+1 on the heat shrink tubing. Works great.

+1

I keep a ferro rod from a Strike Force in my pocket with other junk. I does not cause any problems.

The real danger is getting it wet. Once wet it will corrode and get pitted. If your pocket gets wet you need to protect the ferro rod.

I had my sons take their ferro rods and try all the blades on their knifes so they would know what works best before they really need it. Some things that seem like they would work did not, etc. However, the back of a saw blade is sure to work.

You may be interested in an even smaller and lighter version of the Firesteel as posted here.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/...arting_kit.html

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm going to try the nail varnish first, since my wife has it already. Plus it would seem to lead to the smallest profile on my keys vs. heat shrink tubing.

Thanks for the lead Roarmeister -- wish I'd known about the smaller version before I bought this one.

I find the three thousand strike claim funny for this purpose -- I'm only carrying it for the random emergency -- it would work fine if it was totally reliable for ten fires, for instance. But more is always good, right?

"...the back of a saw blade is sure to work..."

The teeth of a hacksaw blade work even better. The rod won't last as long, but if you really want/need some sparks, use a sawblade...

Hit the teeth on a grinder or with a file just enough to dull it but leave the teeth. Still gives more spark but won't tear it up as bad as sharp teeth.

If you're only keeping it for emergency use, sure. But I carry mine to light most of my fires. I keep mine uncoated in my pants pocket for that reason. I like to be able to just pull it out and start. Then again, I don't keep mine on my keychain. If I did, I'd probably be more concerned with wear and tear.

So you have decided to go with nail polish. Good Choice. The first scrape or two and it peels right off and you start sparking.

But even if anyone choses heat shink. Here is a suggestion. Go with a color like royal blue or any other bright blue color.

Why you might ask? Blue other than water, sky and the occasional flower is hard to find in nature. Even the neon pinks, greens and yellow let alone red can be very hard to spot in grass or fallen leaves. Try it sometime with various colored objects especially something as small as a fire steel. This vanishing act is more prevelent at various times of year or different settings.

But a bright blue being a more unnatural color will supply more contrast if it is dropped or layed aside.

Why take chances.

Im keeping mine in my Military uniform (left hand pant-pocket). It has never ignited (carriet with a box of matches in plastic bag, and a erazer (pencilrubber, sorry about spelling, Im Swedish). Although its coated to prevent corrsion, it needs quite some force to ignite. So IMHO its quite safe. But carry a sharpening stone for the knife ot break of a pece of hacksaw blade to spare the knife blade, attach to the fire-steel with a lanyard.

An untried idea though is to pull a tube of rubber material (surgical tubing) over or plain electricians tape around it...

/Stefan, Sweden [Europe]