Ferrocerium Firesteel Rod Torture - Testing for corrosion

[demnlordd666]

you dont need a battery for electrolysis. just an electrolyte solution, like salt or potassium hydroxide, and 2 metals. if active enough they make electricity while rusting. if not it takes electricity to force the rust. on a side note, harbor freight tool stores (@least in california) were selling the 4" long magnesium blocks w/ flint rod and a striker for under 3$ but just as good as 14$type you find in a walmart / big5. cheap test supplies :) find the cure

[TheCWR2010]

very interesting? Did you look inside your bag for anything that may have rubbed on it while you are hiking? Could the striker have rubbed it? 

[EconoChallenge]

@TheCWR2010 I still keep it in the very same spot. I have not replaced it yet. Nothing has happened to it since. I think that would rule out this idea. The original damage did look more like a reaction to something.

[hobo59]

Battery acid from your AAA's ! Salt from sweat was the catalyst for the batteries to react with the ferrocerium' You created a battery reaction within your fany pack !

[EconoChallenge]

@hobo59 You are the second person to suggest this idea. We are going to have to test it.

[ShoeManShoe68]

I haven't read all the comments but I wanted to ask. Have you had a 9 volt battery near it during storage or travel.

This is probably a dumb question.

[EconoChallenge]

@ShoeManShoe68 No dumb questions on this one! Not a 9 volt but I might have had AAA bats in the same pocket.

[hikerfrost]

@EconoChallenge I'm seeing where Shoemanshoe68 is going. He's thinking Electrolysis, and I was thinking the same thing. If you had a ferro rod, and a battery, and a conductive solution in the same vicinity, it would explain the particularly deep gouging in some areas and not others.

[ESAPOWER]

Are you conducting this experiment in a dark place?

If not,

Then your experiment Control is poor.

[EconoChallenge]

@ESAPOWER How is light a factor? This could be a good point because the rod was tested in a window lit room. The original damage occurred in the dark pocket of my waist pack.

[ESAPOWER]

@EconoChallenge One example would be photosynthesis. It would appear to be unworldly and strange if we didn't understand it. I might be totally wrong, but then, I might be right. It's a matter of recreating the conditions in the waistpack one at a time. I would also like to suggest sweat - your sweat, as a Human, has a fairly high concentration of salts and acids. It's a waistpack. These are close to the body, no? This means there were MANY chemicals exposed to the ferroceum rod. Surprising? :)

[ESAPOWER]

@EconoChallenge Oh ! And another idea! Perhaps create a solution of salt, and water. And then ADD the sulfur powder TO that. And have parallel experiment - otherwise known as a control. Have only SALT Water in this one. THat way you can observe the difference. It might be worth buying some cheap firesteels from Ebay for this experiment. Ya lose a few dollars... But it's in the name of good science! And good science is ALL in good observation!

[EconoChallenge]

@ESAPOWER We were hoping to have the answer by now. You have given us some great suggestions. We may need to get serious about our science and design an experiement this fall. I know i will not be happy until the mystery is solved!

[zachzodia]

something electrical? battery shorted?

[EconoChallenge]

@zachzodia We might be reaching a bit but the next test is battery acid. The gray stuff that leaks out of rechargeable AA bats?

[NoBSSurvival]

could it have been a spark landing on the rod?

[EconoChallenge]

@NoBSSurvival Not that I can see. You can hold an open flame on the rod without doing damage.

[slodeth5]

Did you ever investigate what those initial damages looked like under the microscope? Salt does seem to have an effect, but have you looked into other kitchen items or wherever you stored it, such as pepper or other spices, or even first aid possibilities? This is deffinitely interesting.

[EconoChallenge]

@slodeth5 All the best ideas that we thought had a chance are tested in this video. The first aid kit is a good suggestion. I do keep my kit in the same fanny pack and did not consider it as a possible source. I will have a look.

[shugemery]

Very scientific .... I may be to thick to comment goodly.

Fun to watch ...and a lot of big words ...and sparks!

Hey, how did you get the ad at the end rather than beginning?

Thanks.

[EconoChallenge]

@shugemery We were trying to get YouTube to put it in the middle. Perhaps this is a compromise.

[BrokenAeroVT]

Maybe the alloy wasn't homogenous. Is the gouged area the point where you usually stop your downward stroke? A jagged surface at this point could lead to differences in corrosion, sort of like how temperature is higher on sharper points of a heated surface.

[EconoChallenge]

@BrokenAeroVT The rod has not been used a lot over the years. I can remember a trip to the White Mountains we had a contest using it. Four guys testing their skills at lighting various tinder with this fire steel. The rest of the time I am the only one using it. Most of the time it just sits in that pocket as my back up fire starter. Unfortunately I did not get any video when the damage was first discovered. You could see that it was not wear damage.

[BrokenAeroVT]

@EconoChallenge I wasn't suggesting that it was wear damage. I was suggesting that if the stop point was differentiated enough with sharp edges, that corrosion would accelerate there as opposed to smoother surfaces elsewhere.

[RDPproject]

"Pretty nasty lookin"

He says as he's rubbing it with his finger.

lol.

Rob

[Prepare2Survive]

The Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium in flint strikers dissolves easily with diluted amounts of sulfuric acid.

[EconoChallenge]

@Prepare2Survive What might be the source do you think?

[Prepare2Survive]

@EconoChallenge

I have no idea

[EconoChallenge]

@Prepare2Survive I can't think of anything that I might be carrying that would contain or use sulfuric acid.

[EconoChallenge]

@CalifHighCountry We are working with the idea that is is potassium hydroxide. Found in rechargeable batteries. It is also formed when black powder is burned. The moisture from the air combines with the white sticky residue to form this base. We just don't know if it is strong enough to do the damage ... yet

[mudthrashin]

I know what did it. Its a very common chemical composition called husbandandwife offspring chlorate. It's very destructive to everything currently known to mankind. problem solved :-)

[Woodenarrows]

Ya know, I never was the engineer but.. I used to be a data tech in the Pipe Line corrosion field. It could be just plain old galvanic corrosion. If the steel striker was in contact with the Ferrocerium rod, maybe the Ferro rod was sacrificing itself (acting like an anode) to protect the steel striker? It would explain the deep gouges and it would not require any friction to do that, just metal to metal contact.

[Woodenarrows]

What about electrical conductivity? You didn't happen to have any spare batteries packed with it did you?

[EconoChallenge]

@Woodenarrows Yes. I often carry spare batteries. You seem to following the same frame of thought we are. I use rechargeable alkaline batteries. They are cheap and they explode in the charger sometimes. Still I like them better than buying disposable batteries. I have lost one flash light over the past 3 years because of battery failure. It is possible that the rod came in contact with some potassium hydroxide from a damaged battery. We are testing this idea now.

[ihikearoundcom]

Could the knife itself been in contact with something that then spread to the rod? Well it looks to been a chemical reaction with an acid, I will check out the observations from your other videos....

[EconoChallenge]

@ihikearoundcom We are working with the idea that is is potassium hydroxide. Found in rechargeable batteries. It is also formed when black powder is burned. The moisture from the air combines with the white sticky residue to form this base. We just don't know if it is strong enough to do the damage. This stuff is hard to collect.

[Woodenarrows]

I like your video reactions :-) My initial reaction was that it's mechanical, rubbing against the striker when it's packed up. I still think that's a very logical answer.

[EconoChallenge]

@Woodenarrows I agree that it could be an answer to the mystery. But I think that I would have notice it happening long before it got that bad.

[Ggreenvideos]

Great vid buddy ;o) I'm not convinced either! Even the salt didn't effect it the way your rod was previously damaged. That was some bad damage before. It's a strange one for sure!

[wawhiker]

Inconceivable and not convinced too! ???