flint and steel or magnesium striker fire flint

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What I like about the magnesium is that it gets hot and it burns for longer than a fraction of a second. And if it gets wet it burns hotter.

With that said... I have tried several different fire-starting methods... I tend to go back to a Bic style lighter. It is much easier, very dependable, durable, and compact.
 
I still find the magnesium thingy a pain in the butt,so I go to matches and lighters,I know it would be better to learn now,rather than trying/training in a real situation..
 
Magnesium works better (hotter) if starting dry/damp larger fuel source, flint and steel works better if using char. I use both, during the winter I use magnesium mainly due to the climate been wetter. Flint and steel is not as hot as magnesium so climate will play a role, I have use flint and steel in the winter but if the char gets damp or wet it won't light! For striking vaseline and cotton balls or damp tinder magnesium works better, if vaseline gets on the steel or flint it will throw a cooler spark if any though the same be true about magnesium but magnesium striker allows you to throw a spark further away.

With that said, I always have my flint and steel kit with me, I grew up using it (a comfort thing)
 
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I still find the magnesium thingy a pain in the butt,so I go to matches and lighters,I know it would be better to learn now,rather than trying/training in a real situation..


Jontte,

As funny as this sounds, when I light the BBQ, I take a few minutes just to keep practice by using different ways to start a fire. I know it does sound a little urban...AKA, since their are a few that think that some of us are lol...arm chair or key board people. I can assure you that each day, I take a few minutes to do something prep related that is not just focused on food preps.

Here is something that can be practiced at your home, get a cheap BBQ grill, mine I picked up at the Dollar General...don't know if you have one of those in Helsinki, but sure you have something comparable. The grill should cost a few Euro's. List all the possible fire starters you have and also the list of kindling you might be able to acquire both urban and rural. Practice both during rain and winter...these seem to be the two challenges most people have...sure you remember your military training on that. Get one of the family members to time you with a stop watch..

Flint and steel is solid, its fast and for me cheap...I get the steel wool stuff right from Walmart in a nice little bag for next to nothing, place some in a Ziploc bag and store it with the rest of my fire starter stuff.

For me on my last one I used a old piece of flint and knife with a Pet Ball (what Maverick mentioned using cotton ball and Vaseline...I have about 3-4 in a small Ziploc snack bag tucked in my EDC. I used this flame to light the gas grill and then completed my exercise with another fire starting exercise. After I did this with three different types of fire starters...I count the training complete and mark it on my excel sheet. I do this with my son too, daughter and wife less often, but they still know how to do it.

As funny as this sounds, I never traveled out to the "Back 40" and still got some training in. Same goes for rappelling...I don't travel to the mountains which are several hours away, I head to a small rural town about 30 minutes away and ask an old friend who is the local cooperative grainy operator if I can use the side of the grainy to rappel off. Its a 90 degree drop, can't think of anything more challenging, other than a rock face that is more than 90 degrees, but those are few and far between.

Maybe that is something I need to do is do a PDF on training guide using local stuff. Well another thread for another day.

As the "Seven Dwarf would say"..."Hi HO, its off to work we go!"
 
I'm with Maverick. I like to have both. I didn't really know the science behind why some work better at certain times, but it makes sense. I use one and if it's not working, I'll switch to the other.

Have you heard the rule 3 is two 2 is one and 1 is none? I have Bic lighters, Zippos, strike anywhere matches(In watertight containers WITH a striker), magnesium & flint, flint & steel, and even a propane torch. Depending on the circumstances, I'll use two or more of them. It definitely depends on the tinder you're working with, too.

If you're working on a BOB, I might recommend you think of a PSK, also(A Personal Survival Kit). BOB on your shoulders with the bulk of you goods, and a hip pack with the things you need to survive for 3 days or so. My BOB and camping packs all have at least 5 fire starters in them, not including some pre-packed tinders I like to have on hand. The PSK can hold 3 or so, and if I get separated from my primary bag for some reason, then I still have the ability to keep dry and warm.

There are some other good threads on this too. If you search, you might find some more good opinions other than the ones stated here.
 
This is my fire starting kit, I have multiple sources of spark and flame with me.

fire.JPG
 
Maverick, I'd like to know more about how well char cloth works, but I should ask that in another thread...
 
Maverick, I'd like to know more about how well char cloth works, but I should ask that in another thread...

I prefer char over raw organic sources, I make my char out of 100% cotton balls or old 100% white cotton socks, t-shirts

Since related to flint and steel, I see no problem answering it given it's an important part of the subject matter
 
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With that said... I have tried several different fire-starting methods... I tend to go back to a Bic style lighter. It is much easier, very dependable, durable, and compact.

I'm with you. I like to have a variety too, but if I have to use something other than a lighter, something went wrong.
 
flint and steel on my shopping list...right noe if I manage to get fire started I'm a wizzard, it's so wet even the frogs climb to a tree not to drown
 
Bic Lighter
Butane torch like the Blazer PB 207 ( My EDC fire source)
Cotton wool balls soaked in petroleum jelly stored in plastic tube
A powdered mix of magnesium, iron filings and powdered aluminium .
Flint & Steel with a bit of course black powder
Diesel soaked bits of cotton cloth
Fire Piston

Never a petrol lighter as
(A) the fuel evaporates in time
(B) If it leaks in your pocket it can cause severe skin blistering

I believe in Texas they like to rub two boy scouts together to start a fire :)
 
Is that what they do? In Virginia, we put a commie and a limey together. They get to rubbing each other and cause enough friction to start a fire. Saves us a lot of work...
 
"Is that what they do? In Virginia, we put a commie and a limey together. They get to rubbing each other and cause enough friction to start a fire. Saves us a lot of work..."

Yeah its a dangerous combination, when they tried it in DC the Limey burnt down the White House :)
 
now I have them all..
flint and steel
magnesium stick
matches
lighters
if I only learn to use everything I'm coverd.. I think..
atleast I gave my brother an opportunity to laugh when I told him about flint and steel..he said there's an invention called matches,which is supposedly quite easy to use.. :)
 
and I managed to get some sparks..thank God I didn't have any rugs nearby ;) ok, propably safe anyway, sparks wasn't that big
 
i tried my magnesium striker the other day.and couldn't get it to light the magnesium shaveings.so i'll be getting the flint and steel to see if i have any luck at getting the shaveing lit that way
 
i tried my magnesium striker the other day.and couldn't get it to light the magnesium shaveings.so i'll be getting the flint and steel to see if i have any luck at getting the shaveing lit that way

A lot of strikers that come with magnesium blocks produce limited low heat sparks, I generally use something similar to the Swedish fireSteel to ignite magnesium
 
Agreed. I think the big issue @jimLE is having is the flint. The flint on the spine of my magnesium is garbage. It actually fell out the 2nd time I used it. The 1st time I had similar experience as jimLE, but used the big ol flint to get things going.

Like almost every pice of kit I've bought lately, it's a compromise.
 

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