Posted by Jamie Canterbury on August 29, 2018 • Ferro Rod
The Ferro rod is far and away the most effective, efficient and sustainable fire-starting tool on the market today. The reason many people don’t consider it is because they do not take the time to master things like tinder and kindling. While it may seem more convenient to have matches or a lighter, the Ferro rod is going to be around longer and is much more durable.
A nice thick Ferro rod is about as durable a tool as you are gonna find. I cannot think of many things that would be as assuring as a Ferro rod like this.
Have you given thought to how you carry your Ferro rod? Is it at arm’s length or is it buried in your pack somewhere? We are going to look at three methods for carrying your Ferro rod and why you need to consider them.
Neck
Many Ferro rods come with a nice length of rope attached to them for a number of reasons. Some are long enough that the Ferro rod can even be worn around the neck. Having a Ferro rod within arm’s reach is always going to be important but beyond that, having one this close assures that you will not lose it even if you have a mishap.
If you find yourself falling into a river or into a gulch, you could easily lose your pack. Swimming with a 40lb backpack on is not going to be possible for most people so you will likely ditch that if it’s a choice between swimming through rushing waters to safety or drowning. It could also come off your body in the tumult.
Having a Ferro rod attached to your person is a decent way to assure you will at least have a fire if nothing else. The beauty of a Ferro rod is that it can simply be wiped off and ready to use.
Of course, the downside to carrying a Ferro rod around your neck is that you have something around your neck. I am not a big fan of things around my airway. This is particularly true in the wilderness because you never know what can happen and help is far away.
Kydex Sheath
The Kydex technology has changed a lot in the way people carry things like guns and knives. This material is pretty easy to manipulate and can be customized. There are a few companies who are creating Kydex sheaths for knives that also include Ferro rods. A Ferro rod can be made to fit a Kydex sheath so snug that there is no way on earth it will come loose without a direct pull. The falling, swimming or other scenarios that could come will not affect your Ferro rod.
This means you will always have a Ferro rod on your belt. This means, in the very worst-case scenario you will always have the possibility of fire.
While Kydex is a technology that is being used by those who are selling products, I don’t think it will be long before the general population is using Kydex to create their own personal items. It's very easy to heat and shape if you know what you are doing.
Perhaps creating your own kydex sheath, for a quality Ferro rod, is in your future.
Your Pockets
Of course, you can go with the prospect of those cargo pockets or those breast pockets if you so desire. Storing a Ferro rod in your pocket is not a bad method either! While it may not sound as interesting as creating a customized kydex sheath it could still work. You could find that having access to your Ferro rod and having it on your person will keep is as safe as possible.
While you might store matches and lighters in your pack, there are a number of situations where your pack can be taken, lost or destroyed. The properties that make the Kydex sheath so darn impressive are that it can survive just about anything. Your pockets will not hold a Ferro rod the way a sheath or a necklace will, but it will still be hard to fall out.
Of course, you could remedy that problem by carrying more than one. These things are cheap and that makes them ideal when you talk about carrying multiples. Have a few in your pocket and some in your bag. Why not?
Your Pack
At this point, you might be wondering why I write an option for carrying the Ferro rod in your pack. After three options that spoke to the possibility of losing your pack, this might be confusing. Well, that is because you are assuming that you should only carry one Ferro rod. While having a sleek Kydex holster with a Ferro rod in it is nice, what about having four rods and using each of the methods we mentioned to carry them.
You want access, access, access, and abundance. In other words, you should have one around your neck, if you are ok with that. You should have a nice sheathed knife and Ferro rod. You should have one in your pockets, too! You should also have a fire bag in your pack with everything you need to start and sustain fire, and, in that bag, you guessed it, should be another Ferro rod.
Is that overkill? Well, this is just advice. You don’t have to do anything mentioned in this article, However, if you follow a similar system to this, you will never worry about fire again.
Conclusion
So why is the Ferro rod the best options for fire starting in a wilderness survival situation? Well, there are a number of reasons and some of them cropped up in our writing above. Here is a simple list of reasons why the Ferro rod has got to become an important part of your survival pack and your fire process.
- Waterproof
- Survives Nearly Anything
- Makes Hundreds of Fires
- Lightweight
- Inexpensive
- Fast and Easy
- Focuses Skill on Fire Building
I used a metal cutting bandsaw (going really low and slow to keep the sparks under control) to chop a half inch by six inch ferro rod in half, then glued it into a piece of whitetail antler. The handle and exposed portion or the rod are each 2½ long, making the whole tool five inches. I drilled a hole through the rear portion of the handle, epoxied and peened a piece of ¼" copper flush line into the lanyard hole, and attached a loop of paracord. I run the cord through a belt loop on my jeans and pull the ferro rod through to lock it in place. I carry it absolutely everywhere I go. And with a Dickie’s tall-sized T-shirt only the tip of the rod hangs below my shirt. Only folks who know what a ferro rod is have commented on it and have done so with universal interest.
The old adage “Two is one and one is none”, certainly applies here. My favorite ferro rod has a deer ulna for a handle and lives in…you guessed it, a kydex sheath. I always have at least a second one stashed somewhere. As with many folks, I’m not so fond of having things around my neck, so I usually have my second or third in my pack and or pocket. As with all skills, practice makes perfect. Use them often, use them well and when it counts the skill will see you through.
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