Hey guys, lurking here for some time, got sucked in by a post about ulus, I've learned a lot from all of your work, and not sure what I have to give back, but...

What's the matter with the DOAN magnesium block as a firestarter? Man I love the thing.

Benefits:

They are cheap. I'd rather throw 10 firestarters everywhere in my gear, than rely on one. Honestly? Mostly I start my fires with a lighter when I'm not in an emergency situation. And I have tinder and good wood and everything set.

Magnesium. With a knife you can do lots of things with a solid block of magnesium.
Detriments:

you need a knife, or a sharp key to make them work. Well... if we don't have a knife? I know some of you are flint knappers, but I seldom don't have a blade. They do let me take my doan on the plane, though, and not even my sak...

the magnesium shavings blow away in the wind. BS, not doing it right, collect them in some tinder. Or some fiber, or a bowl, or something. Having the magnesium block makes lots of things viable tinder that wouldn't be otherwise. Damp pine needles, damp bark, live grass. They'll all go up with contact to a magnesium flame.

You of course, have to be able to make a fire after that.

The true story is I was up on Lions Head Mt. Washington, and we badly misjudged our return time, and the weather turned nasty. It was getting cold, and windy, and dark, and we decided better to stay over than hike out. Did I mention cold windy dark? Both our bick lighters failed, and there was not much to make a fire with up there as far as tinder with the matches we had. I must have spent 20 minutes shaving magnesium into a coffee filter (see no wind problem!) to light up what wood we had (scraped up chopsticks and flotsam for tinder) and I'm convinced it saved our .

I really like the firestrike, but if you come hiking with me, know that there is a doan block in pretty much every piece of gear I have, I'd sew one into my socks if I could (hmmm... there's an idea)

best,

JB

Nothing wrong at all with mag blocks. You can make lots of fires with one, and they are relatively inexpensive and foolproof. They do require two hands to work, and they aren't fully waterproof. But hey, they are good kit, and one of several options.

I have a magnesium rod with a ferrocerium striker anchored to it glued into a piece of antler with a leather thong and a piece of hacksaw blade in one of my kits. This is in addition to a couple lighters and a Couglans firemaker tinder kit.

The only thing I would like to add is a good piece of willow, some ash dowel, and a cedar fireboard.

quite right, I think you should, and a flint and good striking steel? And perhaps a fresnel lens. to be safe.

And if you can guess I'm kidding, a bit.

My ideal fire starter? Is honestly superman's lazer eyes. but no matter how I concentrate....

thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

I like the Doan magnesium blocks too.
The block is just large enough for a good grip.
My only complaint with them is the rod wears out long before I ever use up the block, but that is still a lot of strikes and as you say they are not really expensive items...
___
MFD.BY DOAN MACHINE AND EQUIP. CO. LTD.
P.O. BOX 21334
SO.EUCLID, O. 44121

ps. They make good key fobs.

Yeah, there is one on my keys

scafool, they do. Make good key fobs.

Well they ain't perfect, I must say, and for every day use as a fire maker? yeah I'd choose something different. They are cheap enough where I found them, though to make sure most of my gear has one of them hanging around. It payed off for me once.

I'd prefer to have a good fire starter everywhere I look, and two backups in my bag. Aside from a knife fire is the crux of survival for me. I can get by without one, but both?

I can't afford, though to scatter good knives throughout my gear yet.

I've got a good feeling about general Mobatu from nigeria, I might just be coming into several million dollars! All I have to do is e-mail him all my personal and bank account information. how could I lose on this deal

best
J

maybe the reason they get the stink eye is that thier not hip and cool or the latest and greatest anymore...like all of our survival family out there i have all the latest fire starting tools and toys that i could find in the outdoor catalogs and then some...i come back to the mag.bar (real doan) fire starter, i scatter them thru out my kit and jeep...the thing is you have to practice every so often with it so you can use it to good efect...and if the U.S. military still use it after all these years that says alot for this small item of worthy kit...vince g. 11b inf..

Please, no profanity or vulgarisms. ETS holds awards for being kid friendly. And do not post tricks that may be potential vandalism.

With time, you'll post as well as you make DOAN fires.

sorry i was'nt aware i had made a negative comment..please Chris could you tell me how i'm wrong..i truly did'nt mean to offend anybody with my comment really..vince g. 11b inf..

You didn't. It was the OP, nd it's no big deal.

Nothing at all wrong with the magnesium blocks. I have used several and they are, IMHO, a step up from most spark rods because they incorporate spark and tinder in one compact package. I had one corrode to nothingness when left in warm-moist conditions, welcome to Florida, and in contact with less noble metal. Rookie mistake.

I still have the second I bought and it is almost new. I lit a fire with it just to confirm I remember how.

I think these units get little notice because, despite the fact they work well, they are simple, cheap and, profit margins are low on them. Sales would go up if a hero in a major movie used one.