Many wilderness adventurers use ferro rods to quickly start fires in the wilderness, yet improper usage could cause the rods to break or become less effective over time.
Striking the rod too hard or at an inappropriate angle can also accelerate wear on its components, but you can avoid these problems by altering your striker technique.
What is Ferrocerium?
Ferrocerium is an alloy metal known to produce extremely hot sparks when scraped or struck with a striker, producing highly explosive sparks which quickly ignite tinder and form embers that can then be ignited with air or an ignition source. When combined with a quality rod, these sparks can quickly ignite fires if used appropriately and be quickly fanning into flame.
Ferro rods are reliable fire-starting tools that will withstand rain, wind and bone-chilling cold. Perfect for wilderness adventurers, survivalists or anyone who appreciates watching flames dance around in front of them!
A traditional ferro rod consists of an alloy composed of iron, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium and magnesium metals known as “mischmetal.” You use a striker to scrape it to create friction which then produces sparks – typically 8-10,000. A good ferro rod will typically produce 8-10 strikes from scraping; but this depends on its manufacturer; some will produce more or fewer depending on quality versus reliability; these devices often come equipped with handles while some have flat pieces of metal attached for striking (known as strikers); those without handles tend to produce less reliable sparks due to scraping action from striker.
How to Strike a Ferro Rod
As soon as you receive your ferro rod, it will likely come coated with a dark substance to prevent rust. To ensure maximum effectiveness of use, remove this coating before beginning work on it.
To do this, position the spine of your knife against the black coating with enough pressure applied that it scrapes it away and produces many sparks. Alternatively, you could also use a multi-tool saw blade or even hard trash such as broken glass bottles to do this task.
Once your rod has been struck, position it over your tinder bundle – this could include dry grass, paper or thin strips of bark as tinder – so the sparks from your rod can catch and sustain. Use your knife to flick back and forth over it creating sparks to light your fire! When ready, repeat this process until your flame has taken root and flame has been established.
Alternative Strikers
There are some excellent ferro rods on the market with built-in strikers, but if you want to save space you can also use any hard metal object with a sharp edge as a striker – even something as versatile as a carbide knife blade could work great depending on its material and spine shape!
The nanoSTRIKE XL ferro rod features an innovative design, integrating its rod and striker together into one handle and offering a replaceable striker bar. While expensive for beginners, its quality makes up for its price point while it looks fantastic.
Bigger ferro rods give more strikes and are easier to hold, yet heavier. For everyday carry on a keychain, 2″ or shorter rods should suffice; larger ones can also be used as emergency signaling tools – their sparks make their presence visible during nighttime hours and could alert rescuers of your location.
Storage
Many compact fire steels on the market feature built-in strikers that may or may not provide sufficient spark. Furthermore, these strikers add unnecessary springs and wear parts, further increasing cost and weight of the product.
Use a sharp blade such as the spine of a knife or even your multitool’s saw blade instead. These will allow you to scrape off material more effectively, which is particularly helpful in damp environments where tinder may have become damp from rainfall.
Once you have your rod and some flammable materials at hand, the next step is creating a tinder bundle. A tinder bundle may consist of anything that catches sparks and sustains flame, such as dry grass, thin strips of bark, paper or dried seed husks. Practice making these at home before heading out into nature so that when the time comes you’ll know exactly how to use your ferro rod with confidence.
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