 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
 Swedish FireSteel - Scout Model (Green) By: The Doors Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 24 More Information it makes fire... wow.  On: 2008-08-07its small, compact, and can make fire. granted, you could just as easily pack a disposable lighter with you, and get "instant fire" (but wheres the fun in that?) the first day camping, it was hot and dry. i used a pile of crumbled dry leaves and twigs as kindling. after making some sparks by rubbing the metal thing against the black rod, the fire started up almost immediately. i couldnt believe how quickly it started. it was actually pretty scary to think how easily dry leaves catch on fire when you add some sparks. the metal flat thing actually has "top" written on it. i highly suggest listening to it, because if you hold the metal thing upside down, it doesnt work all that well. the second day, it rained, and my mighty fire had died. i had to rebuild the firepit using wet wood, and damp leaves. the leaves were simply too wet to get started up with the sparks. I then grabbed a few squares of dry toilet paper to assist. it was dry, but i guess the air was humid, and even when some of the sparks landed directly on the paper, it just didnt seem to want to catch at first. it took a while, but after moving the paper around, and making a little bowl out of it, the sparks eventually lit the paper, and i had fire. if youre going to rely on this thing, it works great. i highly suggest packing along some cotton balls in a zip lock bag, or maybe some dry toilet paper in case it rains. otherwise find some dry grass/leaves and youre good to go. Works Well On: 2008-07-24Im an active Dad in the Boy Scouts. Wilderness Survival Camp Out Weekend was more difficult for the Scouts because no Team was able to make fire. If the Teams would have had "Light My fire" available they would have had fire. This flint and Steel works GREAT! I strongly recommend that every camper and survivalist carry one with them!!! Ive even put one in my emergency Fanny Pack that stays in my car, all the time. Buy one, it is well worth it. Sparks like a charm  On: 2008-06-19Finally got to try out my firesteel recently and I must say that it definitely works as advertised. Keeps on sparking once you manage to get the protective layer off. My only gripe is that I find the Scout Model a bit too small for my hands. Should have paid a bit more for the larger Army Model... Great, takes practice On: 2008-06-11The Firesteel Scout is a great way to start a fire. I taught my Boy Scout troop and my 8yr old daughter how to start a fire with it. My daughter took 2 hours to start her first fire (she was very determined). After a lot of practice, she can now get it in a few minutes. The secret to great sparks is a steady stroke and a lot of pressure. The stroke is more of a wrist movement than an arm movement. This allows you to keep the firesteel steadily pointed at your tinder and direct the sparks. The adults and older Boy Scouts were able to light a fire in a few strokes. The younger ones had trouble with getting pressure on the striker (like my daughter). The best tinder I have found is cotton balls soaked in vasoline petroleum jelly (the original, unsented kind). I smash/work the vasoline into the cotton balls and store them in a water-tight 35mm film canister (you can stuff many balls into the canister). When you want to start a fire, take some cotton out and "fluff" it up a lot by pulling it apart a bunch. The little cotton fibers are what catch the sparks and light on fire. The more tiny fibers there are, the easier it is to set it ablaze. The cotton ball then continues to burn the petroleum jelly and cotton like a mini fireball. I routinely start a fire with one or two strokes. Depending on how wet your kindling and twigs are, you can use more or less of the cotton from the film canister. A large cotton ball will burn for quite a long time and allow damp or wet leaves, twigs and sticks to catch fire. Another useful tinder is an alcohol based hand sanitizer. Squeeze some onto leaves, dry grass, or small twigs and spark away. The alcohol flames are invisible during daylight, so be careful. Dont have it on your hands when you spark the Firesteel or you risk catching your hands on fire! When backpacking, I carry the Scout Firesteel, matches and a BIC lighter. I havent used the matches in a LONG time, and the lighter is used when I am lazy. I plan on purchasing the Army model for general camping/scouting use since it is larger and longer lasting (the kids/scouts are always wanting to use it). The smaller version that fits on a keychain should also work, but having the longer piece of firesteel in the Scout (or Army) model allows for a nice big shower of sparks. Looking at the wear pattern on my well-used firesteel, the keychain model may be too short to produce the same quality and quantity of sparks. great tool for outdoors On: 2008-06-06Im going to be trekking a lot this summer and bought one for me and one for a friend who also travels a lot. Of course I had to try it out immediately and stood on my back stoop making giant sparks. I didnt have any kindling available (probably a good thing) but I can see how easy it is to get a lot of good sparks going. It was raining when I tried it and the stick got very wet but still produced nice sparks. You have to scrape the black paint off a bit and then run the metal piece attached in the correct direction and you get sparks! This will be very handy for trekking and camping - tip: for kindling you can use just about any dry material of course but when its damp or has been raining recently, you can dig some dried sap off trees and use that to help the process. A quarter-sized amount of dried sap works great with some kindling to get a good, hot flame going. Great Sparker  On: 2008-05-03I purchased this product because when a bic gets wet, its just a usless 99 cent piece of plastic. The Swedish Firesteel produces a very good spark but dont count on it to light anything except really flammable materials. I tried it on newspaper and oak sawdust without success. If you are counting on this for survival, you had better have something that is easily ignited along with you. You will find very little in the wild that it will light. The striker that comes with is works very well. I would not suggest using a knife of any value as it is extremely hard on the blade. Otherwise, this little gadget produces a great spark for starting a fire in adverse conditions, as long as you have suiteable kindling. swedish fire steel On: 2008-05-02A great fire starter and works even when wet, I have used many products over the years to start fire on my back country trips and short of using matches this steel is the best thing ever. It's a sure-fire On: 2008-04-24This thing is cool as all get-out. I hope I dont burn down my apartment while playing with it. Nice quality. A nice tool On: 2008-04-10This "flint" is more expensive than the magnesium bars but it is a little more convinient for making sparks because it has a small handle and an attached striker (you have to find your own tender). I did not have a problem using the attached striker as another reviewer did. I also skipped the step of taking the paint off. I just scraped firmly and the ammount of sparks was crazy. My only complaint is the price but if it lasts as long as claimed it is a bargain compared to matches or lighters. I have both the full size model and the scout model. The full size model is a little easier to use because it is easier to grip but the scout model is not hard and is a little smaller for packing. Solid Piece of Gear! On: 2008-01-30I have several of these and I have found them be useful to me when other methods of fire lighting are not possible. While quite useful as is, it is greatly improved with a longer lanyard (big enough to wear around your neck while setting up camp and getting the fire going) and a better metal striker! I use a piece of worn out Sawzall blade (thicker and heavier than a normal hacksaw blade so it works better) as a striker and find that having good carbon steel to strike it with greatly improves its performance. Using a knife blade is possible but Stainless Steel does not spark as good as a quality piece of Carbon Steel! Most of todays knives seem to be made of one stainless steel or the other so you have degraded the performance of the firesteel before you even start! Plan ahead and have good tender ready to go (Petroleum jelly and cotton balls works great) along with a good fire building technique and you will have great success with this method of fire building! SRC Camping priority checklist - tent, water, food, Firesteel... On: 2007-10-04When I last went hiking and got a fire going with the FireSteel Scout, I couldnt help but smile at the heat radiating back. Tinder preparation is the key with the FireSteel. Creating the sparks is the easiest part. If youre a regular firestarter (pyromaniacs and arsonists are excluded), Id recommend the Army model instead. But for the occasional camper or hiker, the Scout is a fantastic rucksack item. Wow! Works GREAT! On: 2007-09-13Wonderful product. Very handy size for packing. I found absolutely no problem with the lanyard length, and its very sturdy. Sparks fly with the first pass - theres absolutely no need to remove the paint. Follow directions! Keep the print side up on the scraper. I think it also helps to do as the instruction photos show - the scrapers trailing edge should be against the steel, essentially "herding" the sparks downward, though both edges produce plenty. Having the trailing edge down seems to concentrate the sparks better. I had no problem starting a fire with cotton balls, cotton cosmetic pads, toilet and tissue paper, dry leaves, dryer lint, etc. Ive found that with light paper (tissue/toilet) it helps to put the tip of the steel on top of the paper, then fold some of the paper ON TOP of the steel, creating a little "cave" which traps the sparks (and again, keeping the trailing edge on the steel; all of this serves to concentrate the sparks). Definitely a keeper in an outdoors kit. Sparks a flyen On: 2007-08-24I had a flint and steel kit from my old Boy Scout days (almost 40yrs ago). It contained cotton balls that ignite with one swipe of the steel. Same happens here, but the sparks are about 3x more. I had a lot of fun showing my 10 year old daughter how to start a fire without a lighter. She enjoyed creating the sparks and catching the cotton on fire (in a safe protected concrete area). I highly recommend this product for the outdoor enthusiast, lightweight and waterproof and should last many years. Does Exactly what I expected On: 2007-08-13It is a high quality product and I will use it when I am camping but I also believe that it make a nice addition to my 24 hour kit. A great lightweight survival tool On: 2007-07-14This is the most durable firestarter out there for its price....the Swedes know what they are doing and this works every time...even when wet! very impressed On: 2007-06-26i was able to start a fire with a paper towel...was easier with the army model ,but the yellow did ok. Excellant buy On: 2007-06-20Once you scratch the protective coating off the flint you will not believe how much spark this thing puts off. Amazing. Too small if you're really serious On: 2007-05-13As a spark source, this works great, but expect to have to practice finding and making tinder before you have much success. You may have to spark repeatedly and rapidly to heat and get an area to finally light. The problem with this is, this thin rod wears down quite fast. For occasional camping or as a backup, its fine (as long as you know how to use it), but for heavy use, go with the thicker "army" model. Better than an AMEX card. . . Don't leave home without it. On: 2007-04-05It will work better than you can imagine. I carry a few alcohol wipes(good for a million things) with me and this lights them on the first try. I keep one in each car, on the boat, and in my briefcase. I may never need it, but if I ever do I dont have to worry about it working. Magnesium sticks maybe cheap but they are hard to use. When its windy the shavings blow away before you can light them. I needed one of those once and spent the night freezing. Do yourself a favor and buy one or more of these and never worry about being without a fire. Way better than the magnesium block On: 2007-03-08After 3 unsuccessful attempts with 3 different mag block. I tried this. This worked great!!! The scraper does not have to be taken apart from the lanyard to use. After several successful tries. I noticed that the best technique is to hold the scraper still while slowly pulling the flint rod against it. This allows the spark to be directed toward your tinder without you inadvertently knocking the tinder away. Boys Scout of America sells an even smaller version of this for 1/4 of the price. It does not work as well due to the size but still works well. This could save your life. On: 2007-02-01Make sure you always have a way to start a fire if you are in the woods a lot. If you have just this, a good knife, and proper clothes you can survive in the wilderness with good survival skills. This fire starter is best used when dry although it will spark in wet conditions. To make it easier to start a fire you need to have fine chipped wood shavings as tender to ignite. A good thing to take with you is an Altoids can of pencil shavings or napkins as tender. You have to be able to ignite the sparks from the FireSteel. If you dont carry the shavings with you a good knife is needed to do it before you make a fire. This model would be ideal for scouts, backpackers, both woman and children could probably use this and it would be less dangerous than other alternatives. It also seems to be durable and well constructed. Works like a charm On: 2007-01-04You strike the steel rod and get big sparks that will easily start a fire. Works exactly the way I want it to. Nice tool On: 2006-12-26This "flint" is more expensive than the magnesium bars but it is a little more convinient for making sparks because it has a small handle and an attached striker (you have to find your own tender). I did not have a problem using the attached striker as another reviewer did. I also skipped the step of taking the paint off. I just scraped firmly and the ammount of sparks was crazy. My only complaint is the price but if it lasts as long as claimed it is a bargain compared to matches or lighters. I have both the full size model and the scout model. The full size model is a little easier to use because it is easier to grip but the scout model is not hard and is a little smaller for packing. |