Can someone tell me the difference (if any) between the Swedish Firesteel and the Metal Match that Countycomm offers? The match can be seen at: http://www.countycomm.com/FIRESTARTER.htm

They look the same to me but maybe one works better?

Thanks, Vince

They're different. The swedish mil firesteel dwarfs the CountyComm one, both in girth and length. I can't really comment on how "hot" the CountyComm one is other than to say that the swedish one *seems* hotter to me. I'm not sure how much of that is the chemical makeup of the ferrocium or the added length.

If size is of concern, then by all means check out the CountyComm one, if not, go Swedish.

*BTW one nice feature of the CountyComm one is that the rod is coated in some sort of resinous plastic so that it will store longer without corroding. A plus if you just want to throw it in a kit and foget about it.

Here's a pic I took for ya

Thanks for the reply; that's exactly the info I need. I bought the Countycomm one. It will be for EDC so its smaller size will be a plus, as well as the coating. Thanks again.

Regards, Vince

Vince, glad it helped. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Tanx for the side by side picture.I was curious about that myself.Now I have a size comparisson on the Swedish Fire Steel.
BOATMAN
John

Hey Gator (and all),

Where did you get your Swedish Firesteel?

How do you like it?


(...and thanks for the comparison photo <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> )

If you're going to EDC a sparker and size is a consideration, you may want to look at a Boy Scout hot-spark. You should be able to get them where they sell other BSA stuff (Surplus shops and hardware stores in my case). I haven't used it side-by-side with a Swede or a Metal Match (I have both) but I have successfully used it on a number of occasions. It's smaller than a house key - should be about four bucks.

That's what I have on my key chain. For the price and size they are great. I bought about 10 of them and stuck them on my keychains, in my kits, everywhere. I actually used the one on my keychain to teach firestarting to boy scouts at summmer camp this year. We got 6 nights worth of fires started with it and a little cotten/vasiline, even when it was wet out, with no problem.

Thanks for the info on the Hot Spark. I found a good source, www.scoutstuff.org - very inexpensive too. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Can you tell me more about the Swedish Firesteel - where I can get one and any experiences you guys have had with them.

The default source for the Army firesteels used to this Bagheera fellow on bladeforums and knifeforums, but he can no longer provide them due to some new contract his provider entered into. It's a shame too because he used those sales to fund his scout troop.

If you're in Europe, just google for 'army fire steel' or 'swedish fire steel' and you'll find a bunch of online retailers. If you're in the US, you can get the Army (big one) from http://www.survivalsheath.com and from Emerson Knives. If you want the scout model, they're re-branded by Kershaw and they're all over eBay.

I haven't yet used my Army in the field. I don't really think the fact that it's bigger will guarantee a greater degree of success - I think it just lasts longer - which is relative anyway considering that even a small sparker should lasy years.

Truth be told, I prefer the Doan magnesium one over all the others. The sparker rod is of high quality and seems pretty hot. Though I don't usually use the magnesium part it's nice to have if your tinder is less than prime. Most importantly, I find the rod-only devices too hard to hold firmly by just the thumb-piece.