Good tips. I carry cotton balls in vaseline in a very small container - as an emergency firelighting source. It's cheap insurance for wet or less than ideal conditions.
@@antoinette4568 during the refining or burning of the oil carcinogens can be found in some cases, im assuming this is brand based. But I a well ventilated area or outside you should be perfectly find in a survival situation. I promise your warmth will be more valuable than the prospect of POSSIBLY getting something from inhaling the fumes.
Adventures with Frodo So true! The first time I tried using some of my randomly collected dryer lint, some of it was quite difficult to catch flame and/or produced some toxic-smelling fumes- I assume from synthetics. Now I’ve started only collecting lint from laundry loads that are overwhelmingly COTTON, like towels & t-shirts, jeans & old fashioned underwear!
you have no idea how much you have helped me! I've had 2 brain surgeries and it isn't easy to talk. my husband passed in 2006, and my children were 5, 13 & 15. my older children had a chance to get some fatherly advice or memories! my youngest, not so much! my daughter was easy to teach! we are both girls! but trying to teach them how to shave, fix a vehicle or start a fire! this video helped me feel like I can teach my youngest something! i just have to learn with him! You are superhero status right now! keep it up! tytytytyty
I'd like to add some advice for rookies (including myself) to take. In the event that you wish or need to use a firesteel at night or in dark settings, you don't really want to stare straight into the spark. In the dark, a spark from a firesteel is an extremely bright and sudden change in lighting, which is disorienting to say the least, and quite painful for people with more sensitive eyes (speaking from experience). With this said, if you're going to strike the firesteel in the dark, try having an additional light source present so that the contrast in brightness isn't as drastic when you spark. If that isn't possible, at least try not to look directly at where the spark will take place. Believe me, you'll save your eyes that way.
Thank you. Having tried for ever to get a fire started, I made all the mistakes you covered in your video lol. Now I started a fire at first strike and can feel like a MAN again. Thanks
Stephan John I am happy for you, and I bought 3 of them I am still practicing on first one and I love it, Just something to do and in case SHTF you know what to do..Knife with 90 degrees spine is a must..BTW this young Gentleman explained it perfectly..
I taught my 7 year old granddaughter how to start a fire this way last summer. She picked it up very quickly. Can't wait to share this with her it's a great refresher. Thanks!
+billyoerg Good for her! She's learned a skill that most adults don't know anymore. Also it's great to hear that you're passing your knowledge along to her. We need to older generation to teach us things.
finally, someone who uses a fire steel properly. I can't tell you how many of my prepper/outdoorsman,who are very capable, just don't use a ferro rod correctly and won't listen when I try to tell them there is a better way. now I am going to show them your vid and maybe feel a little 'I told you so' lol. thanks again. you have a new subscriber.
Great advice. When you mentioned the use of Petroleum Jelly for use on cuts, but sometimes are too sweaty, allow me to make a suggestion. I used to work as a miner, underground at 3000 feet. We were always sweaty and yes we got some pretty good cuts. We used to keep a bottle of Elmer's glue, or Titebond 2 Glue (great for wet conditions) and after cleaning out a cut with water, we would slap some glue on the cut. This keeps your cut very, very clean and you can get lots of work done and not worry about infections. The Titebond 2 Glue works the best.
Nash Frogman Yes.!! In a completely different industry, the beauty industry to be precise, "crazy" glue became my best friend. Particularly in the area of artificial nail application, washing my hands at least three dozen times during my working day, bandaids were not an option. Using an electric nail file with various attachments and boasting 30,000 rpm, I had cut myself numerous times prior to becoming proficient with such. After a thorough cleaning, crazy glue not only stopped the bleeding and made sure that no blood transferred to my client, it also prevented bacterial infections, greatly speeding up the healing process. Clean, protected and dry, not to mention a very cheap fix at $0.99 for a package of 6 tubes, as opposed to the "liquid bandaid" now sold, that does the exact same thing for $14.99....for one tube.lol.
Same for me. He adressed ALL the things that might become a problem. Very useful. It seems he cut the video a lot to make it informative and consistent, but that's fine. As for the rest, we just use our brain. He did not waste our time (differently fom those numberless bushcraft idiots who need minutes to explain that water is wet). By the way, I tried out that cottonpad-vaseline combination (with a lighter, though). Two pads with vaseline in between. It worked well catching fire rapidly and burning for 3 or 4 min although vaseline was more than ten years old and despite some cold winter night wind on my fourth floor balcony. Thanx for sharing that.
Terrific explanation! It's rare that I come across a video that has this high a ratio useful content to exposition and filler. The tip about pulling the steel back to keep the flint hand steady and the duh advice about stripping off the coating were clutch. Thanks!
@@HCW2855HCW Cotton dryer lint is extremely flammable. If you can't light a ball of lint with one or two strikes of a fire steel, you're doing something severely wrong. It's foolproof. Also, I like to keep a small prescription bottle full of a 3-4 Vaseline soaked cotton balls. If you coat them really well it takes a bit more effort to start them (I like to use a little wad of dryer lint at this phase) but once they get going I've clocked their burn time at upwards of 10 min.
Cotton dryer lint takes sparks beautifully. I routinely collect some after doing a load of towels. Highly flammable. That’s why dryer hose fires are dangerous, Charles.
I really enjoyed this video, enough to share it with my husband. I appreciate how you had specific points, and covered each one thoroughly, but not to death. It was good, solid instruction, and we both got something from it. Thank you.
OMG just got one for a kids sleeper and there was NO instructions! You saved me looking really silly, with the "getting the black coating off first" tip! Thank you for taking the time to make this!!!
Thanks for this very informative video. I received a fire starter with a package of emergency blankets and had no clue how to use it. Now, If I get stuck somewhere, I’ll be able to survive, thanks to you.
Thank you so much. I made fire using all your suggestions. I did not know about the coating on the fire steel and the cotton balls with Vaseline were all so helpful!
Great idea on the cotton balls. Instead of spending money on those things though, I like to save the lint from my clothes dryer and it works just as good! Just thought I'd share that for those who are penny pinching frugal 😄
"It's amazing what we can forget or miss when we are first learning something." Beautiful! It's not easy to train someone a new skill if they already "know" how to do it. Skills build on skills but you need to practice not think you "know". It is through the practice of the task that you gain true understanding and the ability to train others. Plus that new skill may match with another learned skill. The simple statement can remove the ego so one might learn. Love it Thanks
I have a needle file I modified specifically as a striker. One edge is 90 degrees and sharp (had file type edges that didnt throw much, but worked. The other edge is sharpened to a knife with a small rounded groove. Both edges throw great spark. Knife (cutting) edges work fantastic, but you dont want to dull your usual knife.. the file really really holds its edge. It is also an emergency knife sharpener.
My wife watches survivor religiously and it drives me nuts to see them chopping away at the flint to get spark ( not the magnesium) and seeing them go through the flint until there is nothing left in very short order. I used to be a certified survival instructor and I’ve always taught to hold the stricker still and firm close to the tinder and pull the flint back with force. You get a strong spark right on target every time and the flint will last a really long time ( I never have worn one out). The tip for Vaseline one the cotton ball is a good one but you must make sure the top of the ball is dry and spread out a little wispy to light from the spark easily. The more you spread it out the easier it lights from a single spark but the faster it burns. If you pre dunk the balls Vaseline and store them in a little container you have to have a container of dry ones as well to take the spark- using one dry and one Vaselined ball underneath for fuel. For all te people saying dryer lint works good - it must be all Cotten lint no synthetics or it won’t work as well. For the price of a bag of cotton balls - like 2 or 3 bucks.......
I figured almost all of this out, except i learned one good thing... the concept of pulling the steel away instead of pushing the striker on the steel all the time. Great tips!
Bought a small survival kit about a year ago. It came with one of these in it. I had no idea what it was let alone how to use it. So, I ended up here! Great vid, great info. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. Older video but still very helpful! Thanks lad.
Just lit my first starter after following the advice here. You were right. The protective coating on the steel makes it crazy hard to get the first few sparks, but after you get it off it sparks like crazy. Thanks!
The instruction was phenomenal and the vaseline + cotton combo is great. Let alone you mention vaseline is great for cuts (I am a sweaty person myself). The reason I started binge-watching on fire starting and survival is that I had a terrible solo overnight, I did not expect the rain to pour by surprise, let alone I forgot to bring rain cover on my bag, all my gear are wet at that point. My match was wet and lucky enough the other side is dry to light my stove for coffee that night but in the morning it was heavily fogged and my match was terribly wet.
I recently quit smoking so I'm going to put a fire kit along with my knife . When I smoked I darn sure had lighters to help fulfill my nicotine lust . Now I don't want to be outdoors lacking fire . I knew absolute zero about this , but your instructions we're A+ . I love the cottonballs and Vaseline trick , big time . Cheap easy way to keep a flame going , especially in wetter conditions . I was about to compliment you and thank you profusely . Then I saw as I subscribed to your channel , that you have a quarter of a million subs . Wow !!! So you already know you rock !!! Fondest regards , J . U .
Awesome advice. I was guilty of about 75% of what you mentioned. These are thing that are hard to learn without someone mentoring you because even in instructional videos people assume you know .
Good job on the video. the protective coating prevents corrosion from saline/saltwater/sweat, that dissolves the fire steel. Also over time, the fire steel gets soft without the coating, after I'm done using my fire steel, I will recoat with clear nail polish.
Yep, in fact Vaseline is now owned by a British company... Anyway, the one country in which you shouldn't ever use the word 'vaseline' is France (look it up ;) )
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my fire steel and the first time I tried your advice it worked the first time!
I seldom comment on videos and I mean almost never, but on this video I stopped at about the 4:12 mark just to say how excellent your presentation is and so full of useful content right from the beginning, exceptional. I would be happily satisfied right here but I know the rest will be just as good. Thank You!!!
Thank you very much for an excellent, clear lesson on how to use a stone with a black bar and striker. I bought one, and didn't have a clue how to work it. Certainly, it was not like striking a match! But, your tutorial shows exactly how to make one huge spark in hardly any passes with the proper angle,, speed and pressure. I did it! I very much like the vaseline and cotton ball tip. You gave me survival confidence, like opening a tin can by rubbing the top on concrete!
I would have been one of those who thought the rod was a dud when there were no sparks from the black covering. Great tip about the petroleum jelly, too. Thank you for this video!
Another thank you. Been trying these stupid things for over a year and had moderate luck with super flammable tender but even that was difficult. I have literally worn away half my striker starting to fires with dryer lint. The simple tips seem like no-brainers but I was making most of those mistakes. Thank you.
Quick tip for women (and men as well): Always carry tampons and nail polish remover (best if contains acetone) with you. My fire starter kit consists of a magnesium flint and tampons slightly soaked in nail polish remover. If you soak a tampon in acetone (or other flammable liquid) and use thin plastic wrap to prevent it from evaporate, you will have a super reliable fire starting method. I had one for at least 2 years in a backpack, and it ignited on the very first strike. (For the ladies, for obvious reasons, such items can serve multiple purposes so its not, at all, a bad idea to carry them daily.)
Most knives have a rounded spine (back part of the blade). Take a small file and file the back of your knife to a sharp 90 degrees- this will throw good sparks and is a great back up should you lose your striker.
Thanks for suggesting vaseline .... thts one thing im never short of whenever i go up the mountains ... it makes carrying rolls of newspaper redundant to make a flame ... made my job a lot easier .... cheers !
Here's one idea I found and use every time ... I'm surprised it's not popular ... before striking the fire starter with force and making sparks, it's important to slowly shave off, a tiny pile of shavings off the fire starter, then push them together on the best area of your tinder ... THEN strike with force. The tiny pile of shavings will create VASTLY more heat and spark with this method ... try it! :)
Thanks a million for this immensely helpful vid. There are indeed all the important facts "for dummies" given in a clear, educative and polite way. And yes, I was a dummy big time, as I didn´t know whether I shall take the striker off the string or not and had no bloody idea that the firesteel has some protective coat on, that I shall first scrape. Thanks to you and only you the thing works perfectly for me now. Sending some sparks your way! :)
Thank you so much. I recently moved from NYC to NJ and I have been thinking of going camping but I had no idea how to start a fire with the fire starters. Until i viewed your video. You explained it in detail the do’s and dont’s I tried it and it worked. Also the Vaseline trick is excellent. Thanks again and I did subscribed.
Light my fire is the best you can get. I´ve used a lot of firesteels but nothing were better than light my fire. Greetings from Bushcraft colleague Andi from Germany/Bavaria/Munich :)
Thank you for all the tips. We didn’t know how to use our fire starter; couldn’t figure out from the manual. We finally got it until watching your video. Many thanks!
Thanks for the excellent tutorial! I was having issues and after fixing my striking speed as per #6 I got a good fire going on the 3rd strike. 👍 Thank you for making no assumptions about prior knowledge and helping us to learn what we don’t even know to ask.
Thanks I am an old newby. Cotton wool with vaseline on is great tinder, burns quickly but great for a beginner. starter. You would obviously need a pile at the ready. Pressure is definitely the key as you just taught us👍
After the tip with the soft material, i thought “hey, my flint and steel has around 7000 strikes” and then, i tried using the side, and it works like 90% of the time now, thanks!
Best tutorial I've seen on fire steels. I'm just learning to use one and this helped tremendously. Thank you. Now I'm trying to figure out the best for the buck. Suggestions are welcome.
You can also rub a bit of lip balm into the cotton ball OR even on some pocket lint. I've even tore a strip of cloth from my flannel shirt, rubbed it with lip balm and started a fire that way too. Some will use a few drops of hand sanitizer. Most are about 70% alcohol. And it lights pretty easy.
One of the best, informative survival videos I've seen in a long time. No ego, no long dissertation and no fluff. This young man is a heck of an instructor. I hit the sub and notifications in hopes the rest of your vids are as awesome as this one. Greetings from down on the bayous of the MS gulf coast.
I just ordered this off amazon. I’ve been getting comfortable with natural firestarters, (old men’s beard, scrapings from dead wood, etc)- excites to spend some time in the trees learning how to do this. It’s much more sustainable then a lighter which I enjoy a lot. Thank you for the great tips!
Great teaching sir! You get straight to it with the useful info and demonstrate with empathy-- you think of what OTHERS will have trouble with, not just what you want to say. I found one of the many things that lead us beginners astray is simply poor word choice used for a hundred years or so, and another is just not enough detail included for instructions, etc... which you balanced out in many ways here (thank you). Here's an example; "Striker". I mean, the best way to use the so-called "striker" is not to strike it at all!!! Yet they keep on using the term. I suppose it's left over from the necessary way to use the original technique, with a stone. Still, watching your style, I can see I've been using mine wrong. I get sparks, but some good, then not at all, ten a great spark, then none, (sigh). Can be tough when it's below freezing and you need that fire.
Well done.... I learned a lot that would have taken a lot of trial-n-error.... great time saver vid bro. I was a total noob... I now feel I can successfully start a fire.
hi , i just want to thank you , i've learned how to start a fire with a fire steel i think i haven't tried it yet but your explanation for those of us new to survival gear, this is a priceless and informative video,
Tethered to my Swedish Fire Steel is a large yellow plastic Hanson Pencil Sharpener from Home Depot to make tinder from a twig or Fatwood. Also great on a sunny day is a Fresnel Lens to start a fire or read the info sheet from the Fire Kit. And the Doan Magnesium Bar is also great to make a fire. Though a great first choice is the BIC lighter... tjl
Bro..... You are awesome!! You are very well versed and brought up points in such a good way! I am going to go out and try to start some fires with flint and steel and get good at it.... Ya never know when your gonna need it :)
Tough to beat Coghlans for the price. I don't find the LMF ones to be superior enough to justify the price. The smallest LMF around here is 50% higher cost than the larger Coghlans. I'll stick to the Coghlans. Inexpensive and works very well. Good video by the way.
When talking about hard/soft one needs to know the history. Before there was LMF there was Primus steels, in fact when LMF came out they still used the Primus handles until they switched to the current handle. I find both Primus and LMF to be harder rods compared to a Gobspark from another company. The idea of soft rods are actually a new-ish (vid from 2016) thing.. # of strikes is kind of pointless as the LMF Scout has less strikes than the Army model because it is smaller. I never needed to undo the string, the key is to have a long enough string.
To your last point, the string is meant to keep them together. I recommend ditching the short cord it comes with and just replace it with a longer string. Great video and tips!
This may be the first time I have seen anyone use the fire steel properly.... pulling the steel away from the tender pile is the proper way to spray the tender with sparks. Watch how many destroy their tender pile trying to light their fire.... Plus a match or a lighter also work great.
My dad keeps sending me survival stuff and I kept getting those little ones ( fire rods) and he's finally sent a " Holtzmans" hand length. You are a good person. To hold striker and pull back is genius 🙃 sew many times with the little ones made me knck out setting. Numb Hans and forgetting about birch bark. Come over here to the Oregon coast and show me on the beach 😊we can trade skills for the future.😉
SINESTERSERPENTSIXXX correct, I am a bowler and that how I treat my fingers if I have cuts. Which youll be getting while playing bowling for more than 10 games hahaha
Was looking for something for our Christmas gift game this year and found a site with fire steel. I figured it would be perfect as a fun gift but hesitated since I knew so little about them. As always there's so much more to something than one might think at first. Thanks for stopping me from buying inferior stuff. 🥳
spot on assessment of the fire steel quality. 30000 strikes are all useless if none of them can light a fire! Most people vastly overestimate the number of strikes they really need. Would anyone really use up even 1000?
Hammersix, if you are anticipating living in the bush for more than one year without resupply, then you have bigger problems than the number of strikes on a single ferro rod. Get real!
I've been watching a few videos and felt they told me nothing you. Not only did you explain why i could not get it to work but the extra tips helped greatly. Thanks
Good tips. I carry cotton balls in vaseline in a very small container - as an emergency firelighting source. It's cheap insurance for wet or less than ideal conditions.
+The Wooded Beardsman Yes that's a great idea. Thanks for watching!
I carry cotton balls in my wallet 😂😹🤣. With a cotton ball, I can start a fire with one spark everytime. 💥🔥👍
I like to use dryer lint it works really good to 💥🔥👍
What about old grease from cooking isn't, Vaseline toxic? Sorry lm cluess this is a real question needing help.
@@antoinette4568 during the refining or burning of the oil carcinogens can be found in some cases, im assuming this is brand based. But I a well ventilated area or outside you should be perfectly find in a survival situation. I promise your warmth will be more valuable than the prospect of POSSIBLY getting something from inhaling the fumes.
"a lot of people buy these without really knowing how to use them"
me: *looks up this video after 20 minutes of frustration*
Right behind you mate 😎
😄😄😄👍 Welcome.
Me too. Lol. Mine still had the black part on it and I thought that's how it was supposed to be used. Hahaha
Mine won't spark wtf
lol same here. I bought one and it came with no instructions!
Save your dryer lint from the collection screen. It is an excellent fire starter to use with a ferro rod.
So true
Yes I used dryer lint when we did fire starter competition in Boy Scouts , great fire starter gives you a lot of confidence
Actually with modern clothes this is not the case as there store more synthetic fixers that don't burn.
Adventures with Frodo So true! The first time I tried using some of my randomly collected dryer lint, some of it was quite difficult to catch flame and/or produced some toxic-smelling fumes- I assume from synthetics. Now I’ve started only collecting lint from laundry loads that are overwhelmingly COTTON, like towels & t-shirts, jeans & old fashioned underwear!
My pockets usually have enough lint to catch a spark and burn enough to ignite good fire tinder.
you have no idea how much you have helped me! I've had 2 brain surgeries and it isn't easy to talk. my husband passed in 2006, and my children were 5, 13 & 15. my older children had a chance to get some fatherly advice or memories! my youngest, not so much! my daughter was easy to teach! we are both girls! but trying to teach them how to shave, fix a vehicle or start a fire! this video helped me feel like I can teach my youngest something! i just have to learn with him! You are superhero status right now! keep it up! tytytytyty
God bless you 😊
Wonderful comment
Are you dead now?
I'd like to add some advice for rookies (including myself) to take. In the event that you wish or need to use a firesteel at night or in dark settings, you don't really want to stare straight into the spark. In the dark, a spark from a firesteel is an extremely bright and sudden change in lighting, which is disorienting to say the least, and quite painful for people with more sensitive eyes (speaking from experience).
With this said, if you're going to strike the firesteel in the dark, try having an additional light source present so that the contrast in brightness isn't as drastic when you spark. If that isn't possible, at least try not to look directly at where the spark will take place. Believe me, you'll save your eyes that way.
That's good advice. Thank you.
I never thought I would watch a almost 11 minute video of using a fire striker respect
Thank you. Having tried for ever to get a fire started, I made all the mistakes you covered in your video lol. Now I started a fire at first strike and can feel like a MAN again. Thanks
Stephan John I am happy for you, and I bought 3 of them I am still practicing on first one and I love it, Just something to do and in case SHTF you know what to do..Knife with 90 degrees spine is a must..BTW this young Gentleman explained it perfectly..
Still waiting for that feeling. Hopefully this video helps.
@John Signs On the bright side, the smoldering embers of what was once your house should keep you warm in the cold
ruclips.net/video/hlrW4pvashs/видео.html
same words just with a difference of dates. it happened couple of days ago with me :-)
I taught my 7 year old granddaughter how to start a fire this way last summer. She picked it up very quickly. Can't wait to share this with her it's a great refresher. Thanks!
+billyoerg Good for her! She's learned a skill that most adults don't know anymore. Also it's great to hear that you're passing your knowledge along to her. We need to older generation to teach us things.
That’s wild! Love that you’re teaching her so early! I’d love to teach my niece and nephew
finally, someone who uses a fire steel properly. I can't tell you how many of my prepper/outdoorsman,who are very capable, just don't use a ferro rod correctly and won't listen when I try to tell them there is a better way. now I am going to show them your vid and maybe feel a little 'I told you so' lol. thanks again. you have a new subscriber.
Great advice. When you mentioned the use of Petroleum Jelly for use on cuts, but sometimes are too sweaty, allow me to make a suggestion. I used to work as a miner, underground at 3000 feet. We were always sweaty and yes we got some pretty good cuts. We used to keep a bottle of Elmer's glue, or Titebond 2 Glue (great for wet conditions) and after cleaning out a cut with water, we would slap some glue on the cut. This keeps your cut very, very clean and you can get lots of work done and not worry about infections. The Titebond 2 Glue works the best.
Yea, there are even medical grade cyanoacrylate, but in emergency situation, you can just use regular super glue.
yep
Nash Frogman
Yes.!!
In a completely different industry, the beauty industry to be precise, "crazy" glue became my best friend. Particularly in the area of artificial nail application, washing my hands at least three dozen times during my working day, bandaids were not an option. Using an electric nail file with various attachments and boasting 30,000 rpm, I had cut myself numerous times prior to becoming proficient with such. After a thorough cleaning, crazy glue not only stopped the bleeding and made sure that no blood transferred to my client, it also prevented bacterial infections, greatly speeding up the healing process. Clean, protected and dry, not to mention a very cheap fix at $0.99 for a package of 6 tubes, as opposed to the "liquid bandaid" now sold, that does the exact same thing for $14.99....for one tube.lol.
Great tip, thanks for sharing this. If it works for miners, it should denifinitely work for the occasional hiker like me.
To Nash frogman, thanks for the info
Thank you. None of this was common sense or natural to me. As a true beginner, this video was really helpful.
Same for me. He adressed ALL the things that might become a problem. Very useful. It seems he cut the video a lot to make it informative and consistent, but that's fine. As for the rest, we just use our brain. He did not waste our time (differently fom those numberless bushcraft idiots who need minutes to explain that water is wet).
By the way, I tried out that cottonpad-vaseline combination (with a lighter, though). Two pads with vaseline in between. It worked well catching fire rapidly and burning for 3 or 4 min although vaseline was more than ten years old and despite some cold winter night wind on my fourth floor balcony.
Thanx for sharing that.
Terrific explanation! It's rare that I come across a video that has this high a ratio useful content to exposition and filler. The tip about pulling the steel back to keep the flint hand steady and the duh advice about stripping off the coating were clutch. Thanks!
+Eric Jorgenson Thanks for commenting Eric! I'm glad you found this video helpful.
Watch Dave Canterbury video on ferro rods
*Dryer Lint works REALLY Well as well as used dryer sheets!* I also like wool steel.
No it doesn't - actually try it!
Charles Windham are you serious I was told to use dryer lint to
@@HCW2855HCW you have to use dryer lint from cotton clothes not synthetics
@@HCW2855HCW Cotton dryer lint is extremely flammable. If you can't light a ball of lint with one or two strikes of a fire steel, you're doing something severely wrong. It's foolproof. Also, I like to keep a small prescription bottle full of a 3-4 Vaseline soaked cotton balls. If you coat them really well it takes a bit more effort to start them (I like to use a little wad of dryer lint at this phase) but once they get going I've clocked their burn time at upwards of 10 min.
Cotton dryer lint takes sparks beautifully. I routinely collect some after doing a load of towels. Highly flammable. That’s why dryer hose fires are dangerous, Charles.
I really enjoyed this video, enough to share it with my husband.
I appreciate how you had specific points, and covered each one thoroughly, but not to death.
It was good, solid instruction, and we both got something from it.
Thank you.
Thank you! I'm a 68 yo woman that wanted to learn this skill. I had already bought the tools but no success until I learned from u. Thanks again!
All the best, Diane. Enjoy!
Diane Murphy no matter what the "trade" there's always some dirty little "secret" that's overlooked, or not even known
Thinking that using a ferro rod is a "skill" is hilarious .
Damn you go girl
OMG just got one for a kids sleeper and there was NO instructions! You saved me looking really silly, with the "getting the black coating off first" tip! Thank you for taking the time to make this!!!
Thanks for this very informative video. I received a fire starter with a package of emergency blankets and had no clue how to use it. Now, If I get stuck somewhere, I’ll be able to survive, thanks to you.
Thank you so much. I made fire using all your suggestions. I did not know about the coating on the fire steel and the cotton balls with Vaseline were all so helpful!
Great idea on the cotton balls. Instead of spending money on those things though, I like to save the lint from my clothes dryer and it works just as good! Just thought I'd share that for those who are penny pinching frugal 😄
5 years on and still brilliant advice ! Thank you.
"It's amazing what we can forget or miss when we are first learning something."
Beautiful!
It's not easy to train someone a new skill if they already "know" how to do it. Skills build on skills but you need to practice not think you "know". It is through the practice of the task that you gain true understanding and the ability to train others. Plus that new skill may match with another learned skill.
The simple statement can remove the ego so one might learn.
Love it
Thanks
I have never used this method. I have watched many videos on RUclips and yours was the best. Good stuff! Thanks!
I have a needle file I modified specifically as a striker. One edge is 90 degrees and sharp (had file type edges that didnt throw much, but worked. The other edge is sharpened to a knife with a small rounded groove. Both edges throw great spark. Knife (cutting) edges work fantastic, but you dont want to dull your usual knife.. the file really really holds its edge. It is also an emergency knife sharpener.
I have a fire steel 🔥with black coating on it, and like you said I thought mine didn’t work. So thank you, great tips I learnt so much 👍
My wife watches survivor religiously and it drives me nuts to see them chopping away at the flint to get spark ( not the magnesium) and seeing them go through the flint until there is nothing left in very short order. I used to be a certified survival instructor and I’ve always taught to hold the stricker still and firm close to the tinder and pull the flint back with force. You get a strong spark right on target every time and the flint will last a really long time ( I never have worn one out). The tip for Vaseline one the cotton ball is a good one but you must make sure the top of the ball is dry and spread out a little wispy to light from the spark easily. The more you spread it out the easier it lights from a single spark but the faster it burns. If you pre dunk the balls Vaseline and store them in a little container you have to have a container of dry ones as well to take the spark- using one dry and one Vaselined ball underneath for fuel. For all te people saying dryer lint works good - it must be all Cotten lint no synthetics or it won’t work as well. For the price of a bag of cotton balls - like 2 or 3 bucks.......
I figured almost all of this out, except i learned one good thing... the concept of pulling the steel away instead of pushing the striker on the steel all the time. Great tips!
Bought a small survival kit about a year ago. It came with one of these in it. I had no idea what it was let alone how to use it. So, I ended up here! Great vid, great info. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. Older video but still very helpful! Thanks lad.
Just lit my first starter after following the advice here. You were right. The protective coating on the steel makes it crazy hard to get the first few sparks, but after you get it off it sparks like crazy. Thanks!
The instruction was phenomenal and the vaseline + cotton combo is great. Let alone you mention vaseline is great for cuts (I am a sweaty person myself). The reason I started binge-watching on fire starting and survival is that I had a terrible solo overnight, I did not expect the rain to pour by surprise, let alone I forgot to bring rain cover on my bag, all my gear are wet at that point. My match was wet and lucky enough the other side is dry to light my stove for coffee that night but in the morning it was heavily fogged and my match was terribly wet.
Thanks Dear, you covered up the details in a very organised manner, mentioning all the points from buying till lighting up the fir, thanks
I recently quit smoking so I'm going to put a fire kit along with my knife .
When I smoked I darn sure had lighters to help fulfill my nicotine lust . Now I don't want to be outdoors lacking fire .
I knew absolute zero about this , but your instructions we're A+ .
I love the cottonballs and Vaseline trick , big time . Cheap easy way to keep a flame going , especially in wetter conditions .
I was about to compliment you and thank you profusely .
Then I saw as I subscribed to your channel , that you have a quarter of a million subs . Wow !!!
So you already know you rock !!!
Fondest regards , J . U .
I just got my striker and I was so mad it wasn't working. I've never had one before so this was great. Thank you so much.
Awesome advice. I was guilty of about 75% of what you mentioned. These are thing that are hard to learn without someone mentoring you because even in instructional videos people assume you know .
Good job on the video. the protective coating prevents corrosion from saline/saltwater/sweat, that dissolves the fire steel. Also over time, the fire steel gets soft without the coating, after I'm done using my fire steel, I will recoat with clear nail polish.
We also call it Vaseline in the UK, mate. Great vid, by the way..
+GamersAddict No shit, Sherlock ;-)
Yep, in fact Vaseline is now owned by a British company... Anyway, the one country in which you shouldn't ever use the word 'vaseline' is France (look it up ;) )
in Russian we call Vaseline as well ! We have allot of derty jock about Vaseline !
ha
@@jesus3373 🤣🤣
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my fire steel and the first time I tried your advice it worked the first time!
I seldom comment on videos and I mean almost never, but on this video I stopped at about the 4:12 mark just to say how excellent your presentation is and so full of useful content right from the beginning, exceptional. I would be happily satisfied right here but I know the rest will be just as good. Thank You!!!
ruclips.net/video/hlrW4pvashs/видео.html
Thank you very much for an excellent, clear lesson on how to use a stone with a black bar and striker. I bought one, and didn't have a clue how to work it. Certainly, it was not like striking a match! But, your tutorial shows exactly how to make one huge spark in hardly any passes with the proper angle,, speed and pressure. I did it! I very much like the vaseline and cotton ball tip. You gave me survival confidence, like opening a tin can by rubbing the top on concrete!
Great share, and very helpful for the community, I always say, “not all ferro rods and strikers are created equal”, always enjoy your videos✌🏻✌🏻
I would have been one of those who thought the rod was a dud when there were no sparks from the black covering. Great tip about the petroleum jelly, too. Thank you for this video!
I learned 7 things I was doing wrong. Well done sir! Thank you.
Another thank you. Been trying these stupid things for over a year and had moderate luck with super flammable tender but even that was difficult. I have literally worn away half my striker starting to fires with dryer lint. The simple tips seem like no-brainers but I was making most of those mistakes. Thank you.
Quick tip for women (and men as well): Always carry tampons and nail polish remover (best if contains acetone) with you.
My fire starter kit consists of a magnesium flint and tampons slightly soaked in nail polish remover. If you soak a tampon in acetone (or other flammable liquid) and use thin plastic wrap to prevent it from evaporate, you will have a super reliable fire starting method. I had one for at least 2 years in a backpack, and it ignited on the very first strike.
(For the ladies, for obvious reasons, such items can serve multiple purposes so its not, at all, a bad idea to carry them daily.)
Most knives have a rounded spine (back part of the blade). Take a small file and file the back of your knife to a sharp 90 degrees- this will throw good sparks and is a great back up should you lose your striker.
Thanks for suggesting vaseline .... thts one thing im never short of whenever i go up the mountains ... it makes carrying rolls of newspaper redundant to make a flame ... made my job a lot easier .... cheers !
I bet you have seen the film Brokeback mountain and how the usage of it might come in handy.
Here's one idea I found and use every time ... I'm surprised it's not popular ... before striking the fire starter with force and making sparks, it's important to slowly shave off, a tiny pile of shavings off the fire starter, then push them together on the best area of your tinder ... THEN strike with force. The tiny pile of shavings will create VASTLY more heat and spark with this method ... try it! :)
Thanks a million for this immensely helpful vid. There are indeed all the important facts "for dummies" given in a clear, educative and polite way. And yes, I was a dummy big time, as I didn´t know whether I shall take the striker off the string or not and had no bloody idea that the firesteel has some protective coat on, that I shall first scrape. Thanks to you and only you the thing works perfectly for me now. Sending some sparks your way! :)
Thank you so much. I recently moved from NYC to NJ and I have been thinking of going camping but I had no idea how to start a fire with the fire starters. Until i viewed your video. You explained it in detail the do’s and dont’s I tried it and it worked. Also the Vaseline trick is excellent. Thanks again and I did subscribed.
Light my fire is the best you can get.
I´ve used a lot of firesteels but nothing were better than light my fire.
Greetings from Bushcraft colleague Andi from Germany/Bavaria/Munich :)
Thank you for all the tips. We didn’t know how to use our fire starter; couldn’t figure out from the manual. We finally got it until watching your video. Many thanks!
Thanks for the excellent tutorial! I was having issues and after fixing my striking speed as per #6 I got a good fire going on the 3rd strike. 👍 Thank you for making no assumptions about prior knowledge and helping us to learn what we don’t even know to ask.
Thanks I am an old newby. Cotton wool with vaseline on is great tinder, burns quickly but great for a beginner. starter. You would obviously need a pile at the ready. Pressure is definitely the key as you just taught us👍
very good video, I took all the black stuff off my ferro rods, been practicing for 2 days, thank you what a difference without the paint on.
After the tip with the soft material, i thought “hey, my flint and steel has around 7000 strikes” and then, i tried using the side, and it works like 90% of the time now, thanks!
Excellent video I enjoy watching you build a log cabin it's very informative and you think on your feet to solve the problems have a great day
+jeremiah french Thanks Jeremiah! Glad you're enjoying the series. I can't wait to start filming again in the spring.
Best tutorial I've seen on fire steels. I'm just learning to use one and this helped tremendously. Thank you. Now I'm trying to figure out the best for the buck. Suggestions are welcome.
Yes I used dryer lint when we did fire starter competition in Boy Scouts , great fire starter gives you a lot of confidence
ruclips.net/video/hlrW4pvashs/видео.html
You can also rub a bit of lip balm into the cotton ball OR even on some pocket lint.
I've even tore a strip of cloth from my flannel shirt, rubbed it with lip balm and started a fire that way too.
Some will use a few drops of hand sanitizer. Most are about 70% alcohol. And it lights pretty easy.
Really good video. You covered perfectly all the things a beginner may not know as well as some great tips. Well done
Dude, best explanation ever seen on a fire start tutorial video. And i seen quite a few. Kudos for you!!
One of the best, informative survival videos I've seen in a long time. No ego, no long dissertation and no fluff. This young man is a heck of an instructor. I hit the sub and notifications in hopes the rest of your vids are as awesome as this one. Greetings from down on the bayous of the MS gulf coast.
Thank you for your presentation, it was very clear, and informative.
I just tried it, and I was amazed in how easy I did it off exactly how he instructed.
I just ordered this off amazon. I’ve been getting comfortable with natural firestarters, (old men’s beard, scrapings from dead wood, etc)- excites to spend some time in the trees learning how to do this. It’s much more sustainable then a lighter which I enjoy a lot. Thank you for the great tips!
Great teaching sir! You get straight to it with the useful info and demonstrate with empathy-- you think of what OTHERS will have trouble with, not just what you want to say.
I found one of the many things that lead us beginners astray is simply poor word choice used for a hundred years or so, and another is just not enough detail included for instructions, etc... which you balanced out in many ways here (thank you).
Here's an example; "Striker". I mean, the best way to use the so-called "striker" is not to strike it at all!!! Yet they keep on using the term. I suppose it's left over from the necessary way to use the original technique, with a stone. Still, watching your style, I can see I've been using mine wrong. I get sparks, but some good, then not at all, ten a great spark, then none, (sigh). Can be tough when it's below freezing and you need that fire.
Very helpful, thanks! My firesteel is a bit crappy, but I manage to make fire with cottonballs. Now I know how to upgrade my technique and equipment!
Well done.... I learned a lot that would have taken a lot of trial-n-error.... great time saver vid bro. I was a total noob... I now feel I can successfully start a fire.
hi , i just want to thank you , i've learned how to start a fire with a fire steel i think i haven't tried it yet but your explanation for those of us new to survival gear, this is a priceless and informative video,
Tethered to my Swedish Fire Steel is a large yellow plastic Hanson Pencil Sharpener from Home Depot to make tinder from a twig or Fatwood. Also great on a sunny day is a Fresnel Lens to start a fire or read the info sheet from the Fire Kit. And the Doan Magnesium Bar is also great to make a fire. Though a great first choice is the BIC lighter... tjl
There are an amazing amount of videos about firesteel. This one TRULY hits home as a "First time user" Must watch info.
Bro..... You are awesome!! You are very well versed and brought up points in such a good way! I am going to go out and try to start some fires with flint and steel and get good at it.... Ya never know when your gonna need it :)
I've been camping and using firesteel for years and I've never known about the Vaseline / cotton trick. Thanks for the great video!
Great practical video. Presented very well. Good information. Thank you!
Thanks so much. I have the same fire steel and had not idea how to use it. I just tried it after watching your video. And it fires great. Thanks!!!!
Tough to beat Coghlans for the price. I don't find the LMF ones to be superior enough to justify the price. The smallest LMF around here is 50% higher cost than the larger Coghlans. I'll stick to the Coghlans. Inexpensive and works very well. Good video by the way.
Lorne Smith i totally agree but my striker was quite poor so i replaced it with a dull box cutter blade
When talking about hard/soft one needs to know the history. Before there was LMF there was Primus steels, in fact when LMF came out they still used the Primus handles until they switched to the current handle. I find both Primus and LMF to be harder rods compared to a Gobspark from another company. The idea of soft rods are actually a new-ish (vid from 2016) thing.. # of strikes is kind of pointless as the LMF Scout has less strikes than the Army model because it is smaller. I never needed to undo the string, the key is to have a long enough string.
Great vid! It worked perfectly, first time I used it! Instead of the Jelly/Vaseline I've used Babybel cheese wrapping, which is nice wax!
+Fabio Semino I'm glad to hear it! Great idea by the way.
Fabio Semino mmmmm cheese !
To your last point, the string is meant to keep them together. I recommend ditching the short cord it comes with and just replace it with a longer string. Great video and tips!
I just tried to strike from a survival watch I got for my 13th birthday last month. It didn’t work as well as I planned 😂
Thank you, I got my first ferro rod and couldn't figure out what i was doing incorrectly. You've set me on a path to proper survival
Ha! I remember trying my first striker with the string still on!! What a GOOF!
Just bought a fire steel and was trying to use this weekend. Thank you for this video, it has answered some questions I had.
Great video! Some really useful tips for what at first glance would seem to be a simple tool to use.
Guess who also just got a fire steel and then had to look it up, Great video and well explained with advice, thanks from the UK
Excellent presentation, excellent content, thank you very very much for this video. It was useful? 10 out of 10.
My brother really surprised me today with a bunch of gear, gave me my first rod, cant wait to get out now and test everything over the weekend!
So flint and steel in Minecraft was based on this
This may be the first time I have seen anyone use the fire steel properly.... pulling the steel away from the tender pile is the proper way to spray the tender with sparks. Watch how many destroy their tender pile trying to light their fire.... Plus a match or a lighter also work great.
Good this was very useful I just started the boyscouts and I have practicing a lot this will help
My dad keeps sending me survival stuff and I kept getting those little ones ( fire rods) and he's finally sent a " Holtzmans" hand length. You are a good person. To hold striker and pull back is genius 🙃 sew many times with the little ones made me knck out setting. Numb Hans and forgetting about birch bark. Come over here to the Oregon coast and show me on the beach 😊we can trade skills for the future.😉
good tutorial on a useful tool for the outdoors, great job.
+Bruce B Thanks Bruce!
×1
+OutsideFun1 er yea sorry to say but ur using the wrong end of the striker
Thanks for the great tips! I think I'll pack some cotton balls and my small vaseline jar in my camping gear. I was amazed at the burn time!
Pretty solid advice! Thank you! I was trying to figure out how to use my fire steel and it was driving me nuts.
Thank you so much brother! I am slowly learning outdoor survival. I want to be able to camp in the woods and this is a start.
Clear, insightful, congenial. I’m subscribing! Thanks SO much! 💐
This young man is good! I thought I knew enough and i did not. I learned a lot! Thank you.
use super glue to seal minor cuts thats what it was designed to do.
SINESTERSERPENTSIXXX correct, I am a bowler and that how I treat my fingers if I have cuts. Which youll be getting while playing bowling for more than 10 games hahaha
@@lancelottheknight7126 bowling never sounded so bad ass! You must be The Dude
Was looking for something for our Christmas gift game this year and found a site with fire steel. I figured it would be perfect as a fun gift but hesitated since I knew so little about them. As always there's so much more to something than one might think at first. Thanks for stopping me from buying inferior stuff. 🥳
spot on assessment of the fire steel quality. 30000 strikes are all useless if none of them can light a fire! Most people vastly overestimate the number of strikes they really need. Would anyone really use up even 1000?
brother love one a day to cook you do the maths 1000 is just under three years I would hope to live a bit longer
hammersix by more than one, they're only a couple dollars I assume
Hammersix, if you are anticipating living in the bush for more than one year without resupply, then you have bigger problems than the number of strikes on a single ferro rod. Get real!
If you practice or train family or friends yes you can
I've been watching a few videos and felt they told me nothing you. Not only did you explain why i could not get it to work but the extra tips helped greatly.
Thanks