ironraven,

I have a bunch. The one in question is a ferro rod pulled from a StrikeForce. It is 1/2" in diameter by 2 1/4" long. At first I thought it was just where the black coating is, so I tried again on a shinny part. Same result! Now I need to test my other ferro rods.

Check out yours. Rinse it under the faucet for a few seconds and then try to make sparks. All I got was wet gunk, at first.