dweste,
thanks. so how much wool do you typically use as a fire starter?

Halcon (or anyone else),
re: my questions above...

does starting with a battery damage or drain the batteries? does it matter whether you use rechargeable or alkaline batteries?

how do you know when the wool is lit if there's no flame? do you just keep sparking until the steel is glowing?

and since it doesn't go out like a flame, how do you safely extinguish it?