How to choose a fire steel and use it most effectively?

Question

Fire steels, ferrocerium rods -- oversized versions of the "flint" in a lighter or torch starter, are an apparently popular survival/backwoods fire starting method.

• Why would one want one of these rather than a Storm Lighter?

• Is one type or brand more effective than another?

• Sizes are all over the map. Do these all work equally well? Is it just a matter of lifespan?

• There are bare rods, rods on lanyards, and rods in handles. How does it matter?

• What is needed to make sparks with one of these rods? Will natural flint work as a striker?

• Do you "strike" or "scrape" a fire steel? How do you hold it?

• Can you use less sensitive tinder than is needed for a fire drill or fire piston?

• Are there any special precautions or specific failures for fire steels?

Answer 1

The pro of a fire steel over other lighters is that there's little that can break or be damaged from weather. Even if you lose the striker, a steel knife will work with the flint. However the con is that you only get a spark, not a steady flame. That means it needs to hit something that will ignite very easily. I use it to light my stoves (alcohol and isobutane) but I wouldn't want to try to start a fire with that and twigs. If you need to step it up to the next level, they make magnesium starters which you shave off some of the magnesium and hit that with a spark to light whatever the magnesium is in contact with.

I've only used a cheap "made in china" type, so I have no idea if others might be better. But we're only talking about a piece of metal so I'm not sure there's a big difference in quality. I'd suggest looking at quantity over quality, and get the largest size for the money. The sparks are from the flint being worn off, so a smaller flint will be worn away quicker.

To use, I prefer a handle on the flint to give me a better grip. You place the steel close to 90° against the flint, and point the flint towards the object you want to light. You can push the steel down the flint, but I like to pull the flint back away from the target since it gives me more control and there's less risk of blowing out what I'm trying to light. This is a fast scrape motion, not a strike. Maintain the right angle and pressure and sparks will fly easily.

I haven't tried the fire drill or piston, but keep in mind that you don't have highly accurate aim with the fire steel. This means it's much more trial and error to get the spark to hit just the right spot on your target.

The thing I like the best with fire steels is their reliability and durability. But because they don't provide a constant flame, I tend to keep matches as a backup.

Answer 2

The big plus with a firesteel is that you can pretty much do what you want to it, including soaking the thing in ice cold water, and it'll still work as well as before. The big downside is it's just sparks, so it's harder to build a fire.

However, with practice, it's not that hard and does provide a good backup if your matches get soaked through and your lighter gets damaged.

In terms of specific questions:

• I have two or three brands and I see no discernible difference between them.
• The bigger the better - the thicker it is, the longer it will last before being worn down.
• Any flat blade will generally do the trick, though if you use a sharp knife bear in mind it'll get worn down quite quickly.
• I prefer rods on handles - it makes it a lot easier to hold whilst using.
• You scrape rather than strike, still relatively fast. However, I've found good pressure and angle is much more important than speed. When practicing, go slowly - you'll improve your technique and be surprised how many sparks you can create this way.
• No real specific precautions you need to bear in mind, just the general ones when you're dealing with fire!

Answer 3

I strike my fire steel with a piece of hacksaw blade. I have the added ability to either just strike/scrape the ferro rod, shave shavings off it into a tinder bundle to get more intense fire lighting sparks. I can use the striker to shave fat wood, or normal wood, which will in turn take less of a spark to ignite. I can attach a piece of paracord through the blades fixing hole so I can attach it to either the ferro rod, or keyring of some kind, or just to place as lanyard around the wrist for extra security so you don't use the striker when using. Also the teeth of the blade bite into the rod really well and will give you a lot of sparks with less effort, even when using cheaper harder material ferro rods that don't throw many sparks normally.

Answer 4

Why would one want one of these rather than a Storm Lighter?

The advantage of a ferro rod is that it is simple, reliable and lasts a long time. There are no moving parts to break or fuel to run out. They will gradually wear down but they last a very long time for their weight and you can see how much material is left. Even if one breaks the broken parts should still be usable.

Is one type or brand more effective than another?

I've used various brands and generic ones, they all seem pretty much the same to me.

Sizes are all over the map. Do these all work equally well? Is it just a matter of lifespan?

Pretty much, a larger one will last longer and is perhaps marginally easier to use but there isn't a lot in it. I find the larger sizes (around 100mm x 10mm diameter) easiest to use.

There are bare rods, rods on lanyards, and rods in handles. How does it matter?

A lanyard is useful to stop it getting lost as you can attach it to your equipment. Some people keep them in a loop on their knife sheath so handle and/or lanyard makes them easier to get in and out. With a bare rod you can also make a handle of the size, shape and material you prefer. Some knife makers make ferro rod handles to match a particular knife.

A plain rod though is easier to pack in a survival kit and the smaller ones take up less space than most lighters.

What is needed to make sparks with one of these rods? Will natural flint work as a striker?

You need something reasonably hard with a well defined edge, the spine of a knife is often used or a short length of hacksaw blade. Abrasive materials like sandpaper or rough rocks work too as will a sharp flake of flint. Files work extremely well. They are also soft enough that you can use the edge of a knife as striker with little risk of damaging it.

Do you "strike" or "scrape" a fire steel? How do you hold it?

Usually the best technique is to rest the end of the rod on your tinder and scrape downwards. If you are using an abrasive strike it may be easier to strike it like a match. But it's really a case of what is easiest for you. It take a bit of practice to get the best results but it is much easier than a flint and steel or friction methods.

As mentioned in the comment below the main aspect of proper technique is to strike/scrape it with enough force to produce good sparks without disturbing your tinder. My preferred method is to place a wad of tinder on a flat surface then trap it with the end of the rod and scrape down onto the tinder rather than holding it above the tinder and trying to aim the sparks.

In general you want to apply moderate pressure with the striker and use a fairly slow scraping movement.

Can you use less sensitive tinder than is needed for a fire drill or fire piston?

They generate quite a lot of reasonably hot sparks so they tend to light tinder more quickly and easily than friction methods or natural flint and steel and you can light most things which could be reasonably called 'tinder'. They can also light flammable liquids. With care you can also scrape off small shavings of the rod without igniting them which can help ignition.

They will usually light cotton wool at the first attempt and more difficult tinder like sawdust and paper are certainly achievable.

Are there any special precautions or specific failures for fire steels?

Not really, they don't like being soaked in water for long periods of time, but this is more an issue of long term storage than use. Obviously if you use a knife to strike them then basic cutting tool safety applies.

Answer 5

For most uses, a Storm Lighter is going to be more practical, but if something were to happen to the lighter (runs out of fuel, crack in the reservoir, etc) it would be very nice to have something that is going to work.

The biggest benefit to using the fire stick is the simplicity. You'll have to have something that will catch a spark, but once you have that there is almost no learning curve to producing sparks with the fire stick. I've used mine many times to light small bundles of dryer lint to start fires and it only takes a few strikes before I have a small fire going.

Answer 6

We use both. It is not difficult to light a fire with a ferrocerium rod especially if you have pine trees around as we do. A bit of sap from one of them on your shavings, cotton balls, spanish moss and one strike from the rod will start the fire. No sap? Then we also carry a small jar of vaseline. Both are overkill but help when you must light a fire in the pouring rain or high humidity. Small shavings can be made on site and charcloth is also usable with a firestick.

Two is one and one is none...Equipment fails under special conditions and that is why we do not skimp on firestarting ways. We have started fires using a magnifying lens which we needed when the guy carrying the firemaking tools decided to fall into the lake and drench our equipment. Only the firesteel and the magnifying glass worked then.

They are also a lot of fun but recommend watching a video or two to see the proper hand motions. Keep the stick when striking (scraping is the correct word), right on top or in the target. All of which you have probably done by now.