Ferro rods are highly revered by survivalists, bushcrafters and preppers for starting fires quickly and reliably. Made of metal rod, it produces intense sparks when struck with a knife or other striker to light fires with.
Ferro rods offer an alternative to lighters and matches that tend to burn out after several uses, allowing users to reuse it time after time if used successfully. But to do so properly takes practice.
Getting Started
Ferro rods are metal devices which produce showers of hot sparks when scraped quickly and firmly with another piece of metal, typically one containing carbon. Ferro rods can often be found in survival kits and make great additions to knife packs.
These devices utilize an alloy that combines cerium, neodymium and praseodymium – when scraped quickly and firmly with an appropriate striker it produces fire-starting sparks that start up the flame.
Strikers that come with ferro rods are ideal, though a knife spine (ideally one from a survival or hunting blade with 90 degree spines) could work in an emergency situation. Many find it helpful to wrap a piece of 1″ duct tape around the end of their rod for added grip in wet or cold environments and as first aid supply against cuts and scrapes.
Dan Wowak of Coalcracker Bushcraft advises placing a bundle of tinder near your rod so the sparks fall on it. Tinder can include anything easily combustible such as dry grass, thin strips of river birch bark or dried cattail reeds.
Striking the Rod
Ferro rods differ from flint and steel in that they use sparks to ignite tinder, so their use requires greater precision. Your goal should be to produce a large shower of sparks in front of your tinder so it catches fire immediately; once you learn this method, the process should become much simpler.
Usually, rods come equipped with strikers that you use to strike it. Some strikers may be very basic while others feature additional structures designed to increase friction when striking. In a survival situation, however, any striker at hand (such as your knife’s spine or any other) should suffice; just avoid striking directly against its blade – this will quickly blunt it!
Strike your rod firmly and quickly with an iron rod to remove surface material and produce sparks, repeating this stroke for several seconds until a large pile of sparks have collected around your tinder.
Getting Sparks
Attaining sparks with a ferro rod takes practice and should always be approached as “if at first you don’t succeed, try again”. It may take multiple attempts before finally succeeding with this tool to create the desired results on tinder.
One trick to assist is wrapping the ferro rod end with duct tape to provide a handle and increase grip – something recommended by Dan Wowak from UCO as additional safety.
Utilizing a knife, hot sparks can be produced using the ferro rod by scraping. They will fall onto your tinder, turning it into embers which you can then blow on for flame creation – making this tool an invaluable survival aid in wilderness adventurer and survivalist situations alike.
Getting the Fire Going
Once you master it, starting fire with a ferro rod is relatively straightforward. Simply place your tinder bundle underneath and around the rod before using powerful strokes to scrape its surface using strong strokes; once set-off you should see sparkling sparkler-sized sparks flying from just one or two strikes; this provides significant time- and calorie-saving advantage over traditional methods which often take hours or more!
Consider carrying your own striker for optimal use; your survival knife back or piece of steel wool could work just as effectively.
Dan from Coalcracker Bushcraft suggests wrapping some duct tape around the end of your ferro rod for enhanced grip when striking it and protection from cuts or blisters on fingers during striking. This simple yet effective tip could save lives in an emergency!
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