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Ferro rods...

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I was wondering if any of you buy Ferro rods in bulks and where they get it, what the best one they found? This is more or so calling to Canadian but I'll take any advise!!
 
I don't buy bulk but buyer beware, there are loads of shady far too soft ones out there on the market, you grind down them with your scraper and it gouges through the rod giving hardly any white hot sparks for the amount of material removed, they also snap easily when cold
 
FireSteel.com has consistently provided me with the best Ferro rods. And I do believe they sell in bulk. Doc
 
Cool, that is really good to know! Now need to figure out how much he would charge me for shipping and handling and what is the country of origin( where are they made) cause that can adds up to the price when it come time to pay duty!
Thank you for all the help!!
 
While it's not exactly on topic, Wintertrekker (Hoop on this forum, I believe), has a video on his waxed jute firestarting system here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsI6H0zx0BA

I've used similar things, but was glad to be reminded of this.

I use the same system, and I'm making 7 kits, one for my daughter and one for my wife, and then I have my traveling buy that wants one for each of his children and one for his wife, so I made 20 12inches waxed jute thingny, and then I made 7 red pouch that will contain the fire starter, a ferro rod, and some other nick nacks... All with the first initial of the recipient!!
 
Thank you so much for starting this thread. I have learned a lot. Years ago I had a ferro rod and remember using it on occasion with some success when packing for the first overnight trip in waaaaay to many years I couldn't find it so I bought a new one at Campmor in NJ on my way to the ADK's. I bought the Coghlan's brand. I played around with it one night to scrape the paint off and see what I could do with it. I couldn't have been more disappointed. When I was able to get a spark, say one in ten attempts, it was the most aneamic little thing doubtful it could really start a fire. It stayed in the cook kit the rest of the trip. Fast forward to now and I have learned about the waxed jute firestarter. One of the Christmas gifts received this year was wrapped with jute twine so I had that covered. I braided it all as I saw no better use for what was there. Turns out the twine was pretty thick and the resulting braid was larger than I remembered from the video. No matter, now what to use for a tube. I have thirty years if 'stuff' in my shop I ought to be able to find something that would work. I had some soft copper pipe the was just a bit snug on the braid but it was close and handy so I cut off a bunch of sections. I liked the flair on the tube in the video and the copper was soft so I put a flair to the pipe. I also squished the pipe in the vise just a little so it fit the flat braid better. I put the hole in the pipe but haven't tied things together yet. These are bigger and bulkier than I expected and my daughter pays attention to what she carries so I made a special one for her. It's a section from an aluminum tent pole that got broken on our trip. I removed one strand from the lay of some other spool of jute twine I had in the shop, then braided. It made a smaller braid that fit just fine.

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Now I went to work on the firesteel. I couldn't see anything wrong with the included scraper but I put it aside and tried a knife blade, it worked much better but I know the fireballs are really hot and could draw the temper so that wasn't the long term solution. Then I tried an old metal file and that made a tremendous ball of fire, but still too heavy for my daughter. Next I tried some blued spring steel that I use as wood scrapers and that worked very well. Now I just have to cut the scraper down to a convienient shape and drill a hole in it. They work just about first time every time. I use one every night now when I build the fire in the fireplace. I'm curious just how many fires one can start with one of these things. I might make some more of the tent pole size, they work just as well and weigh almost nothing.
Jim
 
No Title

Great work Boatman... These are the kits that I made for xmas, and my 9 years old lighting her first fire using her kit!!
 

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While it's not exactly on topic, Wintertrekker (Hoop on this forum, I believe), has a video on his waxed jute firestarting system here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsI6H0zx0BA

I've used similar things, but was glad to be reminded of this.

Thanks for posting this, and also to Hoop for the video.
And Thanks to Canotrouge for starting the thread.

I've been using ferro rods for quite a while, but this is way simpler and more foolproof than my old methods. Gave my Grandson a Light-my-fire Mora for Christmas, as he has about worn mine out practicing with it. These will make great gift kits. Thanks
 
I have been using steel brake line tubing for my waxed jute matches. I flare one end and then drill a tiny hole in the flare for a keeper that I tie to the loop on the jute. Three strand braids are pretty flat, but most of mine fit the tubing fairly well. I ought to try flattening the tubing in the vise and see if it works better. These matches are so handy for getting a flame into my kindling that I use them even if I light the match with a BIC. They aren't wind proof, but they are a lot more wind resistant than a lighter flame.

I've got some good Ferro rods and some not so good ones. The cheap imports seem not to be very reliable. I prefer one around 5/16" diameter by 3 - 4" long. As far as scrapers, the best ones that I have are made like a cabinet scraper with a burr on the edge that really digs into the Ferro rod. If you know how to sharpen a cabinet scraper, you can make one. I use a drill blank or a ceramic burnisher to raise the burr. I've made some scrapers from old Sawzall blades. I cut them into shorter lengths with a cutoff wheel and the cutoff wheel leaves a pretty good burr on the cut edge.
 
I use a mix of Paraffin and Beeswax. Paraffin alone wants to crumble when the cold jute is flexed. Beeswax makes the wax a bit more supple. My mix is whatever I happen to have on hand, but I don't think that it needs to be more than 25% Beeswax. I often get my Paraffin by melting old candles. It's not quite the same as Gulf wax, but pretty close.
 
Thanks for posting this, and also to Hoop for the video.
And Thanks to Canotrouge for starting the thread.

I've been using ferro rods for quite a while, but this is way simpler and more foolproof than my old methods. Gave my Grandson a Light-my-fire Mora for Christmas, as he has about worn mine out practicing with it. These will make great gift kits. Thanks
My pleasure!!
 
Mine was a mix of both Gulfwax and candle stubs. Never thought to add some bees wax, I think I'll add some for the next round of wicks.
Jim
 
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