Can anyone help me locate a place online purchase ferrocerium rods? I'm looking for just the rods... no fancy handles or anything like that. A vendor with a variety of lengths and/or thicknesses (new word) would be great but I'm not going to be picky. I practice a lot with them using all types of natural tinder and I'm just getting a little tired of buying the cheap magnesium starters and other (more expensive) ferrocerium rod fire starters just to remove the rod and toss the magnesium bar or the handle portion. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Q: Why toss the magnesium? It can come in handy.

http://www.epcamps.com/4in_Flint.html

I agree the magnesium makes awesome tinder but for me, keeping space/weight consumption to an absolute minimum is essential. I do keep a very small magnesium starter in my car. The entire thing is actually smaller than that rod in the pic. However, I am looking for [a] rod(s) for practicing with the same unit(s) I commenly use for EDC which is/are quite small. Basically what I have recently been using for EDC is the rod from a Coghlan's magnesium starter with about .5"-.75" cut off the end and a small lanyard hole drilled into it.

Got mine at Hood's Woods. Not too expensive, I glued them onto old keys.

Saw this on Ebay. I have no idea as to the quality or if it is a good buy. Pete

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=383&item=3694386103

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=383&item=3694385992

Thanks Pete... I missed those when I was searching ebay last night.

I looked at HW but didn't see them. It's not the most well organized site. Lots of dead links.

Try this link to their online store. Hoods Woods Store (Sparking Rods)

Robert

Did you see the lawyerese on the package?

"BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS TOOL. IT CAN EASILY START FIRES."

Thanks!

Well, you know there's gonna be some moron (like yours truly <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> ) that just tosses one in loose with their keys and loose change ....

Not that I started a fire by doing that. But it did cross my mind afterward that it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I just ordered a couple. I plan on gluing a piece to a key blank, and then putting a piece of shrink wrap over it. Then I can put it on my keychain.

Now that I think about it, perhaps gluing it to a spare house key would be a better idea, a key blank is rather useless. Then if my main house key fails for any reason, I can pop the spark rod off, scrape the glue off, and then get in the house.

The shrink tubing is a good idea, I've found through experience that the ferrocerium (actually, I used 5 lighter flints) will come loose and disappear through the normal wear and tear of jangling around in one's pocket.

I'd use proper electrical shrink tubing, not shrink wrap, but I don't have anything other than a gut feeling to go on there. (That is, if you mean kitchen plastic shrink wrap, I think it would be more likely to come loose, snag on something, tear, etc. than shrink tubing. But maybe that's a language/dialect thing. )

No, I don't mean kitchen shrink wrap. That seems like it would come off pretty easily in the harsh environment of a pocket. You can get a packet of assorted electrical shrink wrap for a buck or two at Radio Shack.

Not only can you find it at the 'Shack, it can come in multiple colors - Red would be appropriate for that, don't you think?

Rena

I use clear shrink tubing on mine, mainly because I don't want to arouse the curiosity of the airport security guards.

The pathetic thing is that we have to worry about "arousing airport security," which can basically confiscate anything they feel like, regulations or guidelines be damned.