This is the Überleben Kräftig Fire Starter, it’s an 8 inch long, 1/2 inch thick fire steel designed to last for years thanks to the fact it’s good for over 20,000 strikes.
For the uninitiated, fire steel is a term typically used to describe ferrocerium – a pyrophoric alloy consisting of iron and the rare-earth element cerium. Ferrocerium is the igniting material you typically find in hand-held oxy-acetylene flint lighters, the word “flint” is often used to describe ferrocerium even though the two materials aren’t related.
Fire starters like this one from Überleben Kräftig are made up of two parts – the solid ferrocerium rod and the striker. To use it you play the end of the rod into your tinder, you then firmly and quickly scrape the striker down the rod sending off a shower of sparks at temperatures of up to 3,000 °C (5,430 °F).
Ferrocerium rods have the advantage of being waterproof and impervious to changes in temperature, they’re incredibly strong and resilient, and they usually last for thousands of strikes.
The Überleben Kräftig Fire Starter shown here is the largest one we’ve come across, it’s designed to last many years and due to its large size it’ll send a larger shower of sparks – potentially making it easier to start fires. You can choose between both the 5″ and 8″ lengths and each one comes with a tethered striker that can also be used for shaving off tinder.
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