Just throwing this out there. What helps me keep from destroying my pile of kindling, I anchor my knife edge up just over the pile and drag the ferrocerium rod across the knife towards me. The sparks still go into the kindling but since I'm not striking towards the pile it isn't disturbed. Also, cattail fluff makes GREAT kindling. That, and dryer lint.
You can tremendously increase the heat given off by the burning magnesium shavings by simply mixing them with Teflon shavings before using the striker. It's because the magnesium reacts with the fluorine in the teflon much hotter than it does with the oxygen in the air. Magnesium and Teflon in the form of finely divided powders are used in the flares that military aircraft eject to divert heat seeking missiles away from themselves. If a magnesium and Teflon mixture can put out more heat than the business end of a jet fighter's engine, it could probably light a campfire made out of grape popsicles. If you were to put a piece of virgin teflon milled to the same size and shape as the magnesium bar on your lanyard, you could scrape some shavings from it into the magnesium shavings before ignition. Teflon is very soft and shaves easily. You can also run a couple of ribbons of plumber's Teflon tape along the sticky side of your duct tape. Any magnesium shavings in contact with the teflon tape will burn much hotter than the shavings burning in the air. Give it a try.
+Exterminence Any place that sells plastics will have it. I go through the scrap plastic pile at Austin Plastics and can usually get it for less than $1 per pound. If they say they don't have Teflon, ask if they have PTFE. It's the same thing. If you want it in the form of fine powder, try Skylighter.com. Be careful though, mixed magnesium and teflon powder is a very powerful flash powder. Just a few grams will explode violently without confinement.
All I can say is that this video is amazing ! You mean I can use a hacksaw blade a roll of duct and a Magnesium Fire Starter ! To start a fire ! I am just amazed !
Thanks son . Thats good info and some nice ideas. I see peeps arguing about the bic lighters and such. I was taught to have at least 3 methods of firestarting in a survival bag. This isnt modern day prep training . This came from survival training in my younger years when I was more able to live with nothing. My first training test only allowed us a canteen,a bandana and a knife. It was hard but we all survived. So having fire methods and extra clthes,water and simple first aid stuff makes a big difference. Never to old to refresh and never to old to learn. Thanks again .
I'm not much of an outdoorsman, but I want to learn some survival skills. I just got a magnesium firestarter kit and learned how to use it from this video. I've got a useless hacksaw blade I'm gonna make one of those handle knives! Really cool and helpful thanks man!
Thank you a million I have had some of those bars hanging around and never ever knew how to use them. I will make my hacksaw blade also. Thank you so so much I'm 80 years old and finally learning how to use this little thing
Wow, great tips. Saw some other stuff and it looked really simply, but it is something that I think definitely takes a little practice. I would like to get so comfortable with this that I can use it as my primary starter and matches in a waterproof cylinder as a backup. You can, of course, just use the matches or a lighter, but it's amazing how fast you can go through matches in a few days and you never know when the lighter is going out.
Hello, Misters Fromme; Just a "THANK YOU!" for this. I got 2 magnesium firestarters & practiced w/ them. I prepped 1 mag block, scraping & shaving a 1-inch long section. I mixed it w/ scraped fatwood. (I know fatwood drys out.) But it didn't occur to me change the saw or the chain. When I used it I took it off the chain. But thanks to you guys I changed the chain to jute twine. Works great to keep it together AND can be tinder if needed. You guys have some good videos. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
I have seen and read about this method many times. I just wanted to thank you for making a video and really showing how this works with easy to understand instructions and an awesome visual. Thanks for your time.
Thank you !! I have watched So many videos about using a farro rod, and You are the Only person who took the time to explain needing to scrape off all the black stuff before it will cause a spark !! Also, you are the Only one who explained that that round bar on the edge of the magnesium bar is where you strike it. I'm new to all this, and just "learning"...so Very Appreciative of you going into detail. Thank you, thank you, thank you !!!!!
Well done! We struggled with a magnesium brick last night for an hour and failed get our pine straw tinder lit (and killed the edge on our knife as well) Tried this and had a fire in less than 5 minutes. Thanks!
Having just tried to make a fire for the first time using a magnesium starter, I cannot thank you enough for this duct tape idea. That really made it easier. Tomorrow I go to buy some hack saw blades.
thanks man ive been around doing outdoor stuff and have never seen this. love it when you learn somthing out of the blue like this your vid came up in the random selections you tube make for you. thank you very much this is the best bit of outdoor info in about a year. once again many thanks
I haven't seen others striking the way I do. in most situations, I will hold the striker (stationary while pulling the feroceum rod back up.) I've less of a problem of disturbing the magnesium pile. Also I drill a few holes into magnisuem, collect the shavings and put them into a film container and save them for emergency fires. Do you think that it would cause a problem? BTW, great video. Thank you!
A great way to peel the mag bar is a tungsten carbide knife sharpener, like the "Sharpens Best" (no affiliation). It's a single edge sharpener, not a v-notch one. I get long curls off the bar. After easily peeling off the magnesium, the TC edge really strikes well, too.
lol i had to resort to using a poker chip sharpens best as both a scraper and a striker as my ebay mag block had a thick coating on it, the rod in the rod side was very small in diameter ..also with a thick coating on it and the striker had a smooth rounded edge on every side lmao.
When Bic lighters get wet, all you have to do is blow what water you can out of them and run the roller/striker down your thigh 4 or 5 times, and it will light again. I've done it after dropping them in a lake. Sneering at them because they are somehow not "pure" survivalist equipment might just get you killed, Rambo. That being said, it never hurts to have multiple ways to start a fire.
Using flint to ignite a fuel... Some people choose to file magnesium, some of us push a red lever. Compare the effectiveness of the two methods in the pitch dark though! Never run the striker down your thigh to dry it out though as it will prematurely wear your flint. After running my Bic under the tap and submerging it in the sink, I removed the shroud, shook off the excess water, blew on it a few times, then lit it on my second attempt! You're absolutely correct about having multiple ways to start a fire, and like yourself, I prefer the Bic method.. But something I did takeaway from watching this video is that I now have a few feet of duct tape wrapped around my Bics when Im in the woods! Not only is it an excellent fire starter, but it can make for a great splint, tourniquet, boot patch, signal torch, etc etc
Nice video. I like the tape idea, I always carry it anyway. I have used the saw blade before but currently use a Speedy Sharp. Cost about $6. They are effective at sharpening any tool and they work the very best on the magnesium fire starting block.
Im still used to the way of making a fire my grandfather taught me. He taught me a good efficient way to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together. He also taught me how to make fatwood. So I always keep multiple ways of making fire with me. Always have two pieces of dry tinder, a large tin of fatwood. The lenses of glasses that I have collected over time. I use the glass to light fatwood. I like the dry tinder because I have carved it specially to build up embers. I also always travel with dry grass. I am currently trying to develop a way of impregnating entire logs with tree resin. If that works out I can have long burning wood logs.
ok i did learn a lot.. i found out that i need to find a man with a grinder, an old hack saw blade and a vice to make this a useful item for me... i just purchased two and its no overstatement to say i was very dissapointed in the striker to try and shave anything or the ignition or burntime and apparent lack of heat comming from my pile of shavings which i had to ignite with a bic lighter since the firesteel and striker combo was worse than usless. the duct tape trick made is possibly worth while but i think i might just carry 4 mini bick lighters and some vasoline and my old big firesteel and throw the mag blocks in the bin lol
Lighters are super useful for everyday use and you may as well bring one with you if you're venturing out into the woods, but having better/multiple ways to start a fire really comes in handy during inclement weather conditions.
try squaring up a spot on the back of your knife (grinder, file, sharpener, etc) to get a sharp 90 degree angle and use that for your ferro rod... you wont kill your blade edge that way
damn! thats a very good tip. i knew that was flamable but never thought to put it all together like a kit. gonna use this setup in the pouch to my bk9 cheers!
Nice video. One thing I would add is to make sure you get a good one. I ordered one of the cheap magnesium fire starters off Amazon a while back and it was very difficult to use. The Ferro rod took a lot of pressure to throw a spark and the magnesium was extremely hard to grind off. I have two Doan starters now and they're significantly easier to use.
I use the cough land mag block it's made in the USA and works the best I found and I keep it pairs up with a leatherman squirt p4 and use the file on the leather man to shave magnesium and throw sparks from fero rod
Cool, I wonder if you could pre-coat your duck tape, before wrapping it on your striker. Then you don't have to work so long to get the fire started, in a dire situation. Maybe even add wax coated cotton inside there somewhere.
I knew I wasn't totally crazy for carrying an extra saw blade rated for cutting metal and an extra one for cutting wood in my leatherman sheath! Now I have an even more valid excuse than "Ummmm....in case I need to cut something?"
Great advice all around. In my very short experience, this is a tough device to use, definitely a last resort, and the duct tape makes it much more reliable. Even the lightest breeze, or the wave of your hand, blows magnesium all over the place; lighting wood, feather sticks or wood dust is very challenging, good luck if it's wet or windy. Thanks!
Great vid. super informative with the added ductape handle/ magnesium holder and added kindling to boot. I have been all over the place trying to find out where to get magnesium from scrapping metal appliances or machines etc.... so I don't have to buy it. do you know of any specific motors, appliances, computers etc... where I can et my magnesium for free, so to speak. I hate wasting money if I have the materials at hand but don't know I have them. I know it is not magnetic and reacts to vinegar but haven't had any luck. Your advise would be really helpful, Thanks in advance, Jp.
very useful.... nice mods to the firestarter... I'll be doing that ... Also, I carry around dryer lint to mix with my magnesium... that burns well as well. But I will be adding the duct tape too. Thanks again....
Ever tried to use a wet lighter? Besides, there is way too many moving parts (risk of something going wrong) for it to be considered reliable. Not to mention it runs out of fuel/flint pretty quickly.
