Firesteels

Greenman Bushcraft offer a massive range of firesteels and fire-lighting equipment from all corners of the globe. The most popular form of lighting fires in bushcraft, forest schools, survival and camping, especially when trying to do things in a more natural way, is to use what is known as a firesteel or ferro rod.

What is a Firesteel?

A firesteel is a large man-made flint which is capable of producing a shower of very hot sparks which are hot enough to create fires, even in the rain. A firesteel is one of the most reliable methods of lighting a fire outside in a survival situation or even camping holiday or bushcraft trip. Firesteels or fire strikers as they are sometimes known come in lots of different shapes, sizes, colours and grades.  There are many cheap and nasty look-alike firesteels on the market today, which simply don't work, and let you down when it matters!

Here at Greenma Bushcraft we only offer the very best firesteels and ferrocerium rods available today, from brands such as Light My Fire, Exotac, BCB, Ultimate Survival Technologies and many other hand crafted options from Sweden.

How Does a Firesteel Work?

In order for a firesteel to work, you will need to scrape the surface with a metal object such as the back of a bushcraft knife, or the scraper (steel) which most firesteels are supplied with. If being used for the first time, you may also need to scrape a protective lacquer from the surface of the rod.

To begin with, push the scraper along the length of the ferro rod with some pressure. If done correctly a shower of hot sparks will be produced. These sparks are designed to light a pre-prepared bundle of tinder which will ignite easily from a single spark and provide you with the first building block of a campfire.

Tinder comes in many forms, from made-made, through to natural materials, such as our organic down. Many natural combustible materials may be used as tinder too, such as thistle tops, but they must be completely dry to work correctly and should always be collected in small amounts and only if plentiful!

If you need further advise, then please feel free to contact us and we will be more than willing to help answer your questions.