How do you carry your firesteel?

[bushtuckerman]

I am in the process of deciding on the set up of a new piece of cutlery, and i'm having trouble deciding on a firesteel holder. ideally i'd rather it didn't have the extra weight of one, and that the sheath was simple and elegant, but i'll be carrying a firesteel and will need some way of carrying it. I've seen some people have some sort of key clip with them on, would it work to attach one of these to the sheath if i wanted to carry both together for some reason? I'm thinking i normally would have it alongside the knife on my belt, but i won't always be wearing a belt.

any suggestions welcomed and appreciated, + the usual banter
cheers
ian

 

[running bare]

i personally have a firesteel loop on my knife sheath and carry a spare in my pocket. but have you thought of putting it on a long thong and wearing around your meck and under your shirt that way it is on your person and if the thong did happen to snap the steel would be inside your shirt.

just a thought

 

[bushtuckerman]

hmm... :Thinkingo: i like this idea, and will add it to the list of possibles thanks .
ian

 

[British Red]

I am in the process of deciding on the set up of a new piece of cutlery, and i'm having trouble deciding on a firesteel holder. ideally i'd rather it didn't have the extra weight of one, and that the sheath was simple and elegant, but i'll be carrying a firesteel and will need some way of carrying it. I've seen some people have some sort of key clip with them on, would it work to attach one of these to the sheath if i wanted to carry both together for some reason? I'm thinking i normally would have it alongside the knife on my belt, but i won't always be wearing a belt.

any suggestions welcomed and appreciated, + the usual banter
cheers
ian

Ian,

I carry mine in a loop on my sheath, but I also generally connect it to a recoil key ring with a "splitter attchment". The key ring lets me pull the steel away from my waist and use it whilst keeping it connected to me, the splitter allows me to separate the firesteel if needed.
Tiffers and I have worked up a design for a belt pouch holding a DC4 sharpener and firesteel for those who don't like loops on their knife sheath. I'll put up pictures in the next couple of days

Red

 

[bushtuckerman]

aha! yes, the funky splitter thing, that's what i meant i like this too. will be interested to see the belt pouch. thanks.

 

[British Red]

Picture of firesteel and tinder - complete with "funky splitter" and recoil ring

 

[running bare]

i assume your tinder is cotton wool soaked in vaseline?

 

[British Red]

Wow, I thought I re-sized that picture - sorry! Mods, feel free to delete that

Yep sure is - in little 1" square ziplocks. I love to use birch bark, clematis etc. and play with my fire piston or flint and steel as well as firesteels. But I unashamedly carry prepared tinder and a couple of lighters as there are times when you just need to make fire fast!

Red

 

[bushtuckerman]

it's times like these when the handy firefox extension "Image Zoom" comes in handy for zooming out! cheers, yeah i think personally i'd find the recoil thing cumbersome but i like the idea of easily detaching with the splitty thing!

i used to make wax tablets in much the same format as your vaseline ones. very useful they are too, and nothing wrong with being prepared for emergency fires!

 

[RovingArcher]

I carry one FS on my knife sheath, but my primary firestarting tool is attached to my SAK and carried in a pocket or belt sheath..

 

[Ogri the trog]

Someone mentioned in another thread about their supprise at us Brits carrying firesteels in a leather belt pouch/sheath-loop seeing as our weather is reknowned for being wet, with the inherant risk of the dampness causing corrosion. It's food for thought though, perhaps we ought o look at a belt loop for summer use and a neck cord for winter use - at least then you are likely to feel when things get damp.
Mine currently resides in a sheath loop but I'm beginning to have second thoughts.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Buckshot]

I think as long as you look after your kit and when you get back make sure it's dry before you put it away it's not going to be a problem.
Not many of us are out in the coutryside long enough at any one time for it to be a problem in the UK.

Mark

 

[HuBBa]

I carry it around my neck tucked in under the jacket / shirt. This way its protected from rain (well, fairly protected and i know where it is at all times. And of course i always carry a spare in my backpack... just in case

 

[Templar]

Hi all,
I personaly carry my firesteel on a stainless bead chain (used for Mil ID tags, so it breaks instead of strangling me!! if it happens to snag on something), around my neck so I cant loose it, Just add some outer sheath from some a length of Para cord for comfort, and I keep a spare in my belt pouch with some vassed up cottonwool in a seperate plastic match carrier.

Just slip it on and carry it between my outer shirt and T-shirt....
I also carry a disposable lighter in the same fasion when im out bush with work, just a little loop of hootchie cord taped to it and onto my ID tag chain...

Karl.

 

[bushtuckerman]

To those who wear them around their necks, do you find this comfortable? I'm pretty fussy and i use the chest strap on my rucksack too. do you make it comfortable by shaving the handle down in any way? grazie

ian

 

[Graham_S]

i carry mine on a length of paracord with a small carabiner on the end. it lives either in my pocket clipped onto a belt loop, or in the breast pocket of my swanni bush shirt with the clip attached to the neck laces.
i also have a spare in my possibles pouch. just in case.

 

[Hoodoo]

I carry mine in a pouch, either in my pack or in a belt or neck pouch, sealed so it doesn't get wet or coated with wax. I've had it corrode in a leather neck pouch that had asborbed sweat. Now I coat it in beeswax. Sometimes I carry it in my pocket, attached to a lanyard tied to my belt. I have an 1/8" ferro I always keep in my wallet. I've never understood the need for having it at the ready on a knife sheath. In the normal course of a day in the woods, I might only use it once. Not sure why it needs to be so available. It's more exposed to weather and to loss. If you carry it around your neck, it can be exposed to sweat which can corrode it unless you waterproof it. If you are in the rain and your sheath gets a good soaking, that's more problems for the ferro rod.

 

[Jon Mawer]

I either have mine on a piece of 550 around my neck, or attatched to a belt loop, or just in my pocket. I have a spare in my survival kit (A scout model, you would be suprised at what you can fit in a tobacco tin!), and I also have one of the bcb fire rods in my 1st aid kit (this is essentially a fire steel without the grip).

 

[British Red]

aha! yes, the funky splitter thing, that's what i meant i like this too. will be interested to see the belt pouch. thanks.

As promised

Red

 

[bushtuckerman]

woah, that's a pouch! nice, i like it Red, looks neat and compact, thanks for sharing. well all the replies have given me ideas and i'm pretty set on a nice, clean and simple knife sheath so problem solved on that front, now i just have to decide on pouch or otherwise! so thanks people
:You_Rock_