Forget the Match and Strike the Steel!

You’ve finally reached the end of the trail after eight hours of trekking uphill and down. You weren’t expecting those sudden downpours that have left you and your compadres a bit waterlogged. What’s worse than reaching the end of an eight-hour hike tired, wet, and hungry? How about reaching the end tired, wet, hungry, and with a handful of lifeless matches that fizzle out with each strike to the dampness of your surroundings? No fire, no warmth! Now what?

One thing you don’t want when you’re out in the boonies is to find yourself without a reliable means of producing a crackling fire to warm body, spirit, and provide for a hot meal. For an almost fool-proof method of lighting fire in extreme conditions, forget the match and strike the steel! Firesteel, that is.

Firesteel (a.k.a. ferrocerium) is a man-made alloy that produces blazing-hot molten sparks at temperatures of 3,500-5,500 degrees Fahrenheit. No wonder firesteel earns a five-clubs-out-of-five caveman approval for starting fire in less than desirable conditions when matches fizzle and blistered thumbs suck the last bit of life from a failing butane lighter. And depending on the elements and the unknown, a light-weight firesteel might very well prove to be your most reliable fire friend when you find yourself at the end of your rope—uh,  match stick and lighter.

Why is firesteel so great? Besides producing white-hot sparks of molten metal, a small firesteel at 1/4 inches by 3 inches (approx. half the size of a pencil) produces anywhere from 5,000-10,000 fires. That’s equivalent to 17 to 34 boxes of strike-anywhere wooden matches. Try lugging around that many boxes of matches in your pack. Firesteel also works every time, even when wet. Drop it in a puddle, use it as a sinker, bury it in the snow, leave it out in a downpour—who cares? Try doing that with matches! With firesteel and a little practice, you’ll never find yourself at the end of your match, but always matched up to tackle the perfect fire in most any condition.


Now, I'm not saying that matches or butane lighters are a terrible resource for making fire. On the contrary, I find myself using these items quite frequently. And a good fire kit should include various methods of creating fire, which might very well include matches and a butane lighter. Some fire making methods, however, are more reliable and less likely to fail than others, which is why I love firesteel. So, if you enjoy matches and butane lighters, by all means, include them within your fire kit. But if you are new to the concept of using firesteel, my invitation is to consider expanding your horizons, learning how to use, and including firesteel as an item within your personal fire kit. Firesteel is a definite must-have! I never venture out without it.

How to Make a Fire Using Firesteel

1-  Use prepared tinder: effective prepared tinder includes finely shredded paper, dryer lint, cotton balls, fatwood shavings, and magnesium. You should always carry prepared tinder, but if you find yourself without, you can use wood shavings, punk wood, tinder fungus (Chaga), dead grass, dandelion fluff, cattail fluff, milkweed fluff, birch bark, and cedar bark—just to name a few. For prepared tinder, a cotton ball covered in petroleum jelly works extremely well. A fluffed cotton ball catches a spark every time and the petroleum jelly serves as a coal extender (adds three to five minutes additional burn time)—especially effective when starting a fire in damp conditions and/or when using damp kindling.

2- Place prepared tinder on a piece of dry bark or wood. This gives the tinder a nice surface and protects it from any moisture and cold from bare ground.

3- Place appropriate-sized kindling around and above tinder, but do not cover completely or inhibit airflow. Leave tinder partially exposed for catching the sparks. If you’re not sure what would be appropriate sized kindling, start with lots of small twigs and/or  wood splinters. If you find your surroundings a little wet, lower dead branches on a tree are generally dry due to the overhead canopy of live branches. Or, take a damp piece of dead wood and baton/split it to get into the dry core. When dealing with damp kindling, making one or more feathersticks to access the dry wood inside also works well.

4- Aim the tip of the firesteel close to and pointed toward your tinder.

5- With the spine of a knife (knife blade can be used, but not recommended as this will quickly dull your blade) or firesteel scraper, apply moderate pressure to the surface of the firesteel and quickly strike in a downward motion toward the tinder. Another method is to hold the striker steady and to pull the firesteel upward against the edge of the striker and toward you. Either method will produce a shower of hot sparks. For best results, start the strike from the top of the firesteel furthest away from the tinder and end the strike at the end of the firesteel closest to the tinder.

6- If done properly, the tinder should easily catch a spark on the first strike. If not, repeat the striking motion, aiming the sparks toward the tinder.

7- Walla! You tinder should now be ablaze. Add additional kindling to grow and maintain fire.

Not All Firesteels Are Created Equal

The terms Ferrocerium rod and Mischmetal rod are generally used interchangeably and refer to the same thing. So, whether you say "pass me the Ferro rod," or, "pass me the Mischmetal,", both are correct;  however, both also have taken on their own separate definitions based on formula and composition, which is why some folks refer to them as two different things nowadays.

In order to save you most of the boring details, in simpler terms all modern Ferrocerium rods are a complex blend of several metals alloyed together including, but not limited to iron, zinc, magnesium, and other metal elements known as Rare Earth (RE) elements. Although termed Rare Earth metals, they are actually not rare at all and are found in abundance. And it is mostly the Rare Earth element cerium, which allows for sparks via friction when the rod is scraped. Whether a "Ferrocerium", or "Mischmetal" rod, they contain the same elements.

As far as Mischmetal, the term itself means "mixed metals" and is the product when the Rare Earth metals cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium are alloyed together. Because Mischmetal by itself is too soft to create good sparks, it is blended with iron and magnesium oxides in order to give it strength and form the harder material Ferrocerium.

So, if referring to Ferrocerium and Mischmetal rods as two different things, the main difference between the two is that a Ferrocerium rod has a higher percentage of  iron, whereas a Mischmetal rod has lower iron content and traditionally a higher percentage of magnesium. As such, a Ferrocerium rod is harder and throws a shower of very fine white-hot sparks and the rod will not wear as fast because less material is lost with each scrape. Swedish firesteels (like Light My Fire brand) are a great example of these types of higher iron content Ferrocerium rods. On the other hand, A Mischmetal rod is softer and throws a shower of less fine white-hot sparks that take on the form of molten globs of metal, which burn longer, but the rod will wear slightly faster because more material is used up with each scrape.

So, whether you go with a Ferrocerium (higher iron content), or Mischmetal (lower iron content) rod, you will likely find that both are excellent. As far as the life expectancy of a Ferrocerium, or Mishmetal rod, this will all depend on the size/diameter, but you can expect hundreds, if not thousands, of strikes and fires produced with either a Ferrocerium or Mischmetal rod, even at smaller diameters. I've used both kinds and I can say that I don't necessarily prefer one over the other and can easily get a fire going with either, which is what matters. When all is said and done, the most important factor is know-how and technique in using either a Ferrocerium, or Mischmetal rod. With practice and good technique, a Ferrocerium vs. Mischmetal debate really becomes a mute point as you will find yourself equally successful with both.

If you are looking for an exceptional, affordable, and most important, reliable firesteel, look no further than our Blackhawk Bushcraft Fuego. The Fuego is a super reliable, easy to use, lower iron content mischmetal rod and produces scorching white-hot sparks/globs of molten metal when scraped. At a very stout 1/2" diameter by 5" in length, we're confident that the Fuego is the last rod you will ever need. Visit our store and pick yours up today.