Ferro Rod_A_Holic

[old4570]

+ There are more ...
The ones outside & the ones permanently attached to knives .
Top left corner is a pile of 80mm Rods ( 14 ) ...
The larger rods are 150mmx12.5mm
There are also some 60mm rods ( the very first ones I got a long time ago )
5c off opinion = Small rods are a PITA and if starting out in Ferro , go a larger rod .
They are just easier to use .. ( Larger ferro rod ) .

Nothing worse than tooling around with a small ferro rod !
Especially if your wet_cold_tired_fatigued_in the dark ! And your desperate ! ( BIC ) .

 

[leukos]

Depending on your skill level, looks like you have enough ferro rods to start approximately 300,000+ fires.

 

[Robocop]

I kind of have a thing for anything that makes fire also. I know it is easy to just have a lighter or even matches however there is just something cool about doing it the old way. Perhaps it is hard wired in our primitive brain as most every one of my friends also have several fire starting methods. I have plenty of ferro rods as well as magnesium starters. My latest purchase is one of the systems that works with the air tight tube that you "slam" down creating enough quick pressure to ignite fire cloth.

Of course it seems way too fragile to really use in the field however it could work in an emergency. Cool concept and I never knew that a simple sealed tube could create compressed air hot enough to do this.

 

[old4570]

Been meaning to buy one of those fire starting tubes ..
Only problem is , it requires accessories to work .

I have some magnesium Rods , only issue with the Mag is ! When scrapped , it's so light / fine ... The breeze just blows it away .
Pretty sure I scrapped enough to full a candy tube ( has a lid ) .
I like the ferro rod .. It's just so , basic . Scrape the ferro with the back / spine of the knife and away you go .
As long as I am using a knife that I know ( where it throws the ferro ) , I can start a fire with one or two tries .

Fatwood is choice , or something with resin that burns .. ( Norther part of planet earth ) ..
I have fatwood , fatwood is great . It's like CHEATING !

 

[Robocop]

I just checked mine and it is called the Numyth Vulcan Fire Piston. It really is a neat concept however honestly probably the most complicated and tricky way to get a flame going. It is fun to tinker with however again there are many much better methods to get a fire going than the piston.


I really like the all in one system from Prepared4x. It has a dedicated ferro rod and adjustable rope wick. Simple design and almost fail proof.

 

[old4570]

My go to fire starters !
Flissa 9 @ my CH3530 folder .
Both have attached ferro rods ( mounts 3D printed )
And both start fire reliably .

( Tip of the iceberg )

 

[Micoz]

My senior students just did a bushcraft unit at school and one of the tasks was to start a fire with a ferro rod. They all passed but their feather sticks were atrocious. Takes practice right. I let them cheat a little and use some fat wood.

 

[old4570]

I let them cheat a little and use some fat wood. = Yeah , fatwood ! God tier cheat !
Feather sticks ! Gum can be hard to feather ( if they used Gum ) ..
I usually scrape the wood with the spine , much much easier to light up with a ferro rod .
A little like the shavings from a pencil sharpener . In fact for a while I was thinking of actually using some sort of pencil sharpener as a bushcraft tool . For those fine wood slivers . Find the right size branch and sharpen away till you have enough shavings to start a fire , .......... butt! After a lot of looking I could not find a jumbo sized sharpener that would do the job . ( Bushcrafty pencil sharpener )

 

[leukos]

Each blade/grind type and wood species takes a bit of practice to feather the paper thin long curls that ignite the easiest. I use the spine method as well sometimes. A small pile of shavings works just as well as a stick with all the curls attached. Just about any knife with a sharp edge can work for this, but I prefer blades with a continuous curve for this as they give me the most ideal curls with the least effort for my technique.

 

[old4570]

The stick off GumTree is horrible for scraping or feather sticking ! Worst piece of wood to date !
No matter which way you cut , one seems to pick up the grain and create corrugations . Horrid piece of wood !

 

[leukos]

Nicely done!

 

[TPA]

I kind of have a thing for anything that makes fire also.

You could just buy a Chinese-made dehumidifier or buy some electrical components off Aliexpress. You get the added bonus of playing Russian (Chinese) Roulette as you have no idea if/when it'll turn into a fireball.

 

[Robocop]

Reminds me of a story from many years back as a very young officer and an even younger CPF member. I had bought some fancy hot rod light and kept it in my duty bag on my passenger seat. Somehow the light activated inside my bag and caught a pair of gloves on fire that then caught the entire seat on fire. I did notice it quickly and was able to get the bag out before it burnt the whole car up however the seat was gone.

My Sgt was pretty angry as he had to complete a damaged equipment form and I had to use a spare car for a week. They replaced the seat from a wrecked donor however the smell never left the car. To this day I have a habit of physically backing of the tail cap several turns of any light inside my duty bags.