[AlteredMentalStatus]

Hey boys and girls, one thing that you must remember about fire steels are that they come with a black coating on them and you need to remove the coating to get it to strick, or at least all of the ones i have had did....

[TapDuncan]

I love using birch bark, it is really a neat way to start a fire. Dryer lint is fine, but we have 5 dogs, and the dog hair makes up a lot of the lint, so I have to fluff it up real good. vaso-cot balls and birch bark can't be beat, and practice in all weather conditions, too. We burn all of our paper products, so I get plenty of practice...all year round!

[Bridog]

Originally Posted by Ron Fontaine

I shot this video this morning after an ice and sleet storm swept the Survival Topics area. This kind of weather is some of the most dangerous survival weather of all. Easy to become wet and cold, in this situation a fire could very well save your life.

On occasion people have sent back FireSteels they have purchased from SurvivalTopics.com, saying that they cannot get sparks from them. And every time, right out of the box, I've scraped the FireSteel and produced a shower of hot sparks that hiss and bounce all over.

In the video you can see me using one of these FireSteel.com firesteels that has been soaking in ice water. Cold, wet, and a bit slippery (as were my hands), the FireSteel performed "brilliantly" - as can be seen from the shower of hot sparks it produced.

A FireSteel.com scraper was used.

You can have the best survival gear in the world, but if your technique is bad that gear can be useless. Rather than blame it on the gear, practice your technique or learn how to use it from someone that knows how.

For tinder I used a cotton ball soaked in petroleum jelly on top of a piece of birch bark. This produced plenty of flame, enough to light even damp wood.

Survival Topics has a new article on How to Use a FireSteel, which I highly recommend to those of you who are using, or want to use, FireSteels.

Hey Ron, you could always send me damaged, used, or returned firesteels I'll take good care of them!

[scorch]

Originally Posted by Bridog

Hey Ron, you could always send me damaged, used, or returned firesteels I'll take good care of them!

I'm open too

[AlpineZone]

That firesteel in that video looks like its been sliced at by a knife or something else not scraped "bad technique for sure". I only use the smaller ranger firesteel and I can throw some serious bouncing sparks with it. Just make sure to remove all the veneer and keep the steel roughed up some and it works miracles.

[crashdive123]

I don't think it was "bad technique" that caused the wear on the firesteel, but rather just use. Probably started a few thousand fires to get a firesteel that size, that worn.

[AlpineZone]

That was a firesteel that was sent back by a woman who said it didnt work though.

[scorch]

Originally Posted by AlpineZone

That was a firesteel that was sent back by a woman who said it didnt work though.

LOL it looks like she was hacking it with a sword.
(how many scrapes did that take i vote 5000+)

[Celticwarrior]

Is this like "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

"How many scrapes DOES it take to get to the center of a FireSteel?"

[scorch]

Originally Posted by Celticwarrior

Is this like "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

"How many scrapes DOES it take to get to the center of a FireSteel?"

One of the mysteries of the universe.
On a serious note a LOT of scrapes.