Problem with firesteel

I prefer the mag stick 9 times outta 10. The firesteel works better when it is windy as make'n a pile of magnesium in the wind tends to be a pain in the @$$. With the mag stick you tend to need to make a wind block, I think that the firesteel would light dried out grass pretty good in the wind, i'l try it out soon and let you know though.

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All right thanks. I want a good fire starter and wasnt sure if this was good or not.

Keep experimenting with natural tinders for your firesteel... you'll get it down soon... it's mostly in the preparation... just stick with dry, not rotted, material (Avoid the dark stuff). Hint... the best stuff is usually blonde in colour... grasses, downy type seeds, thinly shaved wood, etc...

Graduate from the comfort zone of your magstick and keep moving ahead (or perhaps "behind" is the proper term) until you can make fire by rubbing two worms together.(kidding about the worms, of course) Wink

Rick

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"Arrogance, I'm above that sort of thing."

I also prefer a mag stick over a firesteel, but that's probably because I've used a mag stick a lot more.

Shaving the magnesium can be a pain though. The tinder recommendations here are excellent, concentrate more on gathering good tinder than relying on the magnesium.

Off subject, but I learned a good thing from WildThing a few months back... scrape denim jeans for fine cotton tinder. Just another trick in the skills toolbox for ya, Schmitty. Very Happy

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Last edited by Dobry on Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

I prefer the Firesteel, just because it's more of a challenge to have success with in different environments with no packed in tinder.

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Time passes softly and I'm a day older.
But still I'm living days gone by.
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	OGTL wrote:
	I prefer the Firesteel, just because it's more of a challenge to have success with in different environments with no packed in tinder.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... you're such a purist!

Very Happy

j/k

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

	OGTL wrote:
	I prefer the Firesteel, just because it's more of a challenge to have success with in different environments with no packed in tinder.

Have you done any work with "Flint and Steel"? Preparing natural tinder for that is quite a challange. You'd get a kick out of that. Smile

Rick

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"Arrogance, I'm above that sort of thing."

I'd love to if I could find a proper bit of flint, though I did make charcloth last week in my back yard. Smile

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Outdoor Blog
Last.fm

Time passes softly and I'm a day older.
But still I'm living days gone by.
Ashes to ashes, the rain's turning colder.
Finding tomorrow, the ashes, the rain and I.

You don't need flint... you can use quartz, chert and many other common driveway gravels... just make sure you have a good high-carbon steel striker.
Rick

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"Arrogance, I'm above that sort of thing."

Good tips, thanks guys. Smile

Hey Guys..

99% of making a good fire on the first try is preperation and good tinder...

The other 1% is getting a spark to stick...

In the next month will be the perfect time to get out there and start looking for good usable tinder...

Prepared tinder such as PCB's, steel wool, fat wood, jute are excellent back up tinders and should ignite easily with a Ferro rod....
If you aren't getting a heavy shower of sparks from your ferro rod, it's quite possibly that you aren't doing it right, or your scraper is Crap...

Even with good prepared natural tinders you should be able to lay a shower of sparks into it that will ignite the material. Don't expect it to go one the first try each time, although the better you get with chosing and preparing your materials the easier it will get for you...

Keep at it,,and get out there and try all kinds of different things...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST

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