Misch Metal fire steels

Good morning everyone & Happy Easter.

Just wondering if anyone here has tried starting a fire with a misch metal fire steel.
They're similar in appearance to the fero rods that we're familiar with,but they take fire starting to the next level.
Instead of throwing off a bunch of sparks,they produce a shower of white hot globs of burning metal onto your tinder.
These little globs of metal continue to burn a LONG time...I've had some burn for about 10 seconds.
You just need to strike them good & hard towards your tinder to get it to light.
Here's what they look like:

This is a piece of fatwood that I lit up with one of the misch metal rods:

Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS8TJAXC9zQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fgoinggear%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

The fero rods are great. I'm not getting rid of mine. But these things work even better.

Cliff

Wow, thats cool, Cliff N Very Happy

eric

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Those are cool..Might have to go get some of them....Ty for the link♥

Very cool, i like those, i want some. Shocked

Is this an american only product ?

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	Drummer Dave wrote:
	Is this an american only product ?

Not sure about that Dave.
I'd think that he would get some up your way.

Cliff

^ I was looking on the website, they do ship to Canada, BC Cool

Im going to get 3 & make my own handles. Thanks for posting this.

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Misch metal is just the name for the blend of rare earth metals (mainly cerium) used in ferro rods. They should be, by all counts, identical.

Perhaps these use less hardeners and are a bit softer, but that is an issue of manufacturer.

This may be true, but just by seeing the results in the length of burn time compared to the other is much better & worth it IMO to purchase some. Longer burn results in a better result in fire starting Cool

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	Drummer Dave wrote:
	This may be true, but just by seeing the results in the length of burn time compared to the other is much better & worth it IMO to purchase some. Longer burn results in a better result in fire starting

I didn't say anywhere in my post that I didn't want one Laughing

It's just the original post seemed to imply that they were something entirely different, which they are not.

Misch metal is simply another name for ferrocerium, but the exact composition of the rod varies by manufacturer. So some rods are better than others.

The guy selling these ships to Canada via USPS, so you don't have to pay those inflated UPS brokerage fees.

I favorite it my youtube ain't working today. rats. Confused

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A quote from the source:
"Ferrocerium and misch metal are referring to the same thing. In fact, the alloy is sometimes called ferrocerium misch metal. Mischmetall comes from German, meaning "mixed metal" and is referring in the modern sense to a mixture of rare earth metals.

The rods I carry are a mixture of iron, magnesium, and misch metal. As far as I know, the ones in the RAT product are the same thing, albeit in a fancier package.

The misch metal rods are different from some of the older versions of firesteels in that the rare earth metals will become a molten glob when struck and ignited, so you have much longer lasting sparks. They literally bounce on the ground if you are standing up and striking the firesteel. I have accidentally lit tinder on fire while standing up and playing with the firesteel, so you have to be careful with these thing when practicing or demonstrating their use to other people.

You can even scrape the rods slowly like a mag bar to produce a pile of shavings that will ignite when you scrape faster to produce sparks. I've never really needed to do this, but it can be done."End of quote.

I don't have any idea what the composition is & really don't care much.
I've seen them work & used them myself & trust me....they ain't the same as anything like a LMF firesteel.

Seems like they're fero (hence the misch metal) with some additional metals mixed in.

Like I said earlier...
I'm not going to toss any of my regular fero rods in the trash.
But after using these,I'll be carrying the better ones more.

Cliff

Cliff N wrote:

A quote from the source:
"Ferrocerium and misch metal are referring to the same thing. In fact, the alloy is sometimes called ferrocerium misch metal. Mischmetall comes from German, meaning "mixed metal" and is referring in the modern sense to a mixture of rare earth metals.

The rods I carry are a mixture of iron, magnesium, and misch metal. As far as I know, the ones in the RAT product are the same thing, albeit in a fancier package.

The misch metal rods are different from some of the older versions of firesteels in that the rare earth metals will become a molten glob when struck and ignited, so you have much longer lasting sparks. They literally bounce on the ground if you are standing up and striking the firesteel. I have accidentally lit tinder on fire while standing up and playing with the firesteel, so you have to be careful with these thing when practicing or demonstrating their use to other people.

You can even scrape the rods slowly like a mag bar to produce a pile of shavings that will ignite when you scrape faster to produce sparks. I've never really needed to do this, but it can be done."End of quote.

I don't have any idea what the composition is & really don't care much.
I've seen them work & used them myself & trust me....they ain't the same as anything like a LMF firesteel.

Seems like they're fero (hence the misch metal) with some additional metals mixed in.

Like I said earlier...
I'm not going to toss any of my regular fero rods in the trash.
But after using these,I'll be carrying the better ones more.

Cliff

> Oh ya by far a better longer burning spark Cliff Cool

& like you said what ever the metals who cares. The end result is a better fero rod Cool

Im getting some, lol.

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wow that looks great. and he used the spine of his knife to strick. Very Happy

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Wow thats incredible. Im a big fan of ferro rods and ive never seen these before.

I like the duration of buring time of these as opposed to that of the standard firesteel. Better chance of lighting a fire.

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I think I might get a few myself, the only problem is deciding what size to go with Laughing

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Im going to get the 3" 1/4 thick one. 3 of them, that will do me for along time Smile

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I have 2 of the 1/2" x 4" & 2 of the 3/8" x 6".

The longer ones go in packs & the shorter ones .... haven't decided yet.
They're the ones I've had out playing with.
So far I've lit up some waxed jute balls,fatwood,pj cotton balls & some trioxane bars.

Tried using things like hacksaw blades & knife spines to strike them with & they both work fine.
Even worked with the spine of an older RAT 5 that still had some blade coating on it.

I might try to make a handle for one of the shorter ones,if I don't use them all up playing around with them.

Cliff

	linsleyk wrote:
	wow that looks great. and he used the spine of his knife to strick.

I notice that while the guys are discussing size, the lone female comment is about technique. Wink

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I guess us females like technique better

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