My DIY Ferro Rod

[Stevie777]

Works really well mate. No worries. Good bit of Ferro. I'm going to buy more and turn them on. reckon i could double my money and then some given what we have on offer from most survival and surplus stores.

BTW, The Sabre Tooth" Design works well for MY hand. I wanted something a bit chunky with a nice natural bend and i wanted to leave some of the bark on once completed

I only cut branches with that particular angled bend in it., bare in mind i had to leave enough room to drill the Half inch hole to accommodate the Rod without having the wood too thin and eventually split on me. About a inch and a half allows you some room for manouver when it comes down to the whittling.

The design for me feels really good in the hand. Make one that suits your own hand. A piece of Birch and a hour whittling and some pine pitch glue half inch drill a inch deep + £!2, ??...it's easy money and will last you forever and a day.

 

[Andy_K]

Very nice!

I did notice the angle between the handle and the rod. Nicely giving you something to naturally bear against as you strike / scrape it. I have never seen the sense of the tiny grips which are put on so many of the rods. With the early arthritis coming in my fingers, I would never be able to grip the things. That same issue with gripping will be why I chose something which my whole hand will hold, rather than just the finger tips. Unlike your long and slender "Sabre Tooth", I will likely go for something in the "Short 'n' Fat" range, lol. Kinda reminds me of an old ditty

 

[Stevie777]

Whatever feels good for you Go for it. So far i've managed to set fire to petroleum soaked cotton balls, various bracket fungus, some char cloth, my trousers, the carpet and Bob the Cat. Awesome!!.

 

[Andy_K]

PMSL!! Watch out for people bearing high pressure water hoses

 

[Dreadhead]

haha you'll burn down the forest wi that!

 

[Stevie777]

haha you'll burn down the forest wi that!

In the right conditions it could be dangerous yes..

 

[Robson Valley]

There's a useful measure for comfortable handle size.
Based on a comment made by the bladesmiths at Kestrel Tool:

" In a fist grip, the tips of your second and third fingers should just touch the ball of your thumb."

I have big hands and long fingers (10" span). For me, a handle blank of 7/8" x 7/8" is just right.
For average hands, 3/4" square would fit and feel better.
In the last 120+ handles that I have made, the "Kestrel Constant" sums up the size rather well.

 

[JAG009]

I take it that monster, performs a bit like this http://youtu.be/l6M-ruuRcXk

 

[Stevie777]

I take it that monster, performs a bit like this http://youtu.be/l6M-ruuRcXk

Not quite, but the shavings are heavy duty and they last a few seconds. It's just a easy tool to use compared to the smaller Rods. I do believe one could ignite a Artic Penguin with one of these.

 

[JAG009]

Not quite, but the shavings are heavy duty and they last a few seconds. It's just a easy tool to use compared to the smaller Rods. I do believe one could ignite a Artic Penguin with one of these.

Yeh ! looks good, and a decent big handle..

 

[Andy_K]

Just a quick follow up on the dirt cheap ferro rod I bought from Ebay

I ordered it on the 5th of Dec from the Philippines. It arrived yesterday, 13th Dec, and was duly tested and it performs brilliantly! So much so that I ordered another 4 at the glorious price of £3.30, delivered. Now I figure that if only half of these 4 work properly, then I will still have more than had my monies worth, as I will have 3 fully working, long fat rods for a grand total of £9.90

So, while it's winter, why not use this time to cheaply get yourself a standby rod or two for very little money indeed?!?!

 

[Stevie777]

Just a quick follow up on the dirt cheap ferro rod I bought from Ebay

I ordered it on the 5th of Dec from the Philippines. It arrived yesterday, 13th Dec, and was duly tested and it performs brilliantly! So much so that I ordered another 4 at the glorious price of £3.30, delivered. Now I figure that if only half of these 4 work properly, then I will still have more than had my monies worth, as I will have 3 fully working, long fat rods for a grand total of £9.90

So, while it's winter, why not use this time to cheaply get yourself a standby rod or two for very little money indeed?!?!

Does the £3.30 include any customs duty?..if so. Got a link to where you got em at that price. Cheers.

 

[Andy_K]

Does the £3.30 include any customs duty?..if so. Got a link to where you got em at that price. Cheers.

At £3.30 each, they are way below the threshold for VAT, let alone duty, Stevie. Duty payable is not a worry unless you go ordering more than £135.01 worth of them.

What you do need to be careful of is VAT. So if you want say 10 of them, you order them as two lots of 4 and one lot of 2, requesting that the sender posts NO MORE than 4 in the same package. That way they all stay under the VAT threshold too.

The link to the rods can be found in my update post by clicking on the highlighted word "Ebay". I put the link in the word itself so as to look a little better

The link above in the highlighted words "VAT Threshold" will take you to the .Gov website to do with VAT on imports. Go to section 2.3 and you will see that the amount of £0 to £15 (max.) is marked as not being liable to VAT or Duty. As such, buying 4 of these will cost you £13.20 and keep you under that threshold. I will warn you though that this amount (£15) will change from time to time. Earlier this year if was £9.50.

Hope this hasn't confuddled you too much mate, lol

Small vid(s) to follow...

 

[Andy_K]

Lets see if this works... or not???

If it does, bare in mind that the knife used is just a small paring / utility knife - likely cost me a quid or so from Asda, some years back. As such, it's thin and very bendy, ok.
What's more, I am no film producer. These will be my first ever two bits of videoing EVER done. Jeez, I dont even use my phone camera to take photos as a rule, let alone video!

This is just making sure the ferro rod made sparks enough for me to be happy with it.
[video]https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152616742147981&set=vb.686407980&type=3&theater[/video]


This was an attempt to make a very small (and very short lived) fire in an old tea light / candle casing.
[video]https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152616757497981&set=vb.686407980&type=3&theater[/video]

 

[Stevie777]

Vids not working for me Andy but then again i'm in rehab to cure my FB Addiction. Been FB Dry now for 5 months, so proud of myself.

 

[Andy_K]

Vids not working for me Andy but then again i'm in rehab to cure my FB Addiction. Been FB Dry now for 5 months, so proud of myself.

Well done on the withdrawal from such a terrible "substance". Along the lines of your 5 months of being completely away from the place, I would just like to add that if I didn't have to upload to that f**&*&*%$ sh*&ag of a place, I would have made it to 2 months, lol. Right, lets try something else **am NOT gonna start pulling my hair from my head... Yet **

 

[Andy_K]

[video]https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackslrf/with/15833229310/[/video]

Lets see if this works. If it does, I will edit and add the other video.

Or maybe...
[video]https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackslrf/15833229310/in/photostream/[/video]

 

[Stevie777]

[video]https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackslrf/with/15833229310/[/video]

Lets see if this works. If it does, I will edit and add the other video.

Or maybe...
[video]https://www.flickr.com/photos/jackslrf/15833229310/in/photostream/[/video]

Yeah, Working now. They do work a treat. I'll Order some up and get whittling.

 

[Andy_K]

Trust me, at 5 inches long, they dont need a lo of handle on them, lol

 

[Stevie777]

Trust me, at 5 inches long, they dont need a lo of handle on them, lol

I went for half and half..4" of Rod to 4" of Handle with just over and inch inserted into the handle, not saying the balance is perfect but it doesn't need to be. not like a knife anyway. The handle feels nice, I made it to fit me, Just like you would when Making or choosing a knife.