How to use a magnesium fire starter from harbor freight. Survival kit must have.

This is a how to use a magnesium fire starter a inexpensive survival tool. This magnesium fire starter is from harbor freight and got the job done. Number 1 item have in your survival kit.
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[@michaelfillinger1488]

You would have already have frozen to death by the time you got a fire started 😅

[@zod-engineering-welding]

It's better if you don't use the serrated edge. Use the other edge as a corner scraper to shave off larger bits/curls of magnesium while holding the block firmly on the stump/ground. This will let you shave the larger bits of magnesium. Also use that same flat edge to slide it against the flint rod. The serrated edge just rips off the flint without making the sparks. The other flat edge create better friction to create sparks! Try it.

[@kristopherdetar4346]

LOL ! This dude does not know how to use this tool.

[@masoquistaeo]

Problem is that the blade has a cheap paint on it. I tried this yesterday and the paint got all on the ferro rod. If you sand the paint off, yes your advice would work. Otherwise it actually makes it harder. Thanks for using constructive criticism though.

[@russellyork9027]

I agree w the first person. I wanted to watch a video so I knew how properly to use. An I pretty much learned what the gentleman above said. Use the non serated part the other side worked so much better. But I also seen mine also had this black paint, once removed worked like a champ. My son got me this for a birthday present. Wanted to make sure I knew how to use it.

[@yx2k747]

I just bought 3 of these at the harbor freight today. One for each family member. We're going to practice before going camping😂

[@how2af263]

That is awesome!

[@jacobshelt01]

@@how2af263I learned how to use mine thanks to you sir

[@silkoakranchpitchforkranch1205]

It’s like watching Ned in the third grade try to teach a survival class and he’s never used a MFS

[@danielperales376]

I'm enjoying the funny jokes more than watching survival Class??

[@hdrjunkie]

I had of these as a kid, I used my pocket knife to shave off chips of the magnesium instead of making a “powder”, then use the knife blade to strike the flint and BOOM.... fire!

[@how2af263]

Awesome!

[@wwolfdogs]

Old Chinese proverb says: Never buy survival gear from Harbor Freight.

[@michaelfillinger1488]

Especially if your life depends on

[@OShackHennessy]

Most of their magnesium sticks are just fine. To be fair he wasn’t experienced in using one but I’m not criticizing. Everyone needs to get through the magnesium learning curve.

[@Snakepliskin76]

​@@OShackHennessyit's definitely an honest video. Pretty cool of him to film himself doing something he's never done before and working through it.

[@OShackHennessy]

@@Snakepliskin76 I agree and that’s very rare anymore. This is actually one of the reasons I don’t like mag bars they really require some practice and getting used to. They also just aren’t very good in general there are much better options for beginners and experienced users.

[@Z-Benja-B]

Then the old Chinese proverb you made up is stupid, because harbor freight is a great place to get a lot of different things.

[@dustycover3015]

This whole damn time I thought it was a sharpening stone with a built in Ferro rod. Funny things is it actually did sharpen my knife.

[@Naltddesha]

Hahaha

[@jaymurf8585]

I just bought one and sitting in my truck now with it. You have to saw at the fli t part like a regular hack saw motion and you wouldn't believe the spark that comes

[@danielperales376]

Keep them Coming! I like the,? sharpening joke? I enjoyed dat one!

[@theclydefamily1913]

I just bought one of these for a stocking stuffer. Should keep my husband busy for awhile

[@Elliot-bi2qe]

😅

[@FefeDasmontanhas]

I was going to buy this but I think I'm going to buy a lighter haha😂

[@tanyawinemiller9156]

Thanks! This helps!!

[@lisagriffin8898]

Cool I just got one today, so glad I found your video, I saw someone else do it with a little Ziploc baggie containing dryer lint, I save mine for fire starter, as I have a wood burning stove, trust me that stuff ignites fast. Can't wait to test mine out follows. 🔥👍

[@how2af263]

I’m glad you found it helpful. Thank you for sharing the information on using dryer lint. I’m sure that would help tremendously. Good skill to learn.

[@shaymanking]

Wow! That was a lot more work than I had anticipated that it would require to get a fire started. I had no idea about what the magnesium bar was. Thanks for posting.

[@how2af263]

Hello thanks for watching. It was a lot of work to get going. But it does work once you get a good technique going. Thanks for sharing.

[@securityguardcommand9792]

Because he isn't doing it right in the beginning. Need to hold the block steady on the surface. Don't need a lot, just a small pile.

[@BrFishWPB]

Cause he has no idea what he is doing lol

[@MaineMadeHomesteader]

The serrated side is for shaving the magnesium, the non-serrated side is for scrapping the rod to make the spark, also you need to aim it down on top of the magnesium/ fuel and scrape down at it, makes it much much easier.

[@Chemical99]

We SURE ARE, back at it AGAIN!!! LOVE THAT LINE 😁😀😊😂👍

[@how2af263]

It’s is something isn’t it. Thanks for watching. Please Subscribe To The Channel If You Haven't Already Done So Thank You!

[@Naltddesha]

This feels less like a tutorial, and more of a guy figuring out how to use the magnesium block for the first time on camera, lol

[@vegasvato55]

you can do the same thing with your ferrocerium rod But i put down a patch of Tape to catch the shavings, keeps the wind from blowing my pile away. Roll the tape into a ferro-match

[@AintTheDroidULookinFer]

Use the backside of a knife instead of the little scraper. You can also prepare in advance by shaving off a bunch of magnesiun and keeping it in a waterproof container. When you need fire dump a little out and spark it.

[@SUPERFLY-ky7yh]

🔥

[@larryhillman3813]

Hold the striker on the block steady and at an angle plus use a longer down stroke and you will do much better. Don't move the block around. Basically the little piece of saw blade digs into the rod to create sparks.

[@annturner5087]

When you finally placed the stick on the stump It lite.. you were alllll over the place before 🤣

[@how2af263]

Hello It was tough for me to get comfortable striking and getting the direction of the sparks on target. It wasn’t easy to do for me. I did enjoy finally getting it to work. Thanks for sharing I hope you enjoyed the video.

[@paulca3321]

I just got one at harbor freight...but I'm still buying a dumb day lighter 😂😂

[@crabtrap]

use the knife to strike a spark, the added weight of a fixed blade or folding knife adds mass momentem to the 'strike'. the saw blade is a last resort item

[@nickandnicksconstructionti9508]

Brother My Son and I are joining bc we can share your frustration, we both said I would be cursing the whole time trying ! Lol stay safe

[@how2af263]

Awesome thanks for watching! It was a challenge!

[@mathewsmith4697]

Nice to see someone do a video on that item!! 🐻

[@how2af263]

Hello thanks for watching! It was a good feeling of accomplishment! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed it.

[@pattyq429]

I was wondering how to use this as I'm currently starting to building up my camping/survival supplies and so glad I found someone that showed me the proper way of using this! Thanks for a helpful video!

[@EricAdamsonMI]

Thanks for sharing! I suspect that the serrated edge is just a non-fire-related value add. Given a ferrocerium rod, if that's what HF embeds, no magnesium should even be needed.

[@AllWeatherFirestarters]

Great Video and Channel! Any chance on maybe doing a product review of our Firestarter?

[@jrginn2237]

Just keep some Vaseline soaked cotton balls in your kit. One spark and you’ve got fire.

[@markmontanio9550]

He held it wrong till the very end when he was trying to spark the kindling

[@davidglazener7921]

The ferro rod has a coating and the striker has a paint coating. Both must be removed to get good sparks.

[@wwolfdogs]

Sadly, a man froze to death trying to start a fire with his Harbor Freight fire starter.

[@wendy_says_so]

That man likely didn't practice enough, and didn't plan enough. A lot of folks wait until its do-or-die before they try something. I was on my 3rd HF fire starter before I actually needed it in the field.

[@kimnielsenthewordyvikingett159]

You can throw that little piece of hacksaw blade away but keep that short length of cheep chain in your pocket!!! Use your knife to scrape magnesium from the little block!!!! And when you have enough that you can see a little pile turn the block around and quickly scrape the ferrowcirium rod down into the tinder pile that you've hopefully already gathered!!! And be prepared to add more kindling and maby a little of your breath!!!! And you might have just created a decent little fire 🔥😊!!!!!

[@Naltddesha]

MOAR !!!!!!!!!’s!!!!!!!

[@leonardchiscavage6418]

Try using a round file to make shavings next time a lot easier

[@LovingIdaho]

They work pretty good especially when you look at the cheap price., You cant expect to get anything as god at the under $2 price .,

[@Tcarnes41]

Your supposed to use the flat side of the scraper, not the saw side.

[@how2af263]

Thank you. It wasn’t easy. I have to work on my technique.

[@justsayin7704]

This is why there are laws against inbreading.

[@ricksorber9562]

I just got one like this except it was the $5 one from Amazon. I scraped the paint off, fired one shot in the air and lit a cotton ball on my first attempt. Not too bad. So far the only down side is the striker is hard on the thumbs. And I'm not sure how long the rod will last. It's pretty flat already.

[@how2af263]

I agree the rod wears rather quickly.

[@UberTheRandom]

The little saw blade is good and easily replaceable, but often people will use their knives to shave magnesium off and then strike the spark. Much easier to hold.

[@how2af263]

Thanks for sharing. I wanted to use what was provided in the kit. It was tough but I managed to get it done!

[@UberTheRandom]

@@how2af263 No problem man, you did great, got the job done!

[@davidglazener7921]

Do not use your knife blade. Use the 90° spine of your knife.

[@JonnyProperly]

Yeah, that was done with wrong techniques. I can usually have a fire going in under 2-3min with a mag block / farro rod. Something I also learned in Boy Scouts when i was a kid is to make accelerators using toilet paper and a small glob of vasoline, just take a TP square and put small glob of vasoline in the center and then twist it up gently like a piece of candy (Chocolate covered cherry) make some of those and keep in a thick zip lock bag in your camping / survival gear and when ready to start your fire take your kindling and place the vasoline/TP ball in the middle and a spark or 2 will light it right up and it will burn for a long time so you can keep adding kindling and small sticks until its really going. I also buy beeswax rope which is excellent for fire starting and comes in nice small containers but if used right will start quite a high number of fires when needed.

[@rick2254]

Make you a cotton ball with vaseline and it will light the first or second strike . I have one from Harbor Freight Tools and it works great . You will not need magnesium shavings.

[@Naltddesha]

Can’t do that in a survival situation. If you’ve got access to cotton balls and Vaseline, you’ve probably got access to a lighter or matches 😂

[@cayman9873]

Bought some but never got a fire going. Need to try again

[@how2af263]

Hello thanks for watching. It’s a great feeling once you get it going. It was tough to do. Thanks for sharing.

[@OShackHennessy]

These are fun to use but they are not good firestarters there are so many better options out there that are way more efficient and user friendly. I do not recommend them to most people. You’d do far better with fatwood or Vaseline/cotton than with mag bars.

[@TheAirlock]

You're using it upside down, Sparky!

[@OShackHennessy]

Going to give you respect for sticking with it until you got a fire. These things aren’t the easiest way to start a fire.

[@americanpatriotbill]

It's better to pull the striker block away and hold the driver in one place....better spark placement

[@USMCRON]

Did anybody else see the worm, snake in the picture frame on the ground to the left of his pile stash! It has been there the whole time moving and flipping stuff and himself over. (He is very small)

[@jimmyjohhn15]

So with harbor freight comes good and bad. Im going to say this, the striker on this sucks. I couldnt get a single spark with the striker. I pulled out my knife, which you should have in a survival situation anyways, and got a fire started in seconds

[@paulwall5851]

Lol hope u don't get lost in woods with no lighter I've got the same kit I can have a fire going within three strikes five tops stop moving your hands so much put you magnesium down at a 40° angle make sure it's secure quit moving it so much throw your Sparks all in one direction towards your Kindle

[@how2af263]

Thank you. I’m have to work on my technique.

[@OShackHennessy]

Do you feel better about yourself now? We are all impressed.

[@calebbroadhead348]

The way your thumb hurts holding the block whe striking 😭

[@AMO1776]

I don’t know if this guy is incapable or acting like it. I have one on my four wheeler for emergencies. I used it the other day and lit paper and started a fire easily on about two minutes. I have multiple ferro rods and this type is my 100% go to.

[@Z-Benja-B]

All you needed to do was get the spark next to the stuff you’re trying to light on fire. You’re holding it a couple of inches away until the end of the video there. You do not need to use that much magnesium.

[@jerdog333]

I'm no expert, but when things like this don't work well, try pulling the block away from the blade instead of the blade towards the fuel.

[@Elliot-bi2qe]

More fine tinder probably

[@SUPERFLY-ky7yh]

👍

[@pauldayonghuang9284]

Remind me of cast away

[@how2af263]

Hello thanks for watching. It’s not that easy to do for the first time. But once you have flame it’s an amazing feeling. Thanks for sharing your comments greatly appreciated.

[@KatherineM-hx4sb]

I got one. It looks doable the way you showed. Now time for some fall camping 🏕️

[@davidglazener7921]

There is NO flint It is is ferrocerium.

[@jeffr5221]

His issues were due to operator error. He probably scrapes this Ferro rod with his folding saw

[@mplsmark222]

I just bought one of these, the directions cleanly state you need enough shavings to make a pile 1/8” thick the diameter of a US quarter.

[@jeffr5221]

I use one of these too and I have found you don't really need that much but it certainly doesn't hurt. His problem is he is using the serrated edge of the striker to try and get a spark. It can work I suppose but not as good as the flat edge, you will get sparks almost every time. Better yet use the back side of your knife.

[@drewgrows7765]

Is the entire bar magnesium?

[@Naltddesha]

Besides the striker, it’s seems to be a solid chunk of magnesium

[@rogerchien2329]

Dtop moving you hand so much

[@kytsunman8592]

That's the most harbor freight video I've seen to date lol pos tools

[@how2af263]

Hello and thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@maxleubner5377]

Your holding it the wrong way to make sparks

[@frasermorrison7657]

This had to be a joke I could of started that fire in seconds that poor fire starter looked like it had been through a mincer 😂 you could start many a fire with it he managed 1 and it was destroyed 😅 don't fancy his chances in the wild 😂

[@clivedunning4317]

I don't think you've used one of those before, basically you are not using it in the correct manner. Pin the tinder down with the bottom corner of the magnesium bar, plus your tinder bundle should have been larger and fluffier. As you didn't do either of these things correctly is why you had the problems. Basically you need to practise more with your fire starter.

[@craiggerlach5548]

well this was a great video, people buy these and this is what they know, what is on package, they know it can start a fire, they try and follow what package says, was perfect for those of us who use such things.. I mean if you can carry this, you can carry a lighter, matches, etc.. moss, birch bark, dried leaves, carry tinder, unless it is well below zero I would find no use for a fire in the woods anyhow.. even living deep in woods, I would just hike out to somewhere.. now if broke a leg, dropped my pack top of a cliff with phone n supplies and all I had was this in my pocket, sure I would use it to try and start a signal fire,., but how many people would come, I would just think someone cooking their lunch..

[@wendy_says_so]

@@craiggerlach5548 I struggled the same way as OP did with this fire starter - I found the problem is you need to be a lot more patient and scrape a lot more magnesium in to get a good pile to start. And yes it takes a lot more time. The advantage to one of these is the magnesium does a great job of starting if things are damp or if its very cold. I carry strike-anywhere matches and tinder in a survival knife (surprisingly Harbor Freight has a great inexpensive one), but I also carry this - I compare this to carrying jumper cables even if you carry one of those jump-starter battery doohickies: when you're out there you never know if your go-to's won't work. Also - I like practicing alternative fire-making, because its cool to know basic fire starting!

[@panchogeorocks]

I hate these with a passion bc they don't work as advertised. I rather use the rod versions

[@sorinsandro42]

The back of your pocket or hunting knife would work 100X better and 100X more sparks than that useless blade you got there. Trust me! Try it!

[@michaelatwood6659]

You need training. Works fine if you know what you’re doing.

[@julesgardet659]

nope

[@keithtincher7223]

Scrape off the black coating first!

[@how2af263]

Thank you I did realize it was a protective coating.

[@user-mn6tm1gq5p]

He dont how to ues for me to fast 😮

[@FC_Dobbs48]

You do not know what you're doing. Why did you make this video?