FOSTAR 2PCS Upgrade Ferro Rod Flint Fire Starter, 1/2 Inch X 5 Inch Thick Fire Steel Rod with a Scraper Drilled A Lanyard Hole Perfect for Camping, Hiking, Survival

If you are looking for a fero rod in the very large to 'slightly giant' category, these rods are a great value and work just as well as those priced 2-3x more. In fact, they work amazingly well. They don't have a pretty wood handle, but they are drilled to accept a lanyard which is plenty good enough. If you want a larger knob handle, just cut some 1" strips of duct tape and wrap it around the end with the hole to build it up and make a handle. This also makes for a handy way to carry duct tape in the field and small pieces of duct tape actually make a decent fire starting helper - not unlike birch bark.I'm not sure how many different "formulas" of ferrocerium there can possibly be, although I've heard that some are "harder" and some are "softer." After my personal testing of more than 8 different rods – including ones that are supposed to be "softer" - I honestly cannot determine any significant difference. Couple this with the fact that there are likely only a very few actual manufacturers and I started this think that across all of the different varieties on Amazon, all the ferro rods are very likely very much the same. Which brings me back to the idea of "get the most ferro rod for the least expense" (and know how to use it).These FOSTAR ferro rods come with 2 stamped metal strikers that are OK, although the metal is thin and the way they are stamped means they only really have a shaving edge when used in one direction. I wouldn’t expect too much from them. This is just "as info" since the real deal here is about the ferro rods, not the "also includes free strikers."These large diameter FOSTAR ferro rods give you plenty of material to strike and throw great sparks if you use a good striker and do your part. The advantage of the large diameter rods is that after the initial 100 strikes or so, the shiny "working surface" of the rod becomes a bit flattened and wider - which means you have an excellent chance of getting larger shavings which ignite into long-burning sparks. Shave firmly and you will generate shavings that burn long enough to stay lit through a 4' fall to the ground and remain bright for a second or so after that. That's a lot more than just a flash of small sparks.Last thoughts:These rods – and all others I’ve tried – have a little bit of “break in” required. You need to scrape through the outer lacquer and black surface and get to bright shiny ferrocerium for them to really start to work.Also, if you have trouble getting sparks with this – or any other ferro rod – look at what you are using as a striker. The strikers that come with these FOSTAR rods aren’t great. Same goes for the commonly seen small black scrapers with ruler (why ?) and the bottle opener notch. Remember that you are effectively trying to cut/scrape the ferrocerium away from the rod and make shavings. Ferrocerium is hard. You need something sharp and you need to press pretty hard. Do both actions fast and you’ll get sparks.

They work as expected.

If this review helps in any way Positive or Negative Please hit HELPFUL!!! It will help encourage me to continue my real reviews of products I've purchased.Likes: * Nice 5mm (my measure) hole at end of each rod for lanyard, or could help for mounting to handle * Substancial weight to rods * Spark with no problems once paint removed * Comes with small stricker * As advertized 5" long x 1/2" diameterDislikes: * Paint has to be removed from all working surfaces prior to using (Note: now saying all surfaces just what you are using)Yes I'd buy these again. This is my second purchase of Ferro Rods and I actually like these a bit more.Thank you for reading my review:Again Please give this review a thumbs up. It is real. I do answer questions if in comments. I've been on Amazon as a customer for over twenty years, and now a top 500 reviewer. I don't get compensated for my reviews. (Not that I wouldn't like to be.) I pay for Amazon Prime so I get any of the perks that come with my Prime membership.

I just got the fire steel today and here are the thoughts of a relative novice:1. The fire steel itself is quite good and produces plentiful sparks after taking some 100-grit sandpaper and removing a large chunk of the paint. Others may have their own techniques for doing this. Do *NOT* go into some wilderness/survival type situation with one of these rods (or most other ferro rods) fresh out of the box! Before you see the rest of comments, yes I did remove the paint and the rod itself can produce sparks.2. Here's my problem with the rod: There is a hole cut for a lanyard, which is fine. Unfortunately, the hole is too small to fit 550lb paracord, which is extremely popular with outdoor types (I personally own "paratinder" cord with a built-in tinder thread that's sold on Amazon at a better price than most competitors). I had to take a 1/4" drill bit and widen the hole to make it fit the paracord... DO THIS OVER CONCRETE AND AWAY FROM FLAMMABLE MATERIAL since there will be a rather spectacular display of sparks when you do it. After widening the hole, it takes paracord and there's plenty of structural strength left in the rod too.3. Here's my other problem: It's probably because I'm dumb, but I can't make the included striker work for the life of me. The ferro rod can put off plenty of sparks when I use various rocks and even a plain steel bottle opener that you might have in your kitchen, but the striker only occasionally produces sparks and these are small compared to the the shower of sparks that you see these rods make on youtube. I can reproduce the big sparks with the right rock, but not with the included striker. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but for right now the striker is not recommended.

Don`t tell anyone or they will raise the price. Yesterday, I received two packs of these ferro rods which is four rods and four strikers and I also purchased one Uberleben 3/8" ferro rod that cost about 6 dollars more than the 2 fostar packs. The uber is nice and when striking the material , felt harder than the Fostar and gave off decent sparks, with some molten globs hitting the ground. The Fostar ferro rod gave off even more sparks with more molten material. Right now without long term testing to look at, rod breakage or oxidation, these Fostar rods compare to Mora knives in regards to price and quality of performance. AN EXCELLENT PURCHASE!

The ferro rods are really bulky and will last long for sure. Lots of sparks with even a light scrapping. The scrapper is very sturdy and well suited for the rods. The dimension of the rods are as mentioned in the advertisement and really feels heavy and durable. I am very satisfied with the purchase and the seller and would recommend to anyone looking for a heavy duty fire starter for their survival bags.