Ferrocerium rods

20609 Views 81 Replies 37 Participants Last post by ninjasurvivor, Sep 2, 2014

socom2173

Discussion Starter · Jan 3, 2010 (Edited by Moderator)

I believe there is way too much interest in Ferrocerium rods in a "Wilderness Survival Kit". This is equipment that you should have on you (on your person)whenever you are in the "Wilderness". That could save your life if you were separated from your main pack or gear. Honestly, I find them great fun to use. But they realy are little more than a novelty, fad or toy.

I drop Bic lighters in with all my gear. Do you know what Bic lighter is?...

Its a FERROCERIUM ROD! complete with built in idiot proof striker, and its own "tinder" or FUEL in one tiny, self contained unit!

Not to mention, Its WATERPROOF, fast, lights on the first try, requires no techniqe to use. And If I fall in a river and have minutes to get warmed up while Im shivering severly, I dont have time to gather tinder or, scrape and play with "toys".

I do not consider a firesteel to be true Bush craft as, you still need the Firesteel. If you can plan ahead and bring a firesteel, you can bring a lighter instead!

What will you do if you drop it in tall grass or snow and cant find it?

I prefer the bright red lighters, good luck finding that narrow little rod that looks like a twig! this may **** some of you off but, it is reality.
Your first priority is to learn to make fire using a Fire Drill (Hand or Bow). You may not have a rod (or anything) with you when you need a fire. THEN, carry a lighter!

Some will say "A lighter can break" well, this is true. My experience from 15 years of smoking, lighting 20 cigarettes a day is that I only recall 2 lighters ever "failing" me they were both cheap gas station plastic lighters. the only time a Bic didnt light was when it was out of Fuel!

And if you're worried about it falling apart in your hands, buy TWO! I have several 5-packs in my closet with my gear these will light thousands and thousands of fires! they are $4. Fire is too important to not have when you need it! You can still have a rod if you like (I have one on my keychain) but do not rely on it as your only source of fire, you could die.

If you are trying to conserve space, they make a Mini-Bic (This is what I carry in MY belt kit) that takes very little space.

Don't misunderstand me, The most valuble "skill" you can have is being able to make fire with nothing, from sticks. And I advocate this techniqe whenever you light a fire in the wilderness for practice. I just do not want to die in the wilderness because i didnt have a fire when I NEEDED it.

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61 - 80 of 82 Posts

Arsenul

· #61 · Aug 20, 2014

ninjasurvivor said:
I posted a video on here a while back of me trying to get a fire going in a remote area with skant tinder resources. I didn't have any paper on me so all I could use was whatever was on the ground. I had my light my fire steel with me. I spent like 15 minutes trying to get some stuff going. It actually flamed for a moment then fizzled out. It was very challenging. I had to give up after a while due to time constraints. I'm not saying it's impossible, just challenging. Yet a bic would've got that stuff going instantly.

That's one of the problems with the fire steel. It assures sparks, but not flame. You absolutely must have some type of viable tinder to get your flame going. That may mean having to spend a lot more time and energy searching for it and processing it, or worse case scenario, not being able to convert that spark into fire.

Tinder like that can be found anywhere. In the rainforest, in a winter biome, etc. You just need to know what you're doing. (I don't)

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ninjasurvivor

· #62 · Aug 21, 2014

Arsenul said:
Tinder like that can be found anywhere. In the rainforest, in a winter biome, etc. You just need to know what you're doing. (I don't)

It can be, but it's not always easy. I had found some stuff that worked as tinder, but it was sparse. I would've had to sit there and gather that stuff for an hour straight in order to have enough for a proper tinder bundle.

Vanishing Nomad

· #63 · Aug 21, 2014

I just keep a magnesium rod with me. If you can't find good tinder, the magnesium will light what you can find.

ninjasurvivor

· #64 · Aug 21, 2014

Vanishing Nomad said:
I just keep a magnesium rod with me. If you can't find good tinder, the magnesium will light what you can find.

True, but it takes forever to shave it and the shavings blow away in the wind.

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Vanishing Nomad

· #65 · Aug 21, 2014

ninjasurvivor said:
True, but it takes forever to shave it and the shavings blow away in the wind.

My USAF Survival knife has a metal file on the spine..makes short work of it.

Also, if you use a coarse tooth Sawsall blade, it's almost as fast.

I have never had magnesium blow away in the wind. If it is that windy out, a lighter, matches or just about anything else will get blown out too.

Possum-Pie

· #66 · Aug 23, 2014

If windy, I scrape the magnesium onto the sticky side of a hunk of duct tape. It won't blow away.
I'm quickly discovering on this forum that there are people that swear by some item or technique, and some who swear at it. MUCH of the disagreements boil down to preference. One great thing about SHTF/TEOTWAWKI is that survival of the fittest comes back in play. Stupid people will die off and the strong/smart will survive.

Vanishing Nomad

· #67 · Aug 23, 2014

Possum-Pie said:
If windy, I scrape the magnesium onto the sticky side of a hunk of duct tape. It won't blow away.
I'm quickly discovering on this forum that there are people that swear by some item or technique, and some who swear at it. MUCH of the disagreements boil down to preference. One great thing about SHTF/TEOTWAWKI is that survival of the fittest comes back in play. Stupid people will die off and the strong/smart will survive.

Yes, a lot of it is preference. However, a lot of that preference is actually based on know how. For example, the difference between someone swearing at Magnesium, and relying on it in extreme conditions, has to do with knowing how to properly use magnesium.

Possum-Pie

· #68 · Aug 24, 2014

As people say over and over...have a couple of plans and be flexible. If it works for you and you survive, that's what matters. I will take lighters over matches, but can use matches, magnesium, and even a magnifying glass if I have to...that is being flexible.

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bunkerbuster

· #69 · Aug 26, 2014

ninjasurvivor said:
True, but it takes forever to shave it and the shavings blow away in the wind.

If it’s taking you “forever” to shave off a quarter sized height/width pile magnesium shavings. Either you have some poor magnesium alloy, a poor device to shave it with or both.

Takes me 90 seconds or less to shave off curly Mg piles below.

My youngest grandson (age 9) can do the same, after I taught him how.

There is a distinct advantage in having a round fairly long magnesium rod.
You get a long stroke, and with the right edge; you get fairly long Mg curls. Curls add height to the pile & make it VERY easy to light with a spark.

As for the mg particles or pile blowing away, there are numerious ways to form a wind break, or simply shave into a divot you form in a nest of forest litter type tinder, or into a piece of masking tape, sticky side up.

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bunkerbuster

· #70 · Aug 26, 2014

Ferro & Mag rods should be an integral part of any fire starting kit in my humble opinion. At the same time the “kit” should include several other means of fire starting, including “accelerants”. For when you need a fire RIGHT NOW, and/or if natural foraged tinder happens to be damp, wet, frost/snow clad and/or frozen.

Kit above starting at upper left going clockwise contains 1 hundred ml squeeze bottle dropper of DEG “enhanced” lighter fluid (burns hotter & longer than normal lighter fluid). 4 ounces of weber fire lighter cube shavings, ½ inch X 6 inch ferro rod, ½ inch x 6 inch magnesium rod, 2 Bic full size, 75 foot long roll magnesium ribbon (1 ounce), 20 ml squeeze bottle dropper enhanced lighter fluid, Ronson Typhoon lighter (circa 1968), spare wick & 12 flints in the little white plastic bottle.

If you have never seen Mg ribbon burn, take a look > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdelGulTukk

You can bust off a few ½ inch Mg ribbon pieces to add to your Mg rod shavings.
Or, run 3 or 4 inch strip through your tinder nest.

If you have never seen a fat pinch of weber cube shavings burning look below.

Will burn with a large hot flame envelope 3 to 5 minutes.
Pack of 24 cubes is only $3.79 @ Lowes/Home-Depot, etc.

I keep several kits as above & high magnitude variants on my person, here & there in my gear & vehicles.

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JRR

· #71 · Aug 28, 2014

I carry a ferro rod and a bar of trioxane. No need to gather tinder. One spark and I have fire. I also carry a bic and waterproof matches. I don't see why I have to pick just one.

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nana9

· #72 · Aug 29, 2014

exactly. a bic lighter should be your first go-to fire starter. a rod and some tinder (i prefer dryer lint) should be a back up. windproof matches should also be in your kit. for something so important, always have more than one way to accomplish the task. and with the knowledge of how to build a bow drill fire, you're super covered. knowledge weighs nothing.

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drobs

· #73 · Aug 30, 2014

nana9 said:
exactly. a bic lighter should be your first go-to fire starter. a rod and some tinder (i prefer dryer lint) should be a back up. windproof matches should also be in your kit. for something so important, always have more than one way to accomplish the task. and with the knowledge of how to build a bow drill fire, you're super covered. knowledge weighs nothing.

I agree. However, I reverse the order - if fire starting is not a life and death (hypothermia emergency).

Bic = last resort.

When you get that 1st fire started you should be thinking about ways to start your subsequent fires. That means charring natural or man made tinders that will catch a spark. Bics do break - run out of fluid at in-opportune times.

You should have the knowledge and experience do start a fire without a BIC.

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DomC

· #74 · Aug 30, 2014

I have never had a BIC break or run out of fluid at an inopportune moment and I always carry more than one. As with matches one is not enough...
Btw I agree my lighter is a valuable asset and resource and only used as a last ditch reliable method to light a fire. If a fire is in dire need and time is of the essence, I'll use it without hesitation....

DomC

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Vanishing Nomad

· #75 · Aug 31, 2014

nana9 said:
exactly. a bic lighter should be your first go-to fire starter. a rod and some tinder (i prefer dryer lint) should be a back up. windproof matches should also be in your kit. for something so important, always have more than one way to accomplish the task. and with the knowledge of how to build a bow drill fire, you're super covered. knowledge weighs nothing.

Why? I can get fires just as easy with a ferro rod. I have even gotten them faster, than with a bic because the shower of sparks spreads over a larger area.

If you can't light it with a ferro rod, you are just going to burn up all the gas in your bic anyway.

Vanishing Nomad

· #76 · Aug 31, 2014

drobs said:
I agree. However, I reverse the order - if fire starting is not a life and death (hypothermia emergency).

Bic = last resort.

When you get that 1st fire started you should be thinking about ways to start your subsequent fires. That means charring natural or man made tinders that will catch a spark. Bics do break - run out of fluid at in-opportune times.

You should have the knowledge and experience do start a fire without a BIC.

Although I prefer a ferro rod and magnesium (if needed), I think it's important to use a bowdrill as much as possible.
My thought process is that the bowdrill requires the most skill. If you rely on it as a back up, the skill won't be there when you really need it. This makes it important to practice with, as much as possible.

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Vanishing Nomad

· #77 · Aug 31, 2014

DomC said:
I have never had a BIC break or run out of fluid at an inopportune moment and I always carry more than one. As with matches one is not enough...
Btw I agree my lighter is a valuable asset and resource and only used as a last ditch reliable method to light a fire. If a fire is in dire need and time is of the essence, I'll use it without hesitation....

DomC

If my firesteel can't light a fire, with the help of magnesium, a bic won't work either.

At some point, one has to realize that your firecrafting skills go way, way beyond your ignition point. Once you get there, a firesteel/Mag rod comb should be all you ever need.

It's really all about tinder selection, bundle preparation. Also knowing how to construct a good fire structure and what materials to use.

A reliance on the Bic lighter says to me, that the person does not have a high level of firecrafting skills.

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DomC

· #78 · Sep 1, 2014

The open flame of a bic lighter can in turn light the wick on a candle. This can be done also with a fire steel but the lighter is quicker and more efficient. The candle is an indispensable, multipurpose item in an urban/wilderness survival event...they should be a part of any kit imo.

DomC

Vanishing Nomad

· #79 · Sep 1, 2014

DomC said:
The open flame of a bic lighter can in turn light the wick on a candle. This can be done also with a fire steel but the lighter is quicker and more efficient. The candle is an indispensable, multipurpose item in an urban/wilderness survival event...they should be a part of any kit imo.

DomC

Yes! I forgot about that one! I actually have storm matches and birthday candles in my firekit as well...although, I don't think I have use them since the late 1990's..they are probably not any good anymore.

My emergency wet fire solution was to light a 9 hour food warmer candle, and build my fire structure over that. The candle dried out the material, and I was good to go.

ninjasurvivor

· #80 · Sep 2, 2014

I was out camping this weekend with my gf. I was trying to teach her how to start a fire with a fire steel using natural tinder. It hadn't rained in at least several days, but the ground was damp. I first used a dry piece of bark and scraped and shredded the fibers. It looked like good tinder, but I showered that with my fire steel over and over again, and could not get a flame. I eventually gave up and just pulled out a tiny piece of cotton and got it going immediately with that.

Later, I tried again, only this time trying different tinder materials. I found some type of wild grass that has a dry cluster of fibers at its base. It took me a good while even with using that, but it eventually made a flame, then went out. Realizing it was at least possible, we gathered more and finally got the fire lit. I felt a sense of accomplishment for sure, and managed to actually look like I was a competent woodsman in front of my gf.

The lesson there is one I've learned before, which is that having to rely on natural tinder along with your fero rod/fire steel far from ideal. A Bic lighter, or even just some cotton or dryer lint along with the fire steel would've worked right away. It's more than likely going to be possible in nearly any environment to find viable natural tinder, but it will absolutely require skill, time, and a degree of luck in order to turn that into flame.

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