Firesteel.com firesteel and some very wet conditions

[Mistwalker]

Well...I've only used this thing a couple of rimes to make fire since it was given to me and i think I am getting the hang of it. It throws sparks a little differently that the LMF brand firesteels so I assume it is what folks are calling "misch-metal" and, even though it is a bit like trying to light a fire by lighting a "jumping-jack" and tossing it at your tinder (which can be somewhat entertaining btw), with the molten globs of burning steel it throws I feel confident I could get fire with it when needed even under adverse conditions as long as I remember to adjust my technique accordingly.


I only had to work a couple of hours this morning so when I got off and the rains had slowed down a lot I thought why not go check out this firesteel.

I used some fatwood that I have been hauling around in the back of my truck for a week or so and it was nice and wet on the outside...I love how fatwood just doesn't absorb water...and everything around was wet to so I'll apologize now for all of the reflectivity the sky is so dark as to make the flash necessary.

I'm really liking how the spine on this Sojourner helps in fire craft, it makes scraping fuzz a breeze.

then I sliced off some nice thin curls and made my tinder pile.

Then using the beveled spine I put a good bit of pressure on the steel and held the knife in place and pulled the steel back. This took a few tries to get the spark to go where i wanted but watching them flare and bounce around was interesting.

Then I split some hickory to get to the drier insides and soon had a small fire going for about ten minutes....more than enough to let me know this firesteel will work when I need it too.

I'm still going to keep my LMF firesteels in the loops on my knife sheaths, but it's good to know that I can use the one in my truck kit effectively.



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[Mistwalker]

After the previous post I decided to do more experiments. After those experiments I thought it best to post what happened....

This started out as a hike along the river bank down in the gorge with the intentions of doing more research with the firesteel.com firesteel in adverse conditions, however it quickly became somewhat of a comparison of firesteels. Though it is unfair for me to make a judgement based solely on today's experiments....opinions are still formed.


Some of the leaves are just starting to change and the autumn berries are decorating the trails with their bright colors.

The Kudzu is taking over a lot of this area. I really need to try some of that starch drink a friend told me about one day.

I found what I believe is some English Thistle. I want to try this as tinder later when it dries.

I found a few good patches of river cane. I want to go back one Saturday when I have some time and some cordage and look for some willow for the hoops and make a fish trap.

I carried the same piece of fatwood I used to conduct the earlier experiments with this firesteel. I wanted to test the firesteel more in real adverse conditions so I didn't use a base of any kind. For this experiment I simply scraped off a pile of fuzz and some slivers onto some wet leaves on the ground.

I tried several times to get the tinder to ignite using the firesteel.com steel. I did manage to get a few of the spastic sparks to land on the tinder but most bounced off. To me, at that time, that was no big deal...nothing I hadn't already experienced...and just part of the learning. BUT, then I just stopped getting any sparks...none at all. I cleaned the edge on the spine of the knife I was using to spark with, and then I even tried the edge of the knife...but all to no avail. I could still not get any good sparks...just hunks of the steel to come off and a few tiny sparks. At this point, knowing that the knife I am using is still somewhat experimental in design, I pulled out the LMF firesteel in the loop on my knife sheath and tried it to see what was going on. With two sparkings of the LMF Army model I have been carrying and using for months, which sparked the same as ever, I had flame.

Now at that point I was really puzzled as to what happened. I didn't change techniques or do anything different...the sparks just quit happening. I took it back home to experiment with it some more outside on the porch. I first tried the other end and when I got through the outer coating I got good sparks just like before. Then I turned it around to try the other end again. In the first few attempts all that happened was that I scraped off some slivers of the steel that stuck to the spine edge. But then after that I started getting the good, white-hot, molten globs of burning metal again. I am told by others that sometimes there are just "bad spots". I do know I am not going to let this stop me from experimenting with the misch metal steels as I have seen them produce too good of sparks to give up on them. I think they will be great for use with what is usually flash tinders but in damp conditions, and tinders that can be difficult to ignite under wet conditions. Besides I've heard too many good things about them from other people. However the ones I have heard the most feedback on have been the ones sold by an online seller called goinggear.com so I think I need to order one from Storl now. I hear the Badgers he sells are awesome, they are 3/8 inch / 9.5 mm dia. where this one is 1/4 inch / 6.3 mm and I love my 9.5 mm LMF firesteel, which for now shall remain on my knife sheath.