West Lake Tactical Pack of Eight (8) 5/16" DIY Ferrocerium (Ferro) Rods Flint Fire Starter Magnesium Tool Kit AKA Firesteel, an Essential Part of Any Survival Kit

These are small, light and easy to carry and yet they throw sparks well enough to light tinder. It's a good value I think!

Update, 6-3-18: Up rating from 3 to 5 stars. I originally posted a review stating these were not mischmetal, which is what I am looking for. Turns out I believe they are now. Why the change of mind? I changed strikers! I was using cut up hacksaw blades and was using the teeth as is. It would create sparks but not lasting ones. I thought about it and looked at the rod. There were deep gouges which led me to believe I was shedding material, and therefore I should be getting, longer lasting sparks/burning magnesium.So, I decided to smooth down the blade teeth by 2/3, and make the spine of the blade 90 degrees so I could try a flat sharp edge as an alternative. Lo and behold, more material and long lasting sparks appeared! These rods now shed plenty of sparks and material. This what I expected when I ordered these!Forget buying the traditional strikers you see being sold on line. Get yourself a pack of hacksaw blades, snap them into 3-4 inch sections and modify them as I did. That was the trick. I will post a video of me using the new strikers with these same rods a few days. What a difference. Using the strikers I made, these rods are what I consider a STEAL at the price they are selling from this vendor. Buy some extras before they see this updated review.=========end of update===========Update: 4-8-18: I canceled my return of this product. For the price they are okay. They do not produce a large amount of sparks compared to my Swedish Fire steel. These are average at best. I did make handles since drilling a hole in these was not an option. Cut a dowel into equal lengths, drilled a lanyard hole on the wood, drilled a hole to place the rod into using gorilla glue. I will now give them away to friends as the need arises. I will not be buying anymore of these rods. -------end of updateThe description is definitely misleading. It describes how these are made of of various metals (true) but I was looking specifically for rods made of mischmetal. Mischmetal rods have a much higher magnesium content and are softer but create much more sparks and pieces of the magnesium continue to burn when the sparks extinguish.The misleading description is contained in their first bullet:"Ferrocerium rods are made from Iron, Magnesium and mostly of an alloy of rare earth metals called mischmetal with an excellent pyrophoric percentage : 98% min "These are NOT mischmetal. They spark but no better than most rods and much less than my Swedish FireSteel rod purchased here on Amazon ($11.99). I thought the language used was simply words not translating smoothly as is often seen with companies here on Amazon.They are probably worth the money if you are looking for a cheap, hard, ferrocerium rod. Better have good kindling to make fire starting easy with these rods.I will be sending these back and continue my search for MISCHmetal ferrocerium rods.

Works well for adding onto items. I put a handle on these and add to knife sheaths I build. Would recommend a larger stick or alternate means of firestarter as a primary, but this is a good add-on or backup.

The price is so good that there has to be something wrong. Indeed, these are too small to be practical. Anyone interested in survival will tell you to get 1/2” thick, 6” long ferro rods because small ones not only are difficult to use, but they wear out faster. Did I know that they were this big when I bought them? Yes, so it’s my fault that I’m disappointed. So accept these for what they are, they are small but they do work, 4 stars because they take a bit more effort than higher quality rods.

I gave these out to the kids in my survival class and they worked great once you scraped the protective coating off of them.

These are a great ferro rod of medium hardness, meaning they throw a very good shower of sparks but aren't so soft that each strike is wearing away gobs of material. These are that perfect middle ground you so often hear about but so seldom find.I drill 5/16" holes about half an inch into pieces of antler or different hard woods to use as handles for these, as they are short and take some practice and finesse to hold and use by themselves on a regular basis. I scuff the last ½" of the ferro rod with some sandpaper, mix up a dab of two part clear epoxy (loctite brand 5 minute quick set works great, but anything will do), rub a thin layer of glue over the sanded portion of the rod, and then gently tap the rod into the handle. Wipe the excess glue off with a sturdy rag and then wait a solid day. Easy peasy.Just make sure to test fit the rod into the handle first. If the rod will start to seat but is tight then don't push it any farther into the handle. Set it aside and get it ready for glue, then, once it's all glued up, seat it all the way in.These make great gifts and a ferro rod is the best way to light a gas grill or charcoal that's had lighter fluid poured over it. Just strike and it's ablaze.

Exactly as advertised. Great price good product.

I bought these to make fire starters using deer antlers. They spark and start fires easily. I gifted some to family and friends who also thought these worked really well. I plan to order more soon.