If you want to steal away on a weekend in the wilderness it is important to remember that survival can depend on lighting a fire in adverse conditions. The Model 7 is a wood handled flint (ferrocerium ) and steel fire starter kit. Skillfully hand made in the USA by a West Coast craftsman, named Charles Houtchens.

The Model 7 kit adds 2 special features over competitors that ensure a fire start - magnesium rod and oversized wood handle.

The striker (or a good hunting knife) can be used to shave off shards of magnesium from the reverse side of the Flint ( ferrocerium )rod. A few strikes later and you have ignited a 5400 degree magnesium fire that permits you to ignite even green or damp tinder. In a pinch you can even use the striker to shave off bits of the oversized wood handle. The wood handle is made of a special oily wood that serves as excellent tinder.

Competitors more costly models often have a plastic handle - worthless as tinder. Some even have moving parts and springs in the handle that can fail in the field. Keep in mind you can shave the wood handle on the Model 7 over and over again and it is still easy to hold and use, since the handle is oversized to begin with.

The Model 7 comes with a 3/16" flint and a 3/8" magnesium core. The flint is good for 7,000 strikes and the magnesium for about 50 fire starts.

Use as a Signal:

* Shower of Sparks can be seen for up to 3 miles at night.
* Allows you to be located when boating, walking, hiking, hunting, or when your vehicle breaks down.
* Smoke-signal fire can be seen from several miles away.

Fire Starter

* Shave Magnesium into a quarter size pile. Place Fine Tinder on Magnesium. Scrape Flint into pile to ignite
* Flint Sparks at 1200 degrees F to ignite Magnesium or tinder
* Magnesium burns at 5400 degrees F making it possible to ignite green or damp tinder
* Sparks can light gas stoves, propane heaters, barbeques, etc.

Tips:

* Place tip of fire starter firmly on ground.
* Hold scraper at an angle to the flint
* For best results, flint bar should be nearly touching tinder.
* If scraper is lost, a knife, broken glass, chipped rock or any hard sharp edge will work to scrape magnesium flakes.
* Tinder Includes: moss, dead grass, pine needles, leaves, wood shavings, steel wool, cloth, paper, etc.
* In an emergency, shavings from the wood handle make excellent tinder.

What is Ferrocerium?

The Ferrocerium Rod (often called ferro rod) is the key to making sparks in a small, simple, waterproof outdoor survival kit. A ferro rod is not a natural material and isn't flint (although you will often see a ferro rod called a firesteel, metal match or flint and steel ). A ferro rod is a complex blend of 20 different metals alloyed together then extrude into various diameter of rod. Ferro rods consist of approximately 20% iron content- this is where the ferro part of the word ferrocerium comes from - (Fe), with trace amounts of other metallic elements such as zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), cerium - this is where the cerium part of the word ferrocerium comes from - (Ce), lanthanum (La), neodymium (Nd) along with minute traces amounts of other rare earth metal elements. Together they may a modern and reliable replacement for flint.

Better product than the model featured in the Restoration Hardware catalogue, and without the fancy price tag.

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