The Friendly Swede Magnesium Fire Starter Kit 3-Pack — Flint and Steel Fire Starter Survival Tool - Weatherproof Firestarter for Camping, Hiking & BBQs - Flint and Steel Bar - 6-in-1 Striker

As ever with magnesium block fire starters, these aren't really meant to replace lighters or matches, but to serve as a safe and always-there camping or survival pack item. For example, it really isn't safe to leave a butane lighter in a pack (because they can leak) or vehicle (because they can leak or overheat). It also takes time and practice to get magnesium fire starters to work properly. First of all, for those who think these fire starters from the Friendly Swede don't work, note that you DO need to scrape off the protective coating from both the flint (before it'll spark at all) and the magnesium block (before you'll be able to get a decent amount of shavings off it). Striking a spark also takes a little practice to get the right angle and pressure. Second, do have all your fire-making materials on hand before you attempt to spark a fire. You might be able to light small twigs with a good 25-cent coin sized pile of shavings, but anything bigger and you really need to build up to it. Pine duff, bark shavings, wood shavings, dried moss, crumbly rotten (but dry) wood -- all of these make for good kindling, as does paper. Secondly, you don't HAVE to use the little included tool if you happen to have something better or easier to use. A good sharp knife can be used to get shavings and to strike a spark (but do be careful not to cut yourself). But the handy thing about having the tool is it's there in case you don't have a knife or other larger implement handy. Finally, while a lighter or matches might be more convenient, sometimes they just don't work or the flame doesn't last long enough or burn hot enough, and it's often hard to get marginal burning materials going. A double-sized pile of magnesium shavings will not only burn for a while, it burns very, very hot, which can overcome damp kindling or inclement conditions. My recommendation is to go outside somewhere on a non-windy day, gather some kindling and small pieces of wood, and take a practice run at starting a fire using the fire starter. Yes, the block won't be pristine anymore, but you'll have a better sense of what to expect and how to do it, which is generally a better way to go than to wait until you're stuck in a snowstorm with numb fingers and try to figure it out then from memory. The fire starter will be just fine and won't go bad or anything just because the flint and magnesium are exposed. This particular product, the Friendly Swede's emergency fire starter, is inexpensive plus it comes with three complete blocks, tools, and chains. I took one for myself, gave one to my spouse, and the third one is going into our truck's little first aid / survival kit. I am not in any way affiliated with The Friendly Swede, but I love their products and always keep an eye out for them, especially when they come out with something new. The last thing I bought from them was one of their carabiner grenade survival mini-kits, which is also in our truck now.

I wasn't sure if this should get a 4 or 5 star review. In all honesty, I would give it a 4.5 if I could. THE GOOD: -The quality of the magnesium is great. Even a light little spark on it gets it to ignite. I am beyond impressed by this. -There is A LOT of magnesium on there to be scraped off. I have used one of mine to the point of the ferro rod getting close to being flush with the magnesium block, and I still have probably 75% of the magnesium block left. You can go ahead and shave off way more magnesium than you need for each fire and still not be concerned about running out. -The scraper is actually quite useful, assuming you use the correct side. Since it is stamped, one side has more of a rounded edge and the edge on the opposite side is much more sharp. It isn't sharp enough to cut yourself with while handling it. If you use the sharp edge side of either the flat side or the "saw-tooth" side, you can shave off a decent amount of magnesium in a short time. -The chain is made up of 3 small chains. In the pack of 3 firestarters, you get 9 chains. You use 3 of these to make one long chain for each firestarter. It gives you plenty of room to be able to use the striker without needing to undo the chain. -The ferro rod throws a decent amount of sparks. Don't expect it to give you a monstrous shower of sparks, but it gives you plenty to get a pile of magnesium burning with. It does its job well. -The price is a bargain for 3 of these starters. THE BAD: -The ferro rod wears out pretty quickly. I admit, mine probably sees more use than most people, but I have almost worn the ferro rod flush to the magnesium on one of the firestarters in a month. There is probably about 50% of it left, but about 30% of it is sitting lower than the magnesium channel it sits in. On a good note, you are getting 3 of these firestarters, so you don't need to worry as much about it. If it happens, you can just use the "worn out" one as a magnesium source and start scraping magnesium off of there to turn into a small firestarting kit. Since I planned on putting one of these in each vehicle my family owns, I have since ordered a much larger ferro rod to take care of the spark duty. All in all, I think this is a great product, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a compact firestarter.

Legit fire maker.

These really are better than the other brands for this type. Only bought these to have extras in bags and boxes if I find myself without the expensive ones. Tried one just to see if they were better, and they are by far. The magnesium is softer and puts off shavings much more easily. The ferro rod part throws more sparks. The striker is more sturdy and useful than the common ones made out of cheap hacksaw blades. Really top notch strikers despite appearances. It took me less than 5 minutes to light a small fire. They are not equal to my Exotac or FireSteel rods, but they are a big improvement over the ones you get at Walmart and Harbor Freight. I would have no hesitation relying on these for lifesaving emergencies, and they are good enough for EDC. Buy these to learn how to use ferro rods. Great tool to practice on. Great for reliable extras.

Awesome product! Especially after the experience I just had while visiting family over thanksgiving. One of the nephews is a budding survivalist and just got his first magnesium fire starter. He was quite eager to show it to me and guide him in the proper usage. "Piece of cake", I thought to myself since I had recently introduced my girlfriend to the wonders of magnesium. She shaved of a little pile, and got it going with the first shower of sparks, just as it should be and always has been for me. So, back to the nephew. He hands me his new most coveted knife, sits back, and waits for the fireworks. I start scraping the block and think to myself, "this seems to be a bit harder than I remember", but I just chalked it up to my arthritis flaring up on me. A little while later, my mound is ready. I launch a shower of sparks expecting a conflagration, and, nothing. Ok, try again, and again, and again. Nothing. I hand over the knife to see if younger hands can prevail. Not so much. We write it off for the moment, and decide to try again later. Back at the house later that day, we set out again. This time we have a great pile of tinder and dryer lint under the magnesium mound. A tremendous amount of striking and sparking later, we finally have a fire. I notice, though, that it was the tinder that caught, not the magnesium. "Oh well," I thought, "at least the nephew got his fire." I was a bit personally discouraged thinking that next time I'm in the backwoods, I will likely freeze to death. To the interwebs I go! As it turns out, there are knockoff magnesium fire starters out there that are about as effective as rubbing two wet rolls of toilet paper together. Apparently, that's what we had. After looking around, I came across The Friendly Swede and thought that this looks like a quality product at a reasonable price. The fire starters showed up quickly and I set out to redeem my manliness. First, I used the included scraper to open a frosty beverage (always a good thing to mix with fire), then set about building a monument of magnesium. The curved, toothed part of the scraper made quick work of it. "Softer metal," I thought. This could be a good sign. One scrape, two scrapes, whoosh! My faith had been restored. Thoughts of camping by a roaring fire danced in my head. I thought about ordering a set of these fabulous fire starters to the nephew, but my girlfriend said that maybe letting him struggle to be the bane of Smokey The Bear might not be such a bad thing.

Camping trip! I picked this up as a backup to start our campfires. I only tested it, but it did give good sparks so should be okay. Good deal.

Solid item, works as stated, great price and sleek design. It comes with two which is great.

Nice quality