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Thread: Ferro, hard or soft?

  1. #1
    Trapper Magicdave's Avatar
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    Ferro, hard or soft?

    I found this video a few weeks ago and have eventually re-found it since. It took a bit of looking.

    I've had a ferro rod in my pack for years, it was always a back up item. I checked it out when I bought it, packed it away for emergencies and used my lighter ever since.

    More recently I changed my thinking to that, if I ever was in an emergency I would want the simplicity of a lighter. So now my "Clipper lighter" with 2 spare flint holders (3 methods of starting fire ) are in my backup kit and I use my ferro rod on a daily(ish) basis.

    Over time I have seen lots of videos online where people have really worn out at the tips of their ferro rods. This was weird to me. This is where the video comes in. There are rods on the market with different percentages of materials. Duh, of course.

    My rod was bought long ago, probably on eBay or Amazon for £1 to £3. It is one of the harder ones, see the video for details. So pro's and con's on soft or hard, what do you prefer and why?

    Last edited by Magicdave; 24-03-2015 at 10:39 PM. Reason: Grammer

  2. #2
    Samuel Hearne
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    Most of the Ferro rods I have are Swedish army issue which are quite hard, I have bought a few different ones from other places that were rubbish and 1 or 2 were good, If I can strike sparks using my knife on the rod that is good enough for me, I also carry a magnesium block just in case.

  3. #3
    Ent FishyFolk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ian c View Post
    Most of the Ferro rods I have are Swedish army issue which are quite hard, I have bought a few different ones from other places that were rubbish and 1 or 2 were good, If I can strike sparks using my knife on the rod that is good enough for me, I also carry a magnesium block just in case.

    I have one of the swedish ferro rods too. But I preffer the cheap, and softer ones. I seem to get bigger/ hotter spraks from them. The ferro rods will still last me for years.
    A good point is that you need to lerarn how to use a ferro rod for iut to be effective. Sp using one regularily is a good thing.
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  4. #4
    One with Nature
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    hello,
    Dave it maybe worth having a browse in your nearest branch of Sports Direct (Scotland) for the cheap or bargain bucket Karrimor ferro rods. These throw off a great shower of sparks, the only drawback is the loose fit into the thumb grip but still very effective. I have a couple of Woodlore Ray Mears ferro rods, LMF, & spare rods on the shelf including the Karrimor. Pocket lighters the Clipper as well as a Primus Power Lighter III. I was taught way back in the 1980's by the best old school survival escape & evasion. Taught various methods of fire lighting & to carry duplicated methods in your kit & on your person incase you lose 1 method you still have another. I recall in the survival tin the books of paper matches, these were intentionally part of the contents or 3 ordinary matches, & if you were lucky as an alternative waterproof matches *not lifeboat matches. I do understand methods have changed but then, it was actually *living off the land making do with the bare essentials & knowledge of fire lighting by whichever means available. I remember lighting a friction fire from a piece of dry wood prepped using the razor blade from the E&E tin & a length of cord found by a fence. It's no mean feat but did manage to create an ember from the friction & get a fire going.
    Regards
    David

  5. #5
    Woodsman Pootle's Avatar
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    I have only used two different rods. One lmf which is great. gives big hot sparks or a shower of sparks depending on how I use it. and a cheap one off fleabay which is terrible. I can't get a good spark from it whatever I use. The cheap one feels a lot harder. I don't know if that means anything.
    Last edited by Pootle; 26-03-2015 at 03:01 PM.

  6. #6
    Any that will make a big fat shower of sparks.... i keep a little sharp grind on the back of my knife to strike my ferro with......it wears pretty quick....i have the mora survival with OEM ferro rod

  7. #7
    Trapper Magicdave's Avatar
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    A good point is that you need to lerarn how to use a ferro rod for iut to be effective. Sp using one regularily is a good thing.
    For sure, I've just made my fist char cloth and that is easy enough to light, but feather sticks are harder than they look on video's.

    it maybe worth having a browse in your nearest branch of Sports Direct (Scotland) for the cheap or bargain bucket Karrimor ferro rods. These throw off a great shower of sparks, the only drawback is the loose fit into the thumb grip but still very effective.
    This sounds great, I'll pick one up next time I'm passing. Strangely the loose fitting grips is what I like here, I'll take it off and make a fated handle.

    The cheap one feels a lot harder. I don't know if that means anything.
    I kind of think it might mean something, maybe the desire/trend is to have the soft type. Mine is chap and hard and I'm fine with it. But I use a hacksaw blade (teeth side) as a striker. Maybe it't time to try both.

  8. #8
    Hobo
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    What are your suggestions for 'soft' firesteels?

    I've only ever had the LMF one and like them, but would like to try a few soft ones. Any links would be appreciated

  9. #9
    Ranger OakAshandThorn's Avatar
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    I have a Light My Fire scout , I'd say it's pretty hard, but I like it. Other than that, I don't have much experience with other firesteels, except the cheaper ones (Coughlan brand, Wallie World specials, etc.) which I think are not worth their price. I have heard that the softer firesteels (which may not necessarily be the cheap ones) have a higher magnesium content, so they won't produce a shower of bright sparks, but the sparks that do come off glow for a brief moment, like mini 2-second embers.
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  10. #10
    Trapper Magicdave's Avatar
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    I have heard that the softer firesteels (which may not necessarily be the cheap ones) have a higher magnesium content, so they won't produce a shower of bright sparks, but the sparks that do come off glow for a brief moment, like mini 2-second embers.
    Spot on, both he soft and hard are made up of cerium, iron (Ferro) and magnesium. The harder ones have a higher ratio of iron to magnesium. The softer a higher ratio of magnesium to iron. So the chips of magnesium that are scraped off continue to burn when they land.

    What are your suggestions for 'soft' firesteels?
    In the video I linked in the first post he mentions some names, at just after 5:20 and going on from 7:10. He doesn't name them all but shows a selection that you may be able to find out from their visual design. He has the harder ones on screen left and the softer on screen right.

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