jamesraykenney +5

It is a good comment because a lot of people are confused about how ferrocerium or pyrites work and how they are different from the old time flint and steel.

The comment deserves this bump back up to the sidebar.


ps. With the old flint and steel you just want a light glancing blow to shave a thin enough sliver of the steel and the heat of friction is what makes it a spark.

Ferrocerium actually burns in a chemical reaction when it is sparked. This makes the spark from the Ferrocerium quite a bit hotter even though it becomes a spark at a much lower temperature.
The magnesium is added as an oxide and is just there to make the rod more brittle so it is easier to scrape sparks off of.

The rare earth magnets spark the same way and are usually nickel coated to prevent them from sparking or oxidizing.

JamesRayKenney and Scafool, Thanks for this info. I always like to know how things work, as well as if they work. As you say, knowing how they work makes it easier to make them work.

Yes, it was a revelation to me, when I found out that wood(and most other things), does not burn, but that the GASES emitted by heated wood is what does the burning...
It makes a lot of the 'tricks' of fire making make a LOT more sense!

Here is quite detailed explanation - Flint and Steel Notes – Some Clarifications
by Rob Bicevskis



Regarding Aurora firestarter that I mentioned above this is not the case. A big amount of magnesium is integrated directly into the rod so when you strike you throw chunks of burning magnesium. The magnesium is there to make it more powerful.

I will find out in a few days, when my order comes in...
This place sure costs me money...
I also got the super replacement scraper, but I did not get the case, as I plan to put it in a pocked of my BOB...
Did anyone notice they are making a flare launcher(?!?!) attachment for it?

Great. It´s on my to-buy-in-not-so-distant-future list.


Yes.:)

That was an excellent link Raptor.

Great link, Raptor. Thanks so much. Am I a wilderness geek or survival nerd now? LOL

No problem, Ed. These were quite important informations for me too when I came across the article. It´s always good to know how stuff works.

Hehe, wilderness geek? Maybe .