Broken Firesteel

[beenn]

Hi, My friend has told me he has a light my fire - fire steel but is has broken? Has anyone every had problems with a firesteel cracking/snapping or has it been man handled?
Thanks

 

[John Fenna]

I have never known a sparkstick to break until it was more than 2/3 worn through...how used was this one?

 

[beenn]

Im not too sure, I think he has had it a while but it was a scout model and they look thinner than other sparksticks.. He has thrown away the fire steel but i offered to email the company to see if they can do anything, but do not want to do it if its of no fault than his own

 

[ex member coconino]

My son broke his Light My Fire Scout and at the point where it snapped, the stump measures 5 mm x 2 mm thick. I think unused sticks are 6 mm thick, and the shape of the handle encourages wear on two sides rather than all round. The break is about 10 mm from the handle. So, in other words, he wore it right down to the thickness of a matchstick before it snapped.

 

[ged]

The material that these things are made from is a kind of metal, but it's more or less a compressed powder. It isn't engineered for strength like many metal materials and it isn't strong. I've recently bought some thicker rods because they do wear quite fast. When they've worn thin it's no surprise if they break because you have to use a fair bit of force on them to get the best shower of sparks. Even one which has seen relatively little use could break unexpectedly if it had an invisible defect which is common enough in such materials. Being a tight git I probably wouldn't throw away a firesteel just because it broke, I'd probably make a grooved holder and stick the steel in it with Araldite or something, like some of the magnesium block ones that you see around (and that I don't like so much). Come to think of it, I'll try that with one of my new ones -- thanks!

 

[rancid badger]

I'm not at all surprised at the scout version snapping.

Frankly; they are a waste of time and money,they work okay but I dont consider them as a "serious" piece of kit.

If you want a firesteel to rely on, either buy the Army version or better still, buy the "Fireflash" from Ray Mears ( EASILY the best firesteels I've had in 20 + years)

R.B.

 

[ged]

... If you want a firesteel to rely on ... buy the "Fireflash" from Ray Mears ...

There doesn't seem to be such a product listed on the Woodlore site. Has it been replaced by a different model?

 

[beenn]

Thanks everyone, i use a lighter and cotton balls/birch bark when i camp but i may buy a fire steel, a strong one! Thanks again

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

was it a mini flint? coz i heard of the mini one snapin but the bigger one never heard of them snaping


----
SKipp

 

[John Fenna]

The material that these things are made from is a kind of metal, but it's more or less a compressed powder. It isn't engineered for strength like many metal materials and it isn't strong. I've recently bought some thicker rods because they do wear quite fast. When they've worn thin it's no surprise if they break because you have to use a fair bit of force on them to get the best shower of sparks. Even one which has seen relatively little use could break unexpectedly if it had an invisible defect which is common enough in such materials. Being a tight git I probably wouldn't throw away a firesteel just because it broke, I'd probably make a grooved holder and stick the steel in it with Araldite or something, like some of the magnesium block ones that you see around (and that I don't like so much). Come to think of it, I'll try that with one of my new ones -- thanks!

They lok nicer than the shop style if you do that

 

[sxmolloy]

There doesn't seem to be such a product listed on the Woodlore site. Has it been replaced by a different model?

Here you go: http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/76-Fire-Stick/ Its the same as the one in the presentation box (which is called a Fire Flash) only it's cheaper and theres no P&P to pay.

I bought one a week or so ago and have to agree with RB these are much better (and cheaper) than the same size rods produced by Light My Fire.

 

[rancid badger]

There doesn't seem to be such a product listed on the Woodlore site. Has it been replaced by a different model?

No idea but the last ones I got from them were fireflashes, it was a while back mind you, must be 3 years I suppose.

I got a couple of blanks from Woodlore last month, which perform exactly the same as the original Fireflash model, no idea whether these are actually the same or not though:bluThinki

R.B.

 

[Justin Time]

I've had one break, just by dropping on the kitchen floor, can't remember what model it was or how used it was.