I bought my first ferro rod, and I had to find a nice striker for it. I tried the edge of a metal file and it worked great. I then tested it on some dryer lint, and it immediately caught fire. I'm magical, now.
Best fire starter? Cotton balls soaked in vaseline. Twist out a little wick and the whole thing will light like a candle and burn for a good long time.
Geez, thanks. I received an UCO ferro rod in a kit I recently purchased and realized I didn't know how to use it. Its one thing to watch someone use one, its something else to watch someone show you how to use it. If someone knows the other uses for the metal striker, I would appreciate that. It looks like it could tighten loose hex nuts, maybe for a whisper type stove? Maybe more useful when you need it, it isn't if I don't.
Thomas, Here's what I found about the striker. I wondered as you did what the tool was used for. It doesn't appear UCO makes their own camp stove but here are the features discovered on Amazon. Multifunctional survival tool with 8 functions. Functions include screwdriver, bottle opener, 4 hex sizes and striker. Apparently the hex (lanyard) hole at the end on some models will hold a 1/4" hex adapter for hundreds of bits typically bought in screw driver sets. I believe you nailed it on the 4 hex holes. They're used for gas camp stoves. Regards, Mark
A comment on fat wood (or Lighter Knot). Having run out I went looking on my back property. I found a very small pine with a large knot at the base. I sawed it off and it was absolutely soaking in juice. Point is, I never expected such a small tree having so much resin in it.
Great video! I'm about to purchase my first ferro rod, and while the concept of using one is pretty basic, it was still good to see a demonstration, and I appreciated the section talking about the different materials one might choose to light with it, in order to start a campfire.
This was an awesome video man, nicely done !!! Great way to lay out the different types of sources you can use to build the fire, and also demonstrating a few tried and tested methods of striking the ferro rod. OH, btw, I took your advice about wrapping the tethered end of the rod with a 1 inch wrapping of gorilla tape. Brilliant how you can use it as a grip, OR use as tinder in a pinch. Already "LIKED' "Subbed" and hit the "NOTIFY" buttons too. Keep up the great videos
I... searched for a video. And, I found a video that claimed to be about what I wanted. And... you... actually talked about what I wanted. I'm kind of weirded out now. This doesn't feel very modern honestly.
I often stick the odd match or two into a tiny Ziploc bag (Like the dealer bags 😂) with any other bits of waste, e.g. tiny bits of birch bark, fatwood fragments/bits, and just a little cotton wool.. This then becomes an item for when everything is damp.. Always use the waste! This is one way of doing that. Love the videos Dan, Mally
Would u believe an esse owner ?? Told.me on the phone that i need to use the edge of their knife, as I was complaining why they have no 90° spine , cant belive most company's don't do this , gonna keep riding them
Hey I’m a newbie. I’ve been practicing and this video did the trick. So easy now. I also tried several different types of knives too. Some better than others.
I’ve done multiple things with jute rope as a fire starter. If you cut a 2 or 3” piece, fray it to expose a bunch of the individual fibers, then sorta scrape your blade on the exposed fibers, it fluffs em up even more and will easily take a spark from a ferro rod. I really think though that, the best experiment I’ve done is to cut 1/2” jute, hemp or cotton rope (clothesline) into 3 to 4”, lengths and soak a bunch of em at a time in melted wax for around 15 minutes. Pull em out and put em on either waxed paper or preferably cardboard to cool. The cardboard soaks up the wax runoff and is an additionally effective fire starter. When you’re ready to start a fire with the wax soaked rope, fray it a bunch, expose plenty of individual fibers and a ferro rod easily ignites it. Cut your wax soaked cardboard (I’ve soaked 2”” squares in melted wax too after seeing how well it works) into pieces and keep em in a baggie of some kind. To use em with a ferro, make multiple small slices about 3/4” on a side, scrape those paper match sized slivers with your blade to fluff em up and expose more surface area. A ferro works with just a few, or even one stroke to get ignition. The waxed rope burns a LONG time and is also just as effective if you’ve somehow got em wet. Most modern clothesline has a strand of poly rope in its core and since it’s a plastic, it burns just fine but does put out a slight bit of black smoke. Cotton/Vaseline is hard to beat but it’s also sorta messy too. Keeping your cotton and Vaseline separated till you need em allows you multiple options to utilize them separately, chapped lips, minor wounds, etc.but you’re also screwed if the cotton gets wet. But I really like the wax soaked ropes. You can also use them to rub on leaky tent seams, rain jackets or what ever. I’ve used pieces as small as 1 1/2” and they still burn plenty long enough to get even mildly wet tinder to take to flame. Dollar store pillar candles and a cheap clothesline will produce YEARS of inexpensive fire starters. You can do the same thing with a cheap mop-head replacement that is available at any box store. Works for me. 👍👍
Some people need to remind others that the rods are not a toy some people send out the wrong signal like how far you can throw a spark to start a fire contest kids like watch you guys and they play with their rods to Bern down the woods
To avoid displacing your tinder, do a reverse strike: hold striker in one position and rapidly pull your rod backward. Voila! I've done it myself and can confirm it works great, especially when using the little rod that replaced my toothpick in my Swiss army knife. I saw a video of a guy starting 100 fires with the same tiny rod and I was hooked. So far, I've started about 15 fires, and you can barely tell it's been used.
The key is the tinder. I guarantee a dry cotton ball will catch almost every time, especially if you loosen it up a bit first. Tinder should not be too dense or compact.
@@thesanfranciscoseahorse473 I can confirm this. I just spent 3 hours attempting to light my first fire with a ferro rod. When I finally used some lint from my dryer, had a fire going within a few seconds 😂
I bought my first ferro rod, and I had to find a nice striker for it. I tried the edge of a metal file and it worked great. I then tested it on some dryer lint, and it immediately caught fire. I'm magical, now.
Best fire starter? Cotton balls soaked in vaseline. Twist out a little wick and the whole thing will light like a candle and burn for a good long time.
OK... But how many takes for that opening?
Great video. Excellent pointers. Need more ferro rod tips
I fill the holes of a cardboard egg carton with dryer lint. Then cover with wax. Break one off and it's excellent kindling.
AWESOME!! That is probably one of the best tips I have ever heard!
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:10 Intro animation
0:17 How it works
0:53 Scraping motion
1:06 Good striking surface
1:28 Thinking about the motion
2:25 Pump method
3:00 Push-pull method
3:35 Tinder
3:57 Tinder: Cotton vaseline
4:07 Tinder: Strikable sweetfire
4:19 Tinder: UCO sweetfire or biofuel tabs
4:32 Tinder: Stormproof sweetfire
4:44 Tinder: Match
4:50 Tinder - Why light a match?
5:17 Tinder - Natural materials
5:21 Natural tinder: Dried grass or flower top
5:27 Natural tinder: Birch bark
5:35 Natural tinder: Inner bark
5:47 Natural tinder: Thin shavings
5:54 Natural tinder: Resinous wood
6:04 Final words
6:26 Closer
6:36 End card
Thanks bro
take my like
Nice video very well explained, nice to demo all the natural materials you can use 👍🔥
Geez, thanks. I received an UCO ferro rod in a kit I recently purchased and realized I didn't know how to use it. Its one thing to watch someone use one, its something else to watch someone show you how to use it.
If someone knows the other uses for the metal striker, I would appreciate that. It looks like it could tighten loose hex nuts, maybe for a whisper type stove?
Maybe more useful when you need it, it isn't if I don't.
Thomas,
Here's what I found about the striker. I wondered as you did what the tool was used for. It doesn't appear UCO makes their own camp stove but here are the features discovered on Amazon. Multifunctional survival tool with 8 functions. Functions include screwdriver, bottle opener, 4 hex sizes and striker. Apparently the hex (lanyard) hole at the end on some models will hold a 1/4" hex adapter for hundreds of bits typically bought in screw driver sets. I believe you nailed it on the 4 hex holes. They're used for gas camp stoves.
Regards, Mark
A comment on fat wood (or Lighter Knot). Having run out I went looking on my back property. I found a very small pine with a large knot at the base. I sawed it off and it was absolutely soaking in juice. Point is, I never expected such a small tree having so much resin in it.
Great video! I'm about to purchase my first ferro rod, and while the concept of using one is pretty basic, it was still good to see a demonstration, and I appreciated the section talking about the different materials one might choose to light with it, in order to start a campfire.
This was an awesome video man, nicely done !!! Great way to lay out the different types of sources you can use to build the fire, and also demonstrating a few tried and tested methods of striking the ferro rod.
OH, btw, I took your advice about wrapping the tethered end of the rod with a 1 inch wrapping of gorilla tape. Brilliant how you can use it as a grip, OR use as tinder in a pinch.
Already "LIKED' "Subbed" and hit the "NOTIFY" buttons too. Keep up the great videos
I... searched for a video. And, I found a video that claimed to be about what I wanted. And... you... actually talked about what I wanted. I'm kind of weirded out now. This doesn't feel very modern honestly.
"Striking" is a bad idea and can result in a broken ferro rod. "Scraping" is what you mean. YOU know what you mean. Novices may not.
I often stick the odd match or two into a tiny Ziploc bag (Like the dealer bags 😂) with any other bits of waste, e.g. tiny bits of birch bark, fatwood fragments/bits, and just a little cotton wool.. This then becomes an item for when everything is damp.. Always use the waste! This is one way of doing that.
Love the videos Dan, Mally
0000 steel wool also works great too. You can also use a 9v battery touched to steelwool to start it.
Would u believe an esse owner ?? Told.me on the phone that i need to use the edge of their knife, as I was complaining why they have no 90° spine , cant belive most company's don't do this , gonna keep riding them
Everyone else:
This dude: "Incendio."
Thank you for the info my bearded dress shirt nigga
Hey I’m a newbie. I’ve been practicing and this video did the trick. So easy now. I also tried several different types of knives too. Some better than others.
Great vid! Also, great music toward the end of the vid where you are demonstrating different ignition materials. : )
What's your opinion on jute rope as fire starter?
I’ve done multiple things with jute rope as a fire starter. If you cut a 2 or 3” piece, fray it to expose a bunch of the individual fibers, then sorta scrape your blade on the exposed fibers, it fluffs em up even more and will easily take a spark from a ferro rod. I really think though that, the best experiment I’ve done is to cut 1/2” jute, hemp or cotton rope (clothesline) into 3 to 4”, lengths and soak a bunch of em at a time in melted wax for around 15 minutes. Pull em out and put em on either waxed paper or preferably cardboard to cool. The cardboard soaks up the wax runoff and is an additionally effective fire starter. When you’re ready to start a fire with the wax soaked rope, fray it a bunch, expose plenty of individual fibers and a ferro rod easily ignites it. Cut your wax soaked cardboard (I’ve soaked 2”” squares in melted wax too after seeing how well it works) into pieces and keep em in a baggie of some kind. To use em with a ferro, make multiple small slices about 3/4” on a side, scrape those paper match sized slivers with your blade to fluff em up and expose more surface area. A ferro works with just a few, or even one stroke to get ignition. The waxed rope burns a LONG time and is also just as effective if you’ve somehow got em wet. Most modern clothesline has a strand of poly rope in its core and since it’s a plastic, it burns just fine but does put out a slight bit of black smoke. Cotton/Vaseline is hard to beat but it’s also sorta messy too. Keeping your cotton and Vaseline separated till you need em allows you multiple options to utilize them separately, chapped lips, minor wounds, etc.but you’re also screwed if the cotton gets wet. But I really like the wax soaked ropes. You can also use them to rub on leaky tent seams, rain jackets or what ever. I’ve used pieces as small as 1 1/2” and they still burn plenty long enough to get even mildly wet tinder to take to flame. Dollar store pillar candles and a cheap clothesline will produce YEARS of inexpensive fire starters. You can do the same thing with a cheap mop-head replacement that is available at any box store. Works for me. 👍👍
0:00 That was extremely cool, but perhaps not the safest practice.
What's the best steel to use as a striker? Third various things and my spyderi knife is best, but not perfect
A friend told me that aparently Doritos are a really good firestarter, they are thin, dry and just enough greasy.
Whatever the recipe they use for snack foods, they act like candle wax and doritos, fritos, and many other snacks foods burn like candles.
the first 10 seconds were the stuff of a legend... watched it multiple times lol
How long does the Ferro rod last
Some people need to remind others that the rods are not a toy some people send out the wrong signal like how far you can throw a spark to start a fire contest kids like watch you guys and they play with their rods to Bern down the woods
Whenever I try to shower it in sparks everything just flies away
I had got a few of these for Christmas stocking stuffers great to have.
Scrape a pile of the rod onto whatever you are lighting.
Good to know. Thanks for sharing. 👍
and carry a large water tight container to put your tinder in for the next fire ferro rods are bad ass other than uco storm proof matches
Scrape, not "strike." Scrapper, not "striker."
What a flex XD
Do you think he’s tried sweet fire tho?
Now this is how you make a video...
Pullin yer rod ?!
I have a tendency to hit my tinder with my striker or my hand and knocking it all over the place. I’ll keep practicing 😊
To avoid displacing your tinder, do a reverse strike: hold striker in one position and rapidly pull your rod backward. Voila! I've done it myself and can confirm it works great, especially when using the little rod that replaced my toothpick in my Swiss army knife. I saw a video of a guy starting 100 fires with the same tiny rod and I was hooked. So far, I've started about 15 fires, and you can barely tell it's been used.
1:47 how strange, because I prefer to use my rode to plow
I'm your 1.65 subscriber
That intro was too good
Thank you! 🤩
Great Opening!!!!
Never been able to start a fire with a ferro rod lol
The key is the tinder. I guarantee a dry cotton ball will catch almost every time, especially if you loosen it up a bit first. Tinder should not be too dense or compact.
@@thesanfranciscoseahorse473 I can confirm this. I just spent 3 hours attempting to light my first fire with a ferro rod. When I finally used some lint from my dryer, had a fire going within a few seconds 😂
👍
I'm your 1000 th subscriber. Congrats. Thanks for sharing!
Just realized uco is china made. damn. Loved your videos.