Swedish Fire Steel...what is it really?

Hey guys,
Is there a difference between a fericium rod (sorry about the spelling) and Swedish fire steel? I have a magnesium fire starter with a fericium rod on it to light the shavings. I also bought a Light My Fire Swedish fire steel rod. Are these two things the same? Or is the Swedish fire steel a better spark producer? Any thoughts on this? thanks.

Not that I know of. Ferrocerium rod's come in all sorts of lengths and diameters, I imagine quality varies as well.

Some perfer just the rod, others like the rod and magnesium combo, I think it just comes down to preference.

In my experience, bigger steels generate more sparks. Probably because the size allows more contact area between the stiker and the firesteel. You can get more sparks from a smaller rod by striking it (actually a scraping motion) with the toothed side of a hacksaw blade. This really produces the sparks, but eats up your firesteel faster. I imagine a hacksaw blade on one of those large 1/3 or 1/2 inch diameter firesteels would light things up like the 4th of July!

AFAIK, firesteels are all the same material, just different in diameter (and maybe protective coating).

If you want an inexpensive "fire steel," just go to your nearby Boy Scout store and get one of their Hot Sparks , same basic thing, just a lot cheaper...

Try using the file from a leatherman! It's an absolute shower of sparks!

well there are diffrent hardness in ferro rods. Softer once's are easier to scrape and generate longer burning sparks.

i tend to use only the 1 - 2 cm's of the tip of the rod to scrape. Sparks further aways are to cold when the land on the tinder. It also allows for beter control and aim of the rod.

"If you want an inexpensive "fire steel," just go to your nearby Boy Scout store and get one of their Hot Sparks , same basic thing, just a lot cheaper... "

If you get the Boy Scout Hot Spark Kit, throw out their scraper bar. It's absolutely useless. It's far better to use the back of a knife blade. We used to make fun of the kits when I was a scout camp staffer (many eons ago <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />)

"...It's absolutely useless..."

It does leave a little bit to be desired. I can make sparks with one, but there are better choices.

The back of some knives are worse that that little thingy. If they don't have a nice sharp angle on them (and many don't), they won't even make one little spark. If you are going to rely on your knife (not the cutting edge) for use with a ferro rod, make sure you try it first...

Last weekend I bought a Cold Steel SRK. The blade edge side of the choil works great as a scrapper; it has sharp corners.

Last night I shaved some pine shavings and lit them with the SRK and a ferro rod. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />