The Friendly Swede Magnesium Fire Starter Kit 3-Pack — Flint and Steel Fire Starter Survival Tool - Weatherproof Firestarter for Camping, Hiking & BBQs - Flint and Steel Bar - 6-in-1 Striker

As ever with magnesium block fire starters, these aren't really meant to replace lighters or matches, but to serve as a safe and always-there camping or survival pack item. For example, it really isn't safe to leave a butane lighter in a pack (because they can leak) or vehicle (because they can leak or overheat). It also takes time and practice to get magnesium fire starters to work properly. First of all, for those who think these fire starters from the Friendly Swede don't work, note that you DO need to scrape off the protective coating from both the flint (before it'll spark at all) and the magnesium block (before you'll be able to get a decent amount of shavings off it). Striking a spark also takes a little practice to get the right angle and pressure. Second, do have all your fire-making materials on hand before you attempt to spark a fire. You might be able to light small twigs with a good 25-cent coin sized pile of shavings, but anything bigger and you really need to build up to it. Pine duff, bark shavings, wood shavings, dried moss, crumbly rotten (but dry) wood -- all of these make for good kindling, as does paper. Secondly, you don't HAVE to use the little included tool if you happen to have something better or easier to use. A good sharp knife can be used to get shavings and to strike a spark (but do be careful not to cut yourself). But the handy thing about having the tool is it's there in case you don't have a knife or other larger implement handy. Finally, while a lighter or matches might be more convenient, sometimes they just don't work or the flame doesn't last long enough or burn hot enough, and it's often hard to get marginal burning materials going. A double-sized pile of magnesium shavings will not only burn for a while, it burns very, very hot, which can overcome damp kindling or inclement conditions. My recommendation is to go outside somewhere on a non-windy day, gather some kindling and small pieces of wood, and take a practice run at starting a fire using the fire starter. Yes, the block won't be pristine anymore, but you'll have a better sense of what to expect and how to do it, which is generally a better way to go than to wait until you're stuck in a snowstorm with numb fingers and try to figure it out then from memory. The fire starter will be just fine and won't go bad or anything just because the flint and magnesium are exposed. This particular product, the Friendly Swede's emergency fire starter, is inexpensive plus it comes with three complete blocks, tools, and chains. I took one for myself, gave one to my spouse, and the third one is going into our truck's little first aid / survival kit. I am not in any way affiliated with The Friendly Swede, but I love their products and always keep an eye out for them, especially when they come out with something new. The last thing I bought from them was one of their carabiner grenade survival mini-kits, which is also in our truck now.

I wasn't sure if this should get a 4 or 5 star review. In all honesty, I would give it a 4.5 if I could. THE GOOD: -The quality of the magnesium is great. Even a light little spark on it gets it to ignite. I am beyond impressed by this. -There is A LOT of magnesium on there to be scraped off. I have used one of mine to the point of the ferro rod getting close to being flush with the magnesium block, and I still have probably 75% of the magnesium block left. You can go ahead and shave off way more magnesium than you need for each fire and still not be concerned about running out. -The scraper is actually quite useful, assuming you use the correct side. Since it is stamped, one side has more of a rounded edge and the edge on the opposite side is much more sharp. It isn't sharp enough to cut yourself with while handling it. If you use the sharp edge side of either the flat side or the "saw-tooth" side, you can shave off a decent amount of magnesium in a short time. -The chain is made up of 3 small chains. In the pack of 3 firestarters, you get 9 chains. You use 3 of these to make one long chain for each firestarter. It gives you plenty of room to be able to use the striker without needing to undo the chain. -The ferro rod throws a decent amount of sparks. Don't expect it to give you a monstrous shower of sparks, but it gives you plenty to get a pile of magnesium burning with. It does its job well. -The price is a bargain for 3 of these starters. THE BAD: -The ferro rod wears out pretty quickly. I admit, mine probably sees more use than most people, but I have almost worn the ferro rod flush to the magnesium on one of the firestarters in a month. There is probably about 50% of it left, but about 30% of it is sitting lower than the magnesium channel it sits in. On a good note, you are getting 3 of these firestarters, so you don't need to worry as much about it. If it happens, you can just use the "worn out" one as a magnesium source and start scraping magnesium off of there to turn into a small firestarting kit. Since I planned on putting one of these in each vehicle my family owns, I have since ordered a much larger ferro rod to take care of the spark duty. All in all, I think this is a great product, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a compact firestarter.

These really are better than the other brands for this type. Only bought these to have extras in bags and boxes if I find myself without the expensive ones. Tried one just to see if they were better, and they are by far. The magnesium is softer and puts off shavings much more easily. The ferro rod part throws more sparks. The striker is more sturdy and useful than the common ones made out of cheap hacksaw blades. Really top notch strikers despite appearances. It took me less than 5 minutes to light a small fire. They are not equal to my Exotac or FireSteel rods, but they are a big improvement over the ones you get at Walmart and Harbor Freight. I would have no hesitation relying on these for lifesaving emergencies, and they are good enough for EDC. Buy these to learn how to use ferro rods. Great tool to practice on. Great for reliable extras.

Awesome product! Especially after the experience I just had while visiting family over thanksgiving. One of the nephews is a budding survivalist and just got his first magnesium fire starter. He was quite eager to show it to me and guide him in the proper usage. "Piece of cake", I thought to myself since I had recently introduced my girlfriend to the wonders of magnesium. She shaved of a little pile, and got it going with the first shower of sparks, just as it should be and always has been for me. So, back to the nephew. He hands me his new most coveted knife, sits back, and waits for the fireworks. I start scraping the block and think to myself, "this seems to be a bit harder than I remember", but I just chalked it up to my arthritis flaring up on me. A little while later, my mound is ready. I launch a shower of sparks expecting a conflagration, and, nothing. Ok, try again, and again, and again. Nothing. I hand over the knife to see if younger hands can prevail. Not so much. We write it off for the moment, and decide to try again later. Back at the house later that day, we set out again. This time we have a great pile of tinder and dryer lint under the magnesium mound. A tremendous amount of striking and sparking later, we finally have a fire. I notice, though, that it was the tinder that caught, not the magnesium. "Oh well," I thought, "at least the nephew got his fire." I was a bit personally discouraged thinking that next time I'm in the backwoods, I will likely freeze to death. To the interwebs I go! As it turns out, there are knockoff magnesium fire starters out there that are about as effective as rubbing two wet rolls of toilet paper together. Apparently, that's what we had. After looking around, I came across The Friendly Swede and thought that this looks like a quality product at a reasonable price. The fire starters showed up quickly and I set out to redeem my manliness. First, I used the included scraper to open a frosty beverage (always a good thing to mix with fire), then set about building a monument of magnesium. The curved, toothed part of the scraper made quick work of it. "Softer metal," I thought. This could be a good sign. One scrape, two scrapes, whoosh! My faith had been restored. Thoughts of camping by a roaring fire danced in my head. I thought about ordering a set of these fabulous fire starters to the nephew, but my girlfriend said that maybe letting him struggle to be the bane of Smokey The Bear might not be such a bad thing.

Legit fire maker.

The striker is set up wrong but that is okay. The sharp side is on the bottle opener side. Intense sparks from this though.

I was a little disappointed with the product at first. The initial scrapings of magnesium with the black coating would not light. So, I scraped all the coating off of one end of the magnesium bar and started over. The second pile of shavings lit immediately. Of course, afterward I read the instructions and that's the first thing it tells you to do. The steel striker can shave a pile of fine shavings very quickly. The ferro insert works like a champ and throws a good shower of sparks. As with any magnesium starter, you need to be out of the wind as much as possible so the shavings don't blow everywhere. It's also best to take the time to get a good pile of shavings about the size of a quarter. I've used starters like this before and always used a quarter-size pile, which is plenty to start a fire. To test this product, I only used a pile about the size of a dime and was surprised that it burned out in a split second. (I guess I should have known that would happen.) This method is very reliable, but like anything else, you need to practice with it some before you're in a situation where you actually need it. Good product. Good price.

These are sturdy and comfy and I -- despite never having used any fire starter before -- was able to get a lot of sparks instantly! Didn't even have to scrape the black stuff off first. The only way I could see that a person would have trouble getting sparks is if he/she were holding the striker so that it's perpendicular to the rod, rather than being nearly parallel to it. (Like my BF was doing... But even he managed to get sparks nearly-instantly once I corrected him.) With the way the grip is shaped on the striker, hopefully people are guided, naturally, toward doing it the right way. The chains are long enough that, with them attached, you can still use the device, and what's cool is that each chain is actually three little chains (six total), so you can just take them and use them for other things, combine them for one super-long one, etc. Whatever you want! The only downside to these, I guess, is that they are bigger and heavier than other magnesium fire starters that I see. However, MY thinking was that those teensy tiny ones looked like they'd be harder to use, and a product would be of no use to me if, in a true emergency, I couldn't actually get it to work! I bet starting a fire using this sort of tool is difficult for a person not experienced in doing so, but at least The Friendly Swede fire starter ups my chances by throwing so many sparks off!

Im Vergleich zu manch anderem Feuerstahl funktionieren die Schaber sehr gut. Man kann damit wirklich schön viele Funken werfen. Der Preis ist sehr fair.

Cumple perfectamente con su función. 2 buenos pedernales que encienden un fuego en casi cualquier situación adversa que los enfrentes. Con un buen agarre para evitar deslizamientos indeseados en su utilización. Una buena presentación en caja, incluyendo las limas de los raspadores, un embalaje muy bien y correcto para evitar incidentes por posible fricción, una herramienta para múltiples usos distintos de encendido. Todos sus detalles cuidadosamente presentados y protegidos, con una anilla en cadena, para poder llevarlo colgando del cuello ¡Una maravilla de producto! Aunque los precios otra vez ¡Amazon se está pasando con los precios de sus productos! ¡Están normalmente más baratos en cualquier tienda!

見た目で買いました。 所有欲は満たされます。かっこいいです。 使いやすいかと言われれば、微妙です。圧倒的にスティックタイプのやつが使いやすいです。

I purchased The Friendly Swede Ferro Rod Fire Starter, and I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with its quality and performance. As an avid outdoors enthusiast, having a reliable fire starter is essential for my camping and hiking trips, and The Friendly Swede Ferro Rod Fire Starter has quickly become my go-to choice. The first thing I noticed about this fire starter is its compact and lightweight design. It easily fits in my backpack or pocket without taking up much space or adding extra weight. Despite its small size, it is sturdy and feels durable in my hand, thanks to its high-quality construction. But the real beauty of The Friendly Swede Ferro Rod Fire Starter is in its functionality. The rod produces a hot and bright spark that easily ignites my tinder and kindling, even in damp or windy conditions. I've used it to start fires with ease, whether it's for cooking or warmth. What I appreciate most about this fire starter is its versatility. It comes with a striker and a lanyard, which makes it easy to use even with gloves on. Additionally, it works well with different types of tinder, including cotton balls, dryer lint, and birch bark. I've even used it to light a gas stove when my lighter ran out of fuel. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of The Friendly Swede Ferro Rod Fire Starter. It is a reliable and efficient tool that has exceeded my expectations in terms of both quality and performance. I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a compact and versatile fire starter for their outdoor adventures.

Funkar bra