What fire steel are you using?

[othan1]

Hi, just curious to what firesteels people are using currently and how well they think they perform. I am using (classic/original) light my fire "army" firesteel. I would recommend the mini and the scout as well (not sure what the new "2.0" ones are like).

[Silverback]

Hi, just curious to what firesteels people are using currently and how well they think they perform. I am using (classic/original) light my fire "army" firesteel. I would recommend the mini and the scout as well (not sure what the new "2.0" ones are like).

My firesteel was made for me by crazysaint222 from this forum and i use it with foraged flint - my Ferroceum rods are just cheapies bought off evilbay - no reason to complain about them, they are more than adequate for task

[ian c]

I have used the light my fire firesteels and the BCB flint and steel that was in the issued matchless fire set, i also now get my ferroceum rods off evil bay as not had a problem with them thankfully.

[nilo52]

I use a firesteel (not a steel fire striker) made by FireSteel.com . They are 3/8 inch and 4 inches long.
They work VERY Well and produce a lot of very hot sparks. They are a lot larger than the Swedish kind and I can reccomend them from experience.
Nilo

[FishyFolk]

The cheapest I could find. The brand is ProTec, and I think it's an own brand for the Norwegian supermarket I found it in.
Anyway, I think it's better or as good as the LMF ones. It's easier to get a spark. I chop the plastic handle off them and replace it with ones I whittle myself from Juniper.
Here is one I made for JEEP on this forum to thank him for the Opinel knife i gave me, also on the picture :-)

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jakob-009.jpg

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jakob-007.jpg

Here is another version for my neck knife.

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/neckknife-001-1024x576.jpg

And here is for my belt knife

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/enzo-001-576x1024.jpg

[Stamp]

I, like others buy the rods from eBay with no handle. I mount them in antler or walnut to make a personel item thats unique to me.

Ive used a few off the shelf ones too, all work great.

[Bob W]

LMF with the oak handle, which fell off straight away. So the extra expense of the handle was a waste of money really as I could have made my own and epoxied it on as I had to the original. I'll buy blanks in future.

[nilo52]

The cheapest I could find. The brand is ProTec, and I think it's an own brand for the Norwegian supermarket I found it in.
Anyway, I think it's better or as good as the LMF ones. It's easier to get a spark. I chop the plastic handle off them and replace it with ones I whittle myself from Juniper.
Here is one I made for JEEP on this forum to thank him for the Opinel knife i gave me, also on the picture :-)

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jakob-009.jpg

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jakob-007.jpg

Here is another version for my neck knife.

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/neckknife-001-1024x576.jpg

And here is for my belt knife

http://bushcraft.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/enzo-001-576x1024.jpg


RUNE,
Now I'm jealous, you make Much better toys than me !
I did make a handle for one out of olive wood , but it doesn't have much in the way of figuring to it. Also great idea to make the 2 parts nest. I would have never thought of that.

[nilo52]

And why am I surprised to learn in Norway they sell firesteels in the supermarket ?
You can probably buy a lot of bushcrafty stuff I'll bet. Here they sell sunglasses lol

[FishyFolk]

And why am I surprised to learn in Norway they sell firesteels in the supermarket ?
You can probably buy a lot of bushcrafty stuff I'll bet. Here they sell sunglasses lol

You can probably outfit an expedition to the North Pole where I shop for groceries. Maybe it's just your definition of a supermarket thats different.

[nilo52]

Here they sell basically just food, for anything else you got to an outdoorsman store or Walmart.
If I EVER get to do any traveling to other countries I am making Norway (in summer) a must!

[rawfish111]

Nice and cheep ones!

[OakAshandThorn]

I use a Light My Fire Scout 2 in light green. I find it a lot easier to use than larger firesteels, which feel awkward in my hands. It also fits quite nicely in my Altoids tinderbox. :)

[FishyFolk]

Here they sell basically just food, for anything else you got to an outdoorsman store or Walmart.
If I EVER get to do any traveling to other countries I am making Norway (in summer) a must!

I once had a drink in the bar at a local hotel, when some soldiers, obviously fressh from basic training in the south entered, and started complaining about the weather up here in the north.
At the time it was 40*F outside and pissing down with rain...and it was January.

I told them to relax and get used to it, as it would be 40*F degrees and pissing down with rain in July as well. So I enjoy those cold and dry winter days :-)

[nilo52]

YOUR KILLING ME RUNE !
(They were probably from California, everyone knows they're sissys)

[Hill40rt]

I normally use the "firestick" from "woodlore", they are a little different to the rest in my experience, though having been testing a few different ones lately, I've found that in fact, its more often the scraper that makes the difference.

We used "light my fire" Army firesteel's for our students, when I was instructing with the Forestry Commission and these worked okay but the serrated scrapers were very poor and on occasion, dangerous, with students cutting themselves on the sharp edges. We covered the scraper handles with tape and that sorted the cuts out but didn't do much for the spark generation.

cheers

Steve

[FishyFolk]

I always use the back end of my knife blade as the scraper. Get a good pressure on it then, and nice sparks :-)

[f0rm4t]

A cheap 8mm rod off of ebay £2.65
Link Here (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400363219449?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)

Does exactly what it needs to ;)

[Hill40rt]

I always use the back end of my knife blade as the scraper. Get a good pressure on it then, and nice sparks :-)


I never ever use a knife any more. Over about 35 years, including about 25 years of instructing,both military and civilian, I've seen too many people cutting themselves. I'm well aware it works very efficiently and indeed used the method myself, long before Mr. Mears popped up but the risk of cuts when you're tired,cold,wet, distracted, being bitten or stung, is just too high for my liking.:(

I always use a large scraper now, both for bark tinder production and spark generation;:campfire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc2wQ9ryts0&list=UURddL3mkjOvJ3tAtVHpW-XQ&index=3

As well as for basic stuff like cotton wool;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnMrQuV3UJ0&list=UURddL3mkjOvJ3tAtVHpW-XQ

I'm convinced this is a much safer method and the scraper generates huge amounts of sparks from every firesteel I've tried so far, from "Firesticks", through LMF, web tex, gelert, firesteel.com, and on through the various very cheap ones from ebay.;)

Each to their own of course and to some people, using a knife for this type of fire lighting, may be "de rigueur" good luck and just be careful:)

best wishes

Steve

[luresalive]

Got a few of the cheap ones off ebay and they are not bad, maybe don't spark just as well as the LMF ones, but at 1/10th of the price I'm happy enough.

[snowleopard]

amazon cheepo. Suprisingly it sparks quite well!:ashamed:

[JEEP]

I normally use either the one I got from Rune (shown by Rune abowe), a very large (army extra long) stag handled one by Alan Ainsworth/Howling Dingo or a LMF Army 2.0

[Svedberg]

Oak handled LMF army sized firesteel - no problems with handle so far. Have a regular army LMF as spare. Used a scout model prior to this - wore it out.

[Kernowek Scouser]

I have an LMF one, but I currently carry a Karrimor Fire stater in my fire kit.
7596
It works just as good as the LMF and as I picked up two for a fiver in one of their many sales, was a bit of a bargain :D

[MASC703]

I used to buy the more expensive mischmetal and ferrocenium rods from LMF and fire steel.com one but now I just buy the el cheapos off of eBay and dx.com. IMO they work just as well as the name brand.

When it comes to magnesium bars, the only one I carry is Doans. Other cheapo ones didn't work as well, or at all.

[ADz]

http://i.imgur.com/AlFSjkR.png http://i.imgur.com/x8cMw2a.png

Thinking of getting a hand made wood handled rod/sheath to go with my new Condor Bushlore knife.

[Rasputin]

I've never had any probs with the cheap rods either, I have heard of people having trouble though. Luck of the draw I suppose, LNT

[MadZ]

i bought a supposedly army issue ferro rod from "the bushcraftstore" costing £6 ish after being messed about on a few blades and the steel from them they upgraded one of the blades to a longer on but i got them in the end, i found that polished spine knife blades do not create a spark at all they just slide down the rod, but i had a little jack pike folder i got in a web tex survival tin and ground the blade blunt and left it rough used the innertube rings to affix the sheathed rod and handle to my home made knife and sheath and the belt loop on the jack pike striker to clip it to the rubber band, work flawlessly every time now,

9302

[Fraser]

I use LMF. Do the job, no fuss.