Thread: Fire Starter, (Magnesium rods )

Originally Posted by Rushy

First up you are going to need some tinder. If you are practicing at home then it is most easy to either use some lint from out of a clothes dryer or some cotton wool smeared with Vaseline (both of which will catch a spark very quickly). To start a fire, place the fire stick in close proximity to the tinder and using the striker (which are included with many fire sticks) or a knife, solidly stroke the fire stick in a downward (away from you) direction such that a shower of sparks lands in and on the tinder. With a really easy catching tinder like the two above you will likely get it to catch straight away but the thing is that if it doesn't you simply keep repeating the action.

Correct me if I am wrong.....which is a lot by the way........Do you not scrape some of the magnesium with a knife off into your tinder? It lights immediately from memory. I thought that was the point of the thing.