[crashdive123]

Originally Posted by AlpineZone

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

Ah. I didn't catch that. Thanks.

[Bridog]

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?"

The world may never know!

[Celticwarrior]

Originally Posted by Bridog

The world may never know!

Ah ONE......Ah TWOOOOOO ..... Ah THREEE!

Ah THREE!

[Bridog]

Originally Posted by Celticwarrior

Ah ONE......Ah TWOOOOOO ..... Ah THREEE!

Ah THREE!

Mr. Owl, How many scrapes does it take to get to the center of a firesteel?

Well that depends on if your using it correctly. Here's how...

Could be a great opening to a video on how to correctly use a firesteel. If someone else doesn't do it, I will as soon as mine comes in the mail.

[Ron Fontaine]

The user wore the firesteel rod down that amount within just a week or so before returning it - and claimed it did not spark.

I cannot say what technique she was using. Most people find that getting them to spark is pretty straight forward. A few other FireSteels have been returned to me, invariably I open the box and get sparks from them immediately. Indeed, an unsolved mystery of the universe.

Someone mentioned it could be she just wanted her money back and so made a claim it did not function properly.

[scorch]

Originally Posted by Ron Fontaine

The user wore the firesteel rod down that amount within just a week or so before returning it - and claimed it did not spark.

I cannot say what technique she was using. Most people find that getting them to spark is pretty straight forward. A few other FireSteels have been returned to me, invariably I open the box and get sparks from them immediately. Indeed, an unsolved mystery of the universe.

Someone mentioned it could be she just wanted her money back and so made a claim it did not function properly.

Never thought of that, lol trying to get a refund
you can't be that bad on purpose .

[George]

Originally Posted by Fisk

...
once the cotton was lit I placed it in the middle of the birdnest which was located at the bottom of my teepee formation. the grass caught fire w/ ease but the sticks did not. I''m sure that I am missing something in my technique and I will try again tommorrow. Oh and I do have a nice stick of pine wood full of resin in my bag but I am trying to refrain from using it

Had problems with fire failing to go past very fine stuff too and now I make sure that there is no big difference in size between adjacent layers, makes it longer to set up the stuff but works better.

I also used body heat to dry some lint. I put it between singlet and shirt for a while and it helped a lot. Thicker pieces seem to have enough time to dry and catch fire, but the little stuff is not as forgiving.

[Ronnie]

This site has been my sons favorite site since he was nine years old, he just turned 10.
He has told all his school buddies about making fire with fire steels. ( both my kids have a fire steel from your site) sometimes on weekends his friends come over and they practice making fires in the back yard (under adult supervision) They make shelters and stuff like that and have a blast. one of his friends is not allowed to participate as his mom says he has no need to know how to make fire as he could burn himself. well to shorten this up,The day he got his survival topics fire steel having never seen one before it took him all of about 5 minutes practice before he had big sparks on every strike. He loves it and i do too. he has it on him at all times and can use it. God forbid he ever gets lost or hurt in the woods I will know he has a fire to warm by as we look for him.

[trainedtosave]

I hate when people have crappy skills, then blame the gear. I haven't used a lighter in years for firestarting, once you learn the firesteel, flint and steel, bowdrill, ect, you actually realize how crappy a Bic is compared to other methods. It will do the job, but I prefer constant practice with other methods.

[tjwilhelm]

I agree TTS! (We had a recently departed member who STRONGLY disagreed with that viewpoint, however. He was a BIC man, all the way )