[vthompson]

I have been playing with another way to make fire and it is an item that you can keep in your BOB. It is an acetylene torch striker. The strikers throw a lot of sparks and they work really well on char cloth and dryer lint.
My son brought me a used one home the other day and I have been playing with it off and on.
What I have been doing is putting a little dryer lint or char cloth down inside of the pan and work the striker 3 or 4 times real fast. Either one of them catches the sparks real well.

[Omega]

Are you using the torch striker on your firesteel? And are you referring to torch strikers like these: Strikers for Welding ?

[Bladed]

tried a striker with magnesium earlier this week, it's a pian to get it to light. now other things like his char-clothmight work well, wonder if it would start a prepped cotton ball...........

[vthompson]

Originally Posted by Omega

Are you using the torch striker on your firesteel? And are you referring to torch strikers like these: Strikers for Welding ?

I am talking about the welding strikers and not using them on firesteels. Just put a little dryer lint or char cloth inside of the pan and work the striker. After it catches a spark, just blow on it a little until it ignites into a flame. As for pj on a cotton ball I haven't tried it yet because I don't like using pj. It is to messy.

[NightShade]

I work in the commercial construction industry, I always have one on my belt at work and there are usually afew kicking around my truck. Therefore i've experimented extensively with this method.
Definetley a serviceable method but their are better options out there!
1 major drawback is that the flint in these have a relatively short lifespan, tho for short money you can pick up a tiny refill pack with 6 spares in it.
All in all I would say any technique used to create fire is a good one to know and learn!

[Mook]

Originally Posted by NightShade

I work in the commercial construction industry, I always have one on my belt at work and there are usually afew kicking around my truck. Therefore i've experimented extensively with this method.
Definetley a serviceable method but their are better options out there!
1 major drawback is that the flint in these have a relatively short lifespan, tho for short money you can pick up a tiny refill pack with 6 spares in it.
All in all I would say any technique used to create fire is a good one to know and learn!

Yeah, there's not a very steep learning curve on using those strikers. Basically you just squeeze the handle and you've got sparks. Easy to use and reliable. I'd say that qualifies as a good tool to have. My only problem would be having to rely on an additional pre-made step in order to get fire...cotton balls with Vaseline, charcloth, etc.

I haven't tried it, so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm skeptical of how well one of these strikers would do with found tinder. Could you put enough in the cup to catch a spark, start to burn, then transfer it to your second tinder pile before it went out?