Protecting a Swedish FireSteel from pocket damage.

Been lurking awhile, thought I'd start posting a question or two...

I just picked up a LightMyFire Swedish FireSteel Scout (the 3000 strike one) and I want to put it on my keychain so that it's always "there". Does anyone know what I can/should do to it to protect it from rubbing against other stuff while on the keychain and/or in my pocket? Thanks in advance. -Gary

When I carry one I use heat shrink, also called shrink tubing. It should be available at any electrical supply outfit. It works especially well if you are not using the firesteel all the time.

I EDC a Boy Scout Hotspark, which is smaller than most firesteels and more "pocketable" and much less expensive (available at all Boy Scout Stores - which are usually at each Council office). I've carried it for at least two years now, with no special protection, and it looks just like it did the day I bought it.

Combine Ken and norad and you get me...BSA version, with heat shrink tubing on it. The tubing lasts me about a year or so before it wears/falls off, then I do it again...

I have had a BSA Hot Spark on my keys for over a year with no protection and no damage.
I think the sheath may not be necessary at all IMO.
It is just one more step (removing it) before you get to fire.

A few weeks (months?) ago I made the tough decision to remove the Hot Spark's metal striker blade from my key chain, figuring it reduced the pocket load and that I'd find something to strike with if needed - I hope.

Ken

I tossed the striker too. I can always use the back of most of the knives I carry.
I am very picky about keeping my keychain load to a minimum.
I tried carrying a Fox40 Micro but took it off because it was too bulky in my pocket. On my keys I keep a Photon Freedom, and a Hot Spark that is it.

count me in w/the rest - unprotected hot spark - have yet to start a fire in my pocket. good or bad, i don't know.

great idea to lose the striker! for me, the edge of the file on my mini sak works fine.

I have both full sized and scout fire steels. The scout version is permanently attached to my key's. On the grounds that the only two things that I am likely to stay attached to in an emergency are my knife and my keys.

Fire steels are quite durable. The big issue with them is not damage from being knocked around, but oxidisation from exposure to dampness. Which can render them useless. The only effective way to protect them is to coat the stick with high impact polyacrylate. H.I.P. is more commonly known as nail varnish (yes, the stuff that the Ladies use on their nails). All my fire steels are coated with it. It does chip and wear after a while but it is a trivial exercise to recoat the stick as needed.

How you explain wanting to borrow your Wife's/Sister's/Mother's nail varnish is an exercise that I will leave to the student......:)

I've actually broken hotsparks carrying them on my keys (laying down on the pocket with my keys in it was the biggest culprit). However, I got some heat shrink tubing and so far the one on my keys has lasted a few years without breaking.

With that said, I was still able to start a fire with the broken ones, it was just a bit harder.

+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]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but years ago I read an article about colors. Guy took different colored cards into his darkroom, then had people come in, and he flashed light at the cards, different colors, different light intensity, different lengh of time for the light. The color the vast majority of people could pick out with the least amout of light? Blue. Baby blue in fact. So that was the color I painted my front sight (worked a lot of graveyard shifts back then)...

Absolutely. I have ferro rods that I have broken deliberately. One is designed to fit in a small PSK tin. Another I carry in a money belt. They are about an inch long; that's enough to make sparks and start a fire, at least under reasonable conditions. I appreciate that with cold hands it won't be as easy, but these are backups stored in places that a full-sized rod would not fit.

Just to let you know, I purchased the smallest version of the Firesteel and put it on my key ring (slightly smaller than my auto key). I added some plastic tubing (sourced from an aquarium shop) to fit over. I left a tiny bit at the end to make it easier to pull off when I want to use it.

I dispensed with the lanyard string and striker. My Spyderco Salt-1 knife works quite well to create sparks. Since the blade is H-1 steel, I tried the steel from the locking back. It works perfectly.

The following is a close up picture of my EDC keyring including Photon light and S4 Squirt minitool.

I EDC a hotspark on my aloz farmer lanyard. The back of the alox farmer saw blade works great. I actually use it with the saw in the closed position. No sense accidentally cutting myself. I haven't had to rely on this yet.

When going outdoors, I carry the larger Swedish firesteel in my pocket attached to a clip that is attached to my belt. The back of a Fallkniven F1 throws huge sparks.