What's your Ferro-rod made out of? 

All ferro rods are mischmetal. "Misch" derives from "mischen," the German word that means "to mix." The large rod ferro rod Andy was using was probably just a mixture of iron and cerium. The smaller rod attached to the magnesium was made of iron, cerium, and magnesium. It wears more quickly because magnesium is a very soft metal compared to iron or cerium. It also burns at a higher temperature than either iron or cerium. Both types of ferro rods will make sparks for fire starting, but under some conditions the higher temperature of the mix with magnesium in it is helpful. But both types are a mixture - therefore "mishmetal." Thanks for the great video, Andy. This is the only place I have ever seen elemental cerium.

Best explanation I have seen yet on Ferro Rods. Great information. Thanks for sharing. It always help to understand the why's of how something works or is made

Very good video and demonstration. Interesting to see Cerium in it's raw form and that it sparks so easily. Thank you for making the video.

That's very interesting. I knew ferro rods had cerium in them as well as magnesium and iron but it's interesting to see the element in it's raw form. Thank you for sharing this!

Thanks for the information. I knew that a ferro rod was made using iron and cerium but this made the process a little more clear.

Great demo, thanks for putting that together.

I always thought it was a flint! Thanks for the bit of knowledge that I can take along with me

Your cheaper "ferro rods" are mostly made of mischmetal and will wear out quickly without giving good sparks. Interesting video. Definately learned some things. I had no idea about Cerium. Thanks for the info

This was exactly what I was looking for. I have rods but no spark. Zippo was okay, but not like I've seen some rods do. Now I know higher cerium and lower iron. Magnesium wears quicker, but little brighter spark. But the pure cerium was hotter than them both, expected I'm sure,so I guessed a good blend of that. Maybe learn to make my own. Thank you, happy trails.

2021 and I learned a lot, thanks and cheers.

I'm a chemist who works with intermetallic compounds (although only theoretically) and I think this is a great video! I actually just bought some cerium for myself and it's really, really good at sparking - the issue is that it corrodes quickly when exposed to air (that's why commercial samples are never shiny). Adding iron helps reduce the reactivity and makes it last much longer - a pure cerium rod would probably be completely corroded in a year, depending on humidity. I would love to see if anyone manufactures pure cerium rods for a side-by-side comparison, even if it wouldn't be as practical.

Much appreciated! Glad you shared your knowledge and the sample! Good stuff!

Right on you have answered my question that I was asking for a long time I was thinking about this what the heck is a farrell rod made out of cerium and iron or cerium and magnesium that’s pretty cool knowing that thank you very much.

Great video. I'd never really considered what the different rods were made of before.

Good video. Never gave it much thought before. It's always good to learn something new.

Very fascinating. No jokes. Really cool to see the differences in their pure elemental forms. We take all these things for granted as we can buy them all off the shelf for cheap prices and don't really think much of it. Thanks for the analysis.

Great stuff Andy. Something else I have learned today! Thank you for sharing this with us, ATB Dave

Thanks mate I didn't know about cerium so I learnt something today. Cheers

That was great I didn't have a clue. Now I wonder about the process. Thankyou from NZ.

What a great video. I was aware of cerium and I guessed magnesium but I was unsure if iron was in it. Now I know. Thanks!

Science is cool, thanks a lot.

Nicely done sir. Subbed

Nice to put a face to the name as it were! Good job brother 👌🏽👍🏽👍🏽

A good break down that Andy 👍 bloody expensive stuff for sure. Good luck with your camp/task tonight bud

Good info. Thank you sir.

Well explained thanks

Good job... Thanks

Might try scraping a small amount off the block, that's the magnesium and it ignites very easily and burns white-hot. Ignite the shavings with the ferro rod on the side of the block of magnesium.

Excellent demonstration. I have some Zirconium metal that is hafnium free. The fillings will ignite and smell like sparklers. I may have to experiment with it some more. You would make a good geologist btw.

I did find that very interesting Andy and came away from it the wiser. Thanks for sharing - I'll able to pass that on now. Take care. Mark

Very interesting video Andy , makes one think that maybe ancient man knew about cerium well before modern times ??? Knowing and understanding ones kit broadens The potential possibilities and adaptations to other tasks the item wasn't intended for. 👍👍

Very informative. Thank you.

Thanks mate, interesting indeed.

Nice video

I have been looking for a video about cerium for literally 4 days and finally this amazing man shows me bless you. Question: if I forged a ferro-cerium rod would I smelt half iron and half cerium into the mould?

Love these kind of videos man. Super informative this was. Dunno if you can make a video about where cirium comes from. If there are any mines located near where you live. or visit some factory that produces these rods. Would be great to learn.

thanks for the info. now that i know about cerium, i will never be asked a question about it on a quiz show. lol. take it easy.

Very interesting to see that stuff, I thought it would be too soft on it's own to generate a spark, just goes to show how good it is to try things out. I bet you never mentioned the others because it would be a right laugh trying to pronounce them :-)

Your accent is nice to hear

Magnesium fire starter seems to be the way to go

That opening music makes me think something terrible is about to happen.

Can you do a video on how to make a ferro rod? I’d find that very helpful I found this video very interesting

Isn't magnesium an element as well? Number 12, I believe.

Interesting

It's a magnesium block with a farrocerium rod attached in a groove on the side of the magnesium block both rods are iron an ferrorcerium only magnesium is the block , only watched to see if it actually showed hot to create you're own rod

Thank you for that but can you go further , I mean how can I use this info , what should I be looking for in a 'ferro rod ' to get my best spark for my money ? Oh , this is 3 years late . Might get lucky eh ?

thanks for the like // however is it correct iron is really ceramic and mag is a big part of the mix with the cerium being the lighting element and mag is the burning with cermaic holding it all together // (iron ) is a small amount of the mix ? // sorri i really dont care yust being me

Who manifactures the ferrocerium to make those rods? And how can i get ahold of them?

thought they were w mix of magniesium and ceramic // how is iron flamable

If you leave a ferro rod out in the arizona summer sun all day what would happen

It’s somewhat interesting but it doesn’t seem to be worthy of educational time spent because it’s too costly and it’s not easy to use in its raw form as compared to the ferro rods which are less expensive and sold everywhere. It’s a great video but it’s information I really don’t need. No offense intended 🙏