Primus ferro rod

[Rabbit leg]

A couple of years ago I bought a Primus ferro rod and stricker.

Anyone else have one?
I can't believe how bad / useless it is for such a well known brand. Far too hard. Or is there a trick to it?

Yes, I know how to use them. I have about 10 other brands incl flint and steels.

 

[Rabbit leg]

Should have mentioned that I have just dug it out and I am asking before I chuck it.

 

[Riven]

I have had mine for a few years now and it is my go to firelighter. It stays in my camping box all summer and then hangs in the shed all winter and never had any trouble getting sparks.

 

[Rabbit leg]

That's the one.
Mine hardly works. Just tried 5 scrapes in a row. Got 1 small spark that travelled 20cm.
I can feel the scraper bight in, so I know it is not me being useless.
I can use a saw blade but it won't last long that way.

 

[Stew]

I seem to recall the harder rods I've got have a spark that lasts longer, though trickier to get the spark in the first place.

 

[Rabbit leg]

Maybe mine was from a bad batch.
But unless there is a secret to unleashing its sparks - it is a piece of junk.

Riven - have used/compared it to a Light My Fire rod?

 

[Riven]

I have a few rods by different makers and some of those are not as good as my primus so it could be the luck of the draw.

 

[SimonL]

For what it's worth, I have a few Primus sets, Light My Fire ones and just the rods from Woodlore...
I get mixed results with the Primus ones (so maybe a batch issue as Riven suggests), the Light My Fire ones (both 'Scout' and 'Army' sizes) give me consistently good results, as do the Woodlore rods (made a striker from a carbide scraper blade from a paint stripper (if I recall correctly))
Cheers
Simon