Page 4 of 4
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:35 pm
by German_EPA
thats also my favorite firestarter. how you said: a small piece of cotton and 2 strike on the stone and BINGO - fire. you can also start a fire with liquid basic. for example gas (benzin). it takes no longer than 2 seconds to start a fire with this.
i remember the first time i made a fire with the magnesium one. it took 15 minutes for scraping tha magnesium and 10 more minutes to starta fire
today i only need 2-3 mins for all with magnesium.
btw if someone is looking for it:
i have the
original norwegian ones and the import ones for sale
I bought a few months ago one of the selling in China for 3.77 € with shipping included. is the same as I buy and a specialty shop for three times its value.
at first it is hard to produce good sparks for the paint that has the bar and steel sheet. steel sheet that I changed it saw an old piece. disappears after the thin layer of paint on the bar sparks escape easily and abundant. one or two sparks and a small piece of cotton, and the fire that resulted in at moments
I have had for many years a lighter magnesium with a small bar and lots of dust from scraping never got magnesium fire
conclusion: fantastic product and a very attractive price.
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:37 pm
by German_EPA
pardon?! i tried it several times this afternoon... the 9 volt batterie has the same effect as a flintstone but starting a fire with the wool is "nearly" impossible...
Cracker wrote:steelwhool is a good firestarter but a bit dangerous (tends to spark) and it burns very hot..
But when using steelwhool, I prefer to use a simple 9 volt battery.. it starts to burn instantly...
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:14 am
by Dingleberry Johnston
There are different "grades" of steel wool. The type that works
the best for firestarting is 0000 type (also called "
4 ought"). The finer "filaments"/strands conduct the heat much better than thicker grades.
You can get a 3-pack of firesteels for around $10 USD from
here. These are nearly identical to the Light My Fire brand "Army" firesteels. I got 4 packs of three from them, with shipping, for about the cost of 2 LMF firesteels, minus shipping. Great deal!
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:38 am
by Cracker
German_EPA wrote:pardon?! i tried it several times this afternoon... the 9 volt batterie has the same effect as a flintstone but starting a fire with the wool is "nearly" impossible...
Cracker wrote:steelwhool is a good firestarter but a bit dangerous (tends to spark) and it burns very hot..
But when using steelwhool, I prefer to use a simple 9 volt battery.. it starts to burn instantly...
You have multiple thicknesses.. the "kitchen" variant is to rough, and will not catch fire fast enough, and is not really considered as steel
whool (it's just called like that because it's a known name)
Steelwhool is featherlight steel thread that's very thin, if you shortcut it between the - and + it will inmediatly overheat and burn away instead of glowing..
use the variant of steelwhool that you use prior to polishing metal..
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:05 am
by ak70g2
To bring back to life this thread, how much is now the Doan Machinery Magnesium firestarters now? I can't found even one piece in Eastern Europe.
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:06 pm
by Name_not_found
ak70g2 wrote:To bring back to life this thread, how much is now the Doan Machinery Magnesium firestarters now? I can't found even one piece in Eastern Europe.
Mag bars are 5-15 US depending on the name.
But i would recommend a firesteel like the several pictured earlier over a mag bar.
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 2:11 am
by ak70g2
Me too, but I'd like to have/use some mag bar. I prepare to relocate (new girlfriend, new job, much more forest on new location) so my bushcraft skills will have to be heavily developed.
Re: Magnesium Fire Starter - Any Tips?
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:59 am
by Name_not_found
ak70g2 wrote:Me too, but I'd like to have/use some mag bar. I prepare to relocate (new girlfriend, new job, much more forest on new location) so my bushcraft skills will have to be heavily developed.
If you cant find a commercial bar go hunting scrap yards.
Most cars have magnesium parts, trans case, rims, old ford steering wheels,
I have heard Old VW beetles have something like 60 lb of harvest-able magnesium