Fire steel

[Stanleythecat]

Is there really any difference between fire steels or are they all pretty similar?

I have to say that the as I could not get a spark with my knife and the kind edge of the scraper I have been left massacring mine with the toothed part... not good!

Leo

 

[Tadpole]

Is there really any difference between fire steels or are they all pretty similar?

I have to say that the as I could not get a spark with my knife and the kind edge of the scraper I have been left massacring mine with the toothed part... not good!

Leo

Some are great, some are rubbish (ebay cheap ones are pants) Spend a bit extra on a Light-my-fire one, and you'll not go wrong

 

[Ruvio]

the ray mears one is fantastic as well

 

[rancid badger]

Some are great, some are rubbish (ebay cheap ones are pants) Spend a bit extra on a Light-my-fire one, and you'll not go wrong

I'd have to go along with the above, it's a bit of a lottery on ebay.
That said; I think you can buy the LMF ones on there too
I've found that these are excellent for our beginners events, always giving a very good spark.

Some of the blanks I have used, have varied in both quality and ease of use, although I have also found that all is required to get them to spark okay, is a little experimentation in the striking method; some requiring a more gentle, lighter stroke to generate a good spark shower.

I'd definitely recommend LMF Army steels but remember: no matter what you choose; you need to practice the technique.

good luck

cheers

R.B.

 

[rancid badger]

the ray mears one is fantastic as well

Your right!

I bought a fireflash from Woodlore, about 6 or maybe even 7 years ago now (IIRC ) and it has seen extended and heavy use in that time and has never let me down.
It's getting a bit worn now mind you

I expect someone might be along shortly, to tell us that the LMF and Fireflash are identical but I'll continue to use my Fireflash and dish out LMF's to our students

cheers again
atb

R.B.

 

[Tye Possum]

The light my fire and fireflash are identical. lol nah I can't back that up...

Never used a fireflash but the light my fire army one I have is great, I do find it funny though that it makes better sparks with the filed flat spine of my knife than the striker that it comes with... You would think they of all people would know how to get the best sparks.

 

[Crafty]

Light-My-Fire is much better than others I have used belonging to other people, though I have found people try and struggle on; ruining the spine of their knives trying to scrape a too hard firesteel with a tonne of pressure trying to get a spark. So try and get a firesteel that feels "soft" when you scrape it.

 

[Peter_t]

So try and get a firesteel that feels "soft" when you scrape it.

not too soft! tjroots has a webtex one and it is awfull. it is so soft you can actually scrape layers off in little curls which rarely ignite

same goes for all other webtex kit - avoid it like the plague!


pete

 

[rancid badger]

The light my fire and fireflash are identical. lol nah I can't back that up...

Never used a fireflash but the light my fire army one I have is great, I do find it funny though that it makes better sparks with the filed flat spine of my knife than the striker that it comes with... You would think they of all people would know how to get the best sparks.

Hah!

The serrated bits on the LMF strikers?; well...I have a theory....Call me cynical, but I can't help thinking that they tend to chew off rather a lot of meat from the steel? Which then means you end up replacing it significantly sooner than some others:bluThinki

Anyway, all is not lost, just turn the striker round and use the handle end for striking

cheers
R.B.

 

[Crafty]

Hah!

The serrated bits on the LMF strikers?; well...I have a theory....Call me cynical, but I can't help thinking that they tend to chew off rather a lot of meat from the steel? Which then means you end up replacing it significantly sooner than some others

Anyway, all is not lost, just turn the striker round and use the handle end for striking

cheers
R.B.

That's too true!

 

[VtBlackdog]

To save wear on the firesteel, try combining it with char-cloth.....one strike of the steel every time. I also use a magnifier lens (for sunny days) on char-cloth, it ignites the char-cloth almost as soon as the spot of light hits it.

 

[Tye Possum]

Hah!

The serrated bits on the LMF strikers?; well...I have a theory....Call me cynical, but I can't help thinking that they tend to chew off rather a lot of meat from the steel? Which then means you end up replacing it significantly sooner than some others:bluThinki

Anyway, all is not lost, just turn the striker round and use the handle end for striking

cheers
R.B.

Ya that's exactly what I was thinking, kind of a mean thing to do though on a SURVIVAL tool!
I also noticed that it worked with the handle part, we'll show them. Try to use up our firesteels unnecessarily will you, I don't think so!

 

[ickyan]

Has any one tried The BCB firesteel?

I have the army one (10mm) but is has no handle just a hole drilled in the top

The fire steel is good but is a bit softer than the LMF But gives amazing sparks

The striker is amazing though. It is hardened on the edges and the flat part will give better sparks than the sharpest of knife spines.

Also it was £6.50.

I cant find it on the internet any more
But this is similar (probably thinner though)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BCB-Fireball-...in_3?hash=item56342ae1cf&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Asa Samuel]

Just thought I'd add, I have the BCB fireball that ickyan linked too and I find it a really great peice of kit, I don't rate the striker very much, you get a sort of "spurt" or sparks but using the back of my knife you get a proper shower. Plus it's a lot cheaper than most of the bigger names.

I got mine here www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk

 

[lamper]

These guys do MOTHER FIRESTEEELS - up to a foot long....

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=1

 

[javi]

Tye Possum made a good point about filing part of the spine of your blade to make better sparks. I was unaware of this until a course instructire recently told us to file it down a bit and it made a real difference to the heat/ quantity of sparks produced

 

[Ivan]

Fire Steel. Shoot. You kids need to learn how to start a fire the proper way by rubbing two sticks together. And then all the group ceremonially dance around the fire you made like savages. That's how we have a good time here in California

 

[Mistwalker]

Is there really any difference between fire steels or are they all pretty similar?

I have to say that the as I could not get a spark with my knife and the kind edge of the scraper I have been left massacring mine with the toothed part... not good!

Leo

Well...I only have experience with two brands. I bought the light my fire brand first and was happy with it to start it throws good sparks...then got even more happy with it after designing a new striker knife which made it throw AWESOME sparks. But I have tried the "firesteel.com" firesteel also, and it doesn't throw near the sparks as the other... but when I do manage to get it to throw A spark by golly it's a SPARK!

 

[Gill]

i,ve just started another thread on this ,goinggear ones look awesome ,look on youtube.

 

[Gill]

sorry lamper ,just noticed you already mentioned this.