misch metal firesteels

[LngRngShtr]

Anybody have any firsthand use experience with these ?

thinking it would take up less room than the standard bar o magnesium with rod ones...

Thoughts ?

John

[MacGyver]

Can't recommend them highly enough.

I'm proficient with a firesteel. If it can burn, I can light it. That said, my 4 year old daughter and I just did a series of experiments comparing a couple best-in-breed fire steels with a mischmetal rod. We tested paper flat, paper bundled, grass, leaves, dryer lint and cotton balls. In every category, the mischmetal started the fire with fewer strikes - usually by a factor of five.

It's really like driving a pool of molten metal into your tinder as opposed to just sparks.

[MacGyver]

This one isn't cheap, it's around $20, but it rides around my neck every day.

nanoSTRIKERâ„¢ - $26.95 : EXOTAC, Outdoor Gear

The only tradeoff with mischmetal is that you need a good edge to drive the spark.

[LngRngShtr]

Thanks !

I am building up a small kit to take with me when I go hunting/walking and this was on a short list for inclusion..

By good edge are you referring to sharpness or metal quality?,.. my plans are to use my WW 2 vintage Cattaraugus 225Q (pics soon in Knives) sheath knife and build from there..

A recent turkey hunting trip has gotten me back in the "what if this hunt goes wrong" thought process.... I know "use a cell phone.." unless you don't have any reception you are so far out....

John

[Caster]

A good thing to have with it is some small sticks of pitchwood. That stuff burns like gasoline. Look in Backwoodshome magazine and the like, there's folks selling it from time to time. I bought a bundle for $10 a while back. I've only played with a small piece of it, but it works great. I have some in a ziplok in my BOB.

[MacGyver]

I can count two occasions where either my life, or the life of a friend who was in the woods with me was saved by being able to get a fire going quickly.

Accidents happen in the woods. If you get wet in the cold, you can get in a lot of trouble really fast. Your life can literally end before even the fastest rescue team can locate you and get you out. Modern technical fabrics are amazing, but even then, you still need to have a way to get warm fast.

Luck favors the prepared. I carry a Zippo with a butane insert everywhere I go. Nonetheless, I keep another firesteel around my neck. I know it will always work if I need it.

Beat the reaper at his own game. Don't be a victim of stupidity.

Edited May 17, 2011 by MacGyver

[Oh Shoot]

This got me interested, as I'd not heard of the "mischmetal" before. Seems to be similar to magnesium rods, but with the magnesium incorporated into the striking part also. So I ordered 4 of a small size from GoingGear.com. They have all sizes of them:

Firesteel / Ferro Rod Blanks : Going Gear, Gearing you up for the outdoors

I chose the "BobCat".

Here's a video of one in action:

- OS

[LngRngShtr]

Exactly,.. and the thought came to me initially while duck hunting last season,.we were out at a blind in Cheetham and the boss wanted to know if I could come in to cover a shift,..did the mental math,..and with knowing where I was it would have taken almost an hour to get to the truck,..let alone the ride back to Nashville...so I reversed the thought to a "rescue attempt" and came up with losing every time with what I had in my bag,.. NEVERMORE

I did thank the boss for revealing a hole in my gear though...and have taken steps to as you put it MacG,..beat the reaper...

MacG would that be a Thunderbird insert ??

Amazon.com: Butane Lighter Insert for Flip-top Lighters: Health & Personal Care

I imagine the butane lasts longer than liquid refill ??

John

Edited May 17, 2011 by LngRngShtr

[MacGyver]

This got me interested, as I'd not heard of the "mischmetal" before. Seems to be similar to magnesium rods, but with the magnesium incorporated into the striking part also. So I ordered 4 of a small size from GoingGear.com. They have all sizes of them:

Firesteel / Ferro Rod Blanks : Going Gear, Gearing you up for the outdoors

I chose the "BobCat".

Here's a video of one in action:

- OS

Yeah. Add in some other rare earth metals plus magnesium and you've got it.

Exactly,.. and the thought came to me initially while duck hunting last season,.we were out at a blind in Cheetham and the boss wanted to know if I could come in to cover a shift,..did the mental math,..and with knowing where I was it would have taken almost an hour to get to the truck,..let alone the ride back to Nashville...so I reversed the thought to a "rescue attempt" and came up with losing every time with what I had in my bag,.. NEVERMORE

I did thank the boss for revealing a hole in my gear though...and have taken steps to as you put it MacG,..beat the reaper...

MacG would that be a Thunderbird insert ??

Amazon.com: Butane Lighter Insert for Flip-top Lighters: Health & Personal Care

I imagine the butane lasts longer than liquid refill ??

John

I do use a thunderbird insert. I love a Zippo due to the windproof factor, and due to the fact that it can stay on without my holding a button down. The classic Zippo's problem for a non-smoker like me is fluid evaporation. If you don't top it off every week, you might come up empty.

Edited May 17, 2011 by MacGyver

[MacGyver]

Missed part of your question above. A knife edge will work fine for ignition. I've made a the back of hacksaw blade work with some determined effort.

[Oh Shoot]

Wow, this stuff is the berries!

Threw a wadded up paper towel in sink and caught it on fire within seconds. Almost hot enough to do it to 22lb printer paper, but not quite.

It does need a fairly sharp edge to spark it, not much luck with backside of knife, but sharpened side works fine with several knives I tried, both carbon and stainless.

- OS

[MacGyver]

They do need a sharp edge. I've gotten to where I can do it with less, but you have to be very deliberate.

[Oh Shoot]

They do need a sharp edge. I've gotten to where I can do it with less, but you have to be very deliberate.

Yeah, can see that. I only got 4 of the 3" long ones, may get a couple of bigger ones; would be easier to be more deliberate with more to hold onto, I reckon. Anyway, they really are da bomb. I put one in my walkabout pack rolled up in a paper towel in case SHTF on my way to the Y on the greenway or something. Oh, I forgot, end of the world starts Sat!

- OS