Ferro Rod Marketing Myths, Side by Side Testing

In this video I do a side by side comparison of a name brand ferro rod vs. a generic one I purchased from Ebay. There is a lot of talk about buying rods from online stores that are named after the product, or are known for selling "gear". After examining and using several different types of mischmetal ferro rods, I wasn't really noticing a difference in performance.

So I decided it was time to put all the hype to rest by doing a side by side test to determine if there really is a difference.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• fire
• steel
• ferro
• ferrocerium
• flint
• firesteel
• rod
• bushcraft
• survival
• camping
• hiking
• starting
• knife
• striker

[houseoffire72]

Great video man! Good side by side test to break through the marketing hype. In fact Im subbing:)... It's simple, if it creates sparks you will get fire with good tinder. And thats the bottom line:) Any idea where I can buy a case of ferro/mischmetal rods 3/8" X 4" ?

[ThePetrifiedwood]

@houseoffire72

Best place to look for them in my experience has been ebay. There are plenty of sellers there. But if you truly want to buy in bulk you will have to contact the manufacturer (JX Metals) in China and they do have minimum orders. If you're looking to buy less that a couple hundred you will be better off buying them elsewhere.

[pedalpusher101]

How about trying lighter pressure and shorter strokes. I have three different rods and each one acts different and nothing like the ones I see here on YT.

[ThePetrifiedwood]

@pedalpusher101

You are probably using light my fire brand rods. Have a look at my video "Proper techniques for striking firesteels" to see the difference between the two and why longer harder strikes are needed with mischmetal rods.

Also, I make a striker called a strike-all tool that outperforms the so-called "super strikers" and allows you to use shorter lighter strikes with a mischmetal rod.

[ThePetrifiedwood]

@pedalpusher101

The mischmetal rods do not work as well with lighter pressure and shorter strokes as the "Light my Fire" brand firesteels. This limitation can be overcome with a special striker. (See my Strike-All fire tool video.)

[Terratracks]

Well i can tell you from experience that goingear rods are far superior to the much lower cost rods.

Also the tungsten carbide strikers are much better.

[ThePetrifiedwood]

@Terratracks

This is exactly the kind of hype I have disproved with my video. No solid proof. I challenge anyone to prove the going gear rod is superior to any other mischmetal rod. In fact, I challenge anyone to prove the goinggear rod isn't made by JX metals in China. Really, I want to see real, solid proof, not hearsay.

[thedarknessjosh]

Kick ass dude! That's the most work to show people a fair test I've seen on youtube.

[Lean540]

The reality is, they all make sparks well enough to create fire without much difference in effort. As long as you prep properly, you will have fire. If you want to pay $30 instead of $3, and there are people that want to, thats your perogative.

I see this in camp all the time, the guy with the $700 knife standing next to the guy with the Mora both happily doiing the same thing. Now, I have my own thoughts about it but, nothing wrong with that, right?

[DugbaLaser]

Great idea! But your equipment was not precise. Else they would have BOTH broken on the same stoke. Suggest a weighted-downward-force striker rather than human. I notice one company is now claiming a NEW & IMPROVED! 2ed gen ferro rod.

BTW, often strikers work far better off one edge than the other. It feels sharper, like a burr sticking out. Particularly on cheap knife backs and hacksaw blades, ...work best for me. I have some broken glass I wanna try, window, bottle, & dinner plate.

[houseoffire72]

@ThePetrifiedwood I could do a couple hundred them LOL FIRE FIRE FIRE :) looked on ebay too only found 26 different sellers, none with what i wanted... Thanks bro for the help:)