I'm thinkin the metal must be pretty soft, for all the turning it would have to resist, and i guess it's cheaper to replace a worn key than have the key wear out the locks internals.
New Light My Fire Firesteel 2.0
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I guess the other have already answered that. But I like that the striker have a whistle.
When you have a soft metal and a hard one in contact (for example the two bearings at each end of a connecting rod in an engine) it's usually the hard one which wears faster until the bearing fails completely and overheats. The reason is that tiny pieces of hard materials embed themselves in the soft metal and form an abrasive which slowly chews away at the hard one. So the lock internals might be quite soft, and the key harder. Having said that, locks are designed to accommodate quite a lot of wear and most keys aren't made of very hard metal. I'm surprised you can get a decent spark from a key. This morning as it happens I took delivery of a firesteel from DX. It's one of those which is contained in a plastic housing with a spring and built-in striker. The firesteel itself fell out of the housing after about a couple of dozen strikes (no great loss
) so I tried to use the (blunt) back and the (not much less blunt) edge of an old Scout-style Bowie which doesn't owe me a great deal. It was hopeless. The striker in the plastic housing must be a lot harder. I'll try a few other odds and ends like old hacksaw blades and report. Maybe I'll try a key.Jonathan, how do you rate the metal of this new firesteel compared with your all time favourite? I've been amazed at the differences between the various compounds. The material in the DX version isn't a patch on the kosher 'Blast Match'.
I think the LMF and Woodlore firesteels are the best on the market in terms of sparking. Very little difference in them, if any. The reason I went for the Woodlore version over the LMF version is because the Woodlore is only £10 with free P&P. I do like the handle design on the Woodlore though as you can grip it in all positions.
You are dead on though Ged, there is a huge difference in quality in the other brands available. I've tried quite a few and the performances are hugely variable. Davey569 bought a Webtex (I think) version and it was awful. The only ones I'd buy are the LMF and Woodlore.
As was I, all i did was to give the top flat of the key a square(ish) edge with a dc3, it gave one good shower of sparks, but when you look at the edge it had rolled it over, so not repeatable on that section of about 1.5mm of the top. perhaps a tempered key might be in order, just for fun.
Strange really. I like the concept of changing things for ergonomics, but if it doesn't work why change it??
As to the light my fire thing, I have been trying to find a decent replacement to recommend to people so that they don't pay the earth. I didn't like the original Ultimate Survival blast match so copies aren't exactly gonna float my boat either.
However, on the page that you posted there is a link to a firesteel that is similar to the scout size LMF. I have been trialling them out for the last 2 months. They cannot be compared to the Army model as the surface area that you are scraping is both shorter and narrower, so it couldn't give the same amount of sparks as the army model. It does however compare very favourably against the scout model, even more so when it comes to price.
I didn't get mine from Deal Extreme so I have no link to them or the manufacturer of this item, this is just my belief as someone that has used both ferro rods in comparison.
As to the light my fire thing, I have been trying to find a decent replacement to recommend to people so that they don't pay the earth. I didn't like the original Ultimate Survival blast match so copies aren't exactly gonna float my boat either.
However, on the page that you posted there is a link to a firesteel that is similar to the scout size LMF. I have been trialling them out for the last 2 months. They cannot be compared to the Army model as the surface area that you are scraping is both shorter and narrower, so it couldn't give the same amount of sparks as the army model. It does however compare very favourably against the scout model, even more so when it comes to price.
I didn't get mine from Deal Extreme so I have no link to them or the manufacturer of this item, this is just my belief as someone that has used both ferro rods in comparison.
i get mine of Going Gear they are Mich metal and softer but do spark very well espesially the 12" version which will ligth damp tinder while standing
on striker ive made my own called it the Bush Key also does Spark well with flint and does other stuff
[video=youtube;0XWaocpITX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XWaocpITX0[/video]
i got a scout LMF one on test the plastic handle pulls off easily
which will ligth damp tinder while standing on striker ive made my own called it the Bush Key also does Spark well with flint and does other stuff
[video=youtube;0XWaocpITX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XWaocpITX0[/video]
i got a scout LMF one on test the plastic handle pulls off easily
Neither had I, but they appear to be pretty good from the results I am getting at the moment. The striker is effectively a small plastic handle with thin hacksaw blade (with very fine teeth). The top edge of the striker works, but not very well (to be honest it ain't that sharp), but the fine hacksaw teeth work very well with it.
It works well enough with the frosts range of knives (760, clipper and classic), the fallkniven range (not too surprising), the skookum and pretty much anything that I have had to hand that has a hard sharp spine (including saw spines on leatherman and opinel). As with pretty much all ferro rods they work well with the super strikers as well.
Been using the LMF 2.0 for a few weeks now- lots... I have nothing to compare against as its my first.
I found the dimples in both the striker, and firestick a little too deep, and can bring your wrists in at an uncomfortable angle, although it might just be me.
I also found the striker not hugely effective, sometimes with the same pressure/angle you just get a few sparks, or a good shower, again, it might just be me.
I now place my thumb on the blade its-self rather than in the dimple, you get a massive shower and can get away with 3-4 strikes before the carbon warms up.
Took the striker off the lanyard as its just too short to get a decent strike.
Good bits of kit though, i would happily buy again!
P.s you can remove the rod from the holder if you wish to rotate the rod once it starts to wear, rather than try an uncomfortable grip, its not glued but stays in place well.
TBL.
I found the dimples in both the striker, and firestick a little too deep, and can bring your wrists in at an uncomfortable angle, although it might just be me.
I also found the striker not hugely effective, sometimes with the same pressure/angle you just get a few sparks, or a good shower, again, it might just be me.
I now place my thumb on the blade its-self rather than in the dimple, you get a massive shower and can get away with 3-4 strikes before the carbon warms up.
Took the striker off the lanyard as its just too short to get a decent strike.
Good bits of kit though, i would happily buy again!
P.s you can remove the rod from the holder if you wish to rotate the rod once it starts to wear, rather than try an uncomfortable grip, its not glued but stays in place well.
TBL.
Got one of these myself... Here are my thoughts.
Comes in the usual tidy Light My Fire packaging.
The steel itself is well made and the components are high quality. They come in a multitude of colours, I chose the orange for better visibility should I drop it.
In my opinion the striker is better than on previous models being more secure to hold and it shaves big hot fat sparks off the steel.
And it has a bonus of having a whistle incorporated in it as well...
In conclusion I feel it is an improvement on the previous model for no extra cost to the consumer.
Mine cost £10
Comes in the usual tidy Light My Fire packaging.
The steel itself is well made and the components are high quality. They come in a multitude of colours, I chose the orange for better visibility should I drop it.
In my opinion the striker is better than on previous models being more secure to hold and it shaves big hot fat sparks off the steel.
And it has a bonus of having a whistle incorporated in it as well...
In conclusion I feel it is an improvement on the previous model for no extra cost to the consumer.
Mine cost £10
I just got one myself, the new style is fine but i never had a problem holding the old version, pity they hadn't put the whistle in the handle of the steel and then you would have the option of using without the striker.
There is a review over at amazon on the army 2.0 firesteel in which that buyer says the rod on the 2.0 is thinner than on the previous army version. From what I have read the 2.0 should be 3/8" thick just like the older one, but 2-1/4" long compared to 2 -2/4 (=2-1/2). So shorter but just as thick?
The only LMF firesteel I have got is the first version they sold, a scout with a red plastic handle and a oval-shaped striker metal which is very bad. The ferro rod itself is of good quality though and seems to hold up much better with regular use than other ebay and magnesium-block firesteels I have tried. The LMF scout might actually be good for 3000 uses as they promise. I wonder how it looks after the 3000th use, maybe it breaks in half due to being too thin. The two-part "strike force" is said to be half an inch thick, but it looks like it is very heavy for what it is.
I've seen the army size on ebay.co.uk for GBP 11,95 and the scout for 7,95, anyone knows where to get them cheaper yet? Here in Sweden where the firesteels supposedly are glued together the army version costs about GBP 17 while the scouts costs around half of that.
( review at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OW4C1EBBCKEM/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2OW4C1EBBCKEM )
The only LMF firesteel I have got is the first version they sold, a scout with a red plastic handle and a oval-shaped striker metal which is very bad. The ferro rod itself is of good quality though and seems to hold up much better with regular use than other ebay and magnesium-block firesteels I have tried. The LMF scout might actually be good for 3000 uses as they promise. I wonder how it looks after the 3000th use, maybe it breaks in half due to being too thin. The two-part "strike force" is said to be half an inch thick, but it looks like it is very heavy for what it is.
I've seen the army size on ebay.co.uk for GBP 11,95 and the scout for 7,95, anyone knows where to get them cheaper yet? Here in Sweden where the firesteels supposedly are glued together the army version costs about GBP 17 while the scouts costs around half of that.
( review at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OW4C1EBBCKEM/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2OW4C1EBBCKEM )
Ah good to know rapidboy. I guess both versions are good then and unless you feel you need the whistle or somewhat improved striker whichever is cheaper is the one to go for. I think I will get a few more different ones from DX and try also, but those are not much cheaper than the LMF scout so the savings are probably not worth it if you actually want to use the firesteels.
I had some cheap unbranded from eBay a couple of years ago and they didn't work as well as the LMF so i just stuck with them.
There really isn't a lot of difference in the diameter,
They last a long time if you look after them, if you put them away damp they don't do so well
There really isn't a lot of difference in the diameter,
They last a long time if you look after them, if you put them away damp they don't do so well
It would be interesting to know how accurate that compass is- seeing as it is attached to a lump of metal to one side! Have you tried it?
Whenever I stroll in outdoor shops I can't keep myself from buying little must-haves, so I bought this LMF 2.0 also when I saw it.
The striker is excellent in my opinion, the firesteel is just like the old ones. I keep the striker separately with me, to use it as an emergency whistle
The striker is excellent in my opinion, the firesteel is just like the old ones. I keep the striker separately with me, to use it as an emergency whistle
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