Ferrocerium Rods have earned quite a top level place in outdoor ventures. They bring nothing but advantages when carried and used in combination with natural materials for firelighting. They are very small, last for thousands of strikes and they produce very hot sparks at temperatures around 3,000 °F, which is clearly a great advantage no matter what the tinder. Despite how versatile and reliable these tools are they do require good technique and an understanding of the natural tinders your using. Identifying and preparation of natural materials to use with your Ferrocerium Rods is required always.
Some key things to know
Other names for a Ferrocerium Rod is Firesteel, Ferro Rod and Metal Match.
Ferrocerium is a combination of metals that have pyrophoric property’s. This means that they spontaneously ignite in trace amounts when exposed to oxygen or even moisture. Scraping the rod creates heat from friction and releases small fragments of metal which burst into flames at an incredibly high temperature. Its important to note that Ferrocerium Rods come in different composites, Iron Oxide levels can differ and a lower amount will give characteristics of being soft and brittle while a higher Iron Oxide level with harden the Ferrocerium Rod more.
You will find that Ferrocerium Rods will behave differently depending on the hardness. Softer ones will require less pressure and speed to create fragments and sparks but will wear out quicker. harder Ferrocerium Rods will require a little more pressure to get those bigger chunks off for long burn times. Also if you scrape them slowly they often do not produce sparks which can bring its advantages allowing you to create a pile of dust prior to setting the whole thing on fire with the final strike! This is good for stubborn tinders or lighting candles.
Personally I prefer a softer Ferrocerium Rod as more control can be applied.
Some come attached to a large block of magnesium designed to be scraped and used with the Ferro Rod. I would avoid these as your better off with a larger Ferro Rod and no magnesium block.
A good one to buy commercially is the ‘Light My Fire Army 2.0‘ Ferro Rod as it has a good metal composite and will produce good sparks. It also comes with a small striker that has a good bevel on it so it will bite in and scrape away enough material. This particular Rod is of a softer composite and many techniques can be applied to it giving excellent control.
Ferro Rods normally come with a black coating so scrape some of it away till you see the metal underneath before using it. The scraper that you use will ultimately affect how it performs. If you scrape the rod with a smooth object nothing will happen because you’re not scraping away any of the material. Most Ferro Rod’s come with a small scraper and they will generally have a 90 degree sharp angle on them or a lip which will allow you to drag them at a 45 degree angle cutting into the rod creating friction and release a shower of sparks. If the spine of your knife has a sharp 90 degree angle on it you can use it to scrape the rod also.
The more you use a Ferro Rod and the more you practice with various materials the easier it will all become, many strikes become one or two before you have success. Once you start using them it wont be long before your buying Blank Rods from eBay and mounting them in antler, bone or wood to make your own.
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