firesteel works better with a knife

Erik Sandblom said:

Hello

I just read some of the threads about getting firesteel to work. I
followed Ken's steps below but also used a real knife with a handle
instead of the dinky little blade you get with the firesteel. The knife is
bigger and sharper, and gives you more power and control. This is
especially useful in steps four and five below.

Scraping off some shavings for extra pyrotechnics is a great tip. With
that, and using the knife, I found the results quite impressive.

Before I found this advice I had been at it for a while, making lots of
sparks, but the only thing to flare was my temper. Maybe later I will
learn to light wet things like in the advertising hype. Thanks Ken and
everyone else in these old threads.

Erik Sandblom

Ken said:

Aside from what others have said (cotton wool is a good one), birch bark
works.Here's how it goes1. Prepare all your wood first; you need an
armful of very small dry twigs(maybe 3mm diameter), then increasingly
larger ones. Arrange different sizein piles so they're easy to get to -
you may need it in a hurry.2. Using a small section of bark, scrape up
the inside with the back of aknife into tiny shavings; this releases the
oils in the bark too. The moreyou do, the better.3. Place the bark on a
hard (dry!) surface and the end of the fire steel inthe middle of the
bark.4. Scrape some fire steel shavings into the bark. If you it right,
this willkeep your spark sparking. Again, more you do, the better.5.
Making sure your tinder is close at hand, with the end of the fire steel
in the middle of the bark, make the spark.6. Repeat steps 2-5 until you
get a flame.7. Pick up the flaming bark, and place among your kindling.
8. Ta-Da! Feel very pleased with yourself.

--
Oil is for sissies

What is the point exactly?
If you can make a fire by just rubbing sticks together, fair enough;
it's a cool skill to have.
However if you've got to carry a firesteel and whatever, then why not
carry matches or a lighter instead?

Whilst I can see the of the fun / novelty element, but surely it's
just that

Hywel

In article <[email hidden]>,
hyweldavies <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

What is the point exactly?
If you can make a fire by just rubbing sticks together, fair enough;
it's a cool skill to have.
However if you've got to carry a firesteel and whatever, then why not
carry matches or a lighter instead?

Whilst I can see the of the fun / novelty element, but surely it's
just that

It has reliability advantages over matches / lighter:
Nothing to go wrong other than losing it
Works when wet (matches and lighter don't)
Works when cold (lighters get less effective as they get cold)
Lasts hundreds of uses

As such it makes a very good backup for matches / lighter which are more
convenient if they work.

For most folks they may well be a novelty because they are highly
unlikely to be in a situation where having one will make a significant
difference.

--

Dominic Sexton

Dominic Sexton said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
hyweldavies <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

What is the point exactly?
If you can make a fire by just rubbing sticks together, fair enough;
it's a cool skill to have.
However if you've got to carry a firesteel and whatever, then why not
carry matches or a lighter instead?

Quoted message said:

Whilst I can see the of the fun / novelty element, but surely it's
just that

It has reliability advantages over matches / lighter:
Nothing to go wrong other than losing it
Works when wet (matches and lighter don't)
Works when cold (lighters get less effective as they get cold)
Lasts hundreds of uses

As such it makes a very good backup for matches / lighter which are more
convenient if they work.

For most folks they may well be a novelty because they are highly
unlikely to be in a situation where having one will make a significant
difference.

--

Dominic Sexton

I do have one by the way, and it is fun to play with, so not wholly
negative comment :-)
Lit the (house) fire with it once too. Very manly I felt.

Hywel

Den 2007-06-14 21:53:16 skrev hyweldavies <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Dominic Sexton said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
hyweldavies <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

What is the point exactly?
If you can make a fire by just rubbing sticks together, fair enough;
it's a cool skill to have.
However if you've got to carry a firesteel and whatever, then why not
carry matches or a lighter instead?

Quoted message said:

Whilst I can see the of the fun / novelty element, but surely it's
just that

It has reliability advantages over matches / lighter:
Nothing to go wrong other than losing it
Works when wet (matches and lighter don't)
Works when cold (lighters get less effective as they get cold)
Lasts hundreds of uses

As such it makes a very good backup for matches / lighter which are more
convenient if they work.

For most folks they may well be a novelty because they are highly
unlikely to be in a situation where having one will make a significant
difference.

I do have one by the way, and it is fun to play with, so not wholly
negative comment :-)
Lit the (house) fire with it once too. Very manly I felt.

Is firesteel perhaps better in the wind, compared to matches? I find even
a small amount of wind can make my consumption of matches increase hugely.

Erik Sandblom
--
Oil is for sissies

Dominic Sexton said:

For most folks they may well be a novelty because they are highly
unlikely to be in a situation where having one will make a significant
difference.

I carry one with my gas stove. It fits neatly in one of the corners
of the MSR Pcket Rocket case and IME it makes a significant difference
every time I light the stove. Rain or shine and even in a howling
gale it lights up with a single strike every time. No soggy matches
and no singed thunb when I don't retract a [censored] lighter sparker in time
😉