... Features: 1: FERROCIUM ROD - 77mm x 1mm, firesteel surface 38mm x 6mm 2...

www.survivaldepot.co.uk

 

[Bishop]

Some American outlets are selling what they call an Original Auermetall Firestarter from Treibacher Industrie AG based in Austria.

 

[TeeDee]

Some American outlets are selling what they call an Original Auermetall Firestarter from Treibacher Industrie AG based in Austria.

Original Auermetall Firestarter | Treibacher Ferro Rod Blank | 5col

Ferro Rod Blanks Made in Austria by Treibacher! The Original Auermetall firestarter, this is the highest quality ferrocerium rod available. Length: 4". Ready for immediate fire starting as soon as it arrives.

5col.com

 

[Nice65]

I like the softer of the misch metals, the ones that chuck blobs of sparkles. There was a small company called FiresteelUK that sold blanks or handled ones. I’ve tried the Light My Fire and others, found them too hard, but this old chucker of sparkly blobs is my favourite.

 

[Potatohead]

I like the softer of the misch metals, the ones that chuck blobs of sparkles. There was a small company called FiresteelUK that sold blanks or handled ones. I’ve tried the Light My Fire and others, found them too hard, but this old chucker of sparkly blobs is my favourite.

Agreed. I cant seem to find the softer ones these days.
I have Two LMFs and agree whilst good they are still a little hard.

(I am very good at Loosing stuff hence why i no longer have one of my older softer ones - convinced it was a FiresteelUK one. That name suddenly rang a few bells)