raydarkhorse, then i am backwards too.

Magnesium + Belly-button lint = Fire

Legal disclaimer: As good as a storage compartment as it seems,do not put Magnesium in the belly-button to light the fire.

Personally, IMHO, there is no substitute for flint & steel. I am NOT claiming to be even a "sometimes practicioner", in fact, I've never been able to start a fire with flint and steel. I do know that it is possible. With practice, it is even pretty quick to do, and I know that when all else fails, I will get the darn thing to spark, so I can have a fire!!!!!

That said, I admit that my "preferred cheating method" of starting a fire with damp or wet wood is to pile a great deal
of twigs on top of a Triox tablet and touch the tablet with a lighted match. Then I pile on bigger sticks and so on, and I have a glorious fire very quickly.

I know, I should be ashamed of myself,and I am!!!!!!

Additional note: I also carry magnesium firestarter as well because, when I want a fire, I want the fire now!

+1 for using the fire steel/ferro rod first. Mine is pulled from a StrikeForce: 1/2" x 2 1/4" of pyrotechnic wonder. Fine shave some wood or pull out a Coghlan's Emergency Tinder and flames will soon appear.

The only downside I have ever found with the magnesium bar/firesteel is with a round version I had.....the magnesium was drilled for carry...which I did on a keychain and sometime during carry the firesteel dropped off the magnesium.

The glue bond has always bothered me and I will no longer carry such combo sets on a keychain or where the loss of the firesteel is likely.

I almost never ever bothered with the Mg shavings though.

I have worried a little about that before too. I have carried this current one on my keychain for 5+ years, and it still seems very secure, but, I wonder if the epoxy eventually weakens? I included a picture of it in an earlier post. The rod is glued/epoxied to the magnesium, which has a slot routed into it that the bar is layed into. How long had you carried yours before it fell apart? Thx

Mine was very similar to yours and I am guessing I lost the firesteel rod within a year of carrying it. It may have dropped out long before I noticed, but one day I just looked at it and all I had was useless magnesium.

These combos seem fine in a kit or a pouch or something where the glue giveing way would not provide the useless part.

I have a Doan that I have had for probably 2 decades and it is still glued. I have no idea who made the one I had but regardless I consider the design a flaw. The firesteel should be the drilled part. Who cares if the Mg falls off.

You could always put a ranger band around it to make sure the flint doesn't fall off. I just toss mine in the first aid kit as a redundant backup.

That's interesting. I originally had it covered with electrical shrink wrap tubing, but, then one day I needed to use it, and cut off the shrink wrap... and that was about 3 years ago, and it's still not shrink wrapped again. Something that can be slipped on and off is a good idea.

Personal preference. Use what works for you - neither are any good if you can't get a fire going with them.

And Chris K is right on the money - I always have some fatwood. Cut a store-bought piece into thirds, pre-split one into toothpick sized pieces, and toss all of it in with the PJ cotton balls. A pinch of a cotton ball and 3-4 little bits of fatwood will start anything but dripping wet kindling everytime for me.

I've almost forgotten how to use a BIC or matches - I always use a FC rod. EDC, left front pocket, BSA HotSpark quick-clipped to a tiny Meyerco lock back (triple redundant knife). Clip is sort of like a tiny Fastex with a keyring on each end - came with the knife and wish I could find a source of them.

The FC rods that Martin sells are awesome - I can start birch bark, dry grass, pounded cedar bark, etc directly without any intermediates. One is in my pack as an uber back-up to my Hot Spark.

Personally, the mag bars are a waste of space/time/effort. But that's my personal preference <grin>. Happy scraping.

Tom