Corroded ferro rods

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Fuori

Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
628
I got a nice surprise today when I opened a kit in my closet and found my BlastMatch and another ferro rod completely corroded. I live in a desert climate and they were still in their original packaging, so it's surprising. How do I prevent this in the future?
 
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Silica packets that come in packaging you know the ones that say do not eat.That might work I keep one in my gayle Bradley 2 box to help with moisture.
 
Fuori said:
I got a nice surprise today when I opened a kit in my closet and found my BlastMatch and another ferro rod completely corroded. I live in a desert climate and they were still in their original packaging, so it's surprising. How do I prevent this in the future?
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I have had the same problem. The solution is to get an Exotac Nanostriker. They seal the ferrocerium rod in a moisture proof container (tube). It is sealed with an O-ring. There is little air in the tube with the rod and hence little moisture. The striker is Tungsten carbide. The containers come in Aluminum and Titanium. There are also different sizes.IMG_817.jpg
 
I don't know. I've tried sealing them with ren-wax, nail polish, 3-in-1 oil. Sealed in VDCI bags, pelican boxes. They all corrode. The ones that don't are the ones that are in use. The other thing I've noticed is that the cleaner I can keep them, the less corrosion I get. The long storage ones do the worst.
 
gadgetgeek said:
I don't know. I've tried sealing them with ren-wax, nail polish, 3-in-1 oil. Sealed in VDCI bags, pelican boxes. They all corrode. The ones that don't are the ones that are in use. The other thing I've noticed is that the cleaner I can keep them, the less corrosion I get. The long storage ones do the worst.
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Great...
It surprised me because both the rods that I found corroded were coated in paint. I'm kind of regretting buying so many LMF and other rods for long term storage now. Seems like I wasted a bunch of money.
 
very few things are suited to deep storage. The only thing I have not tried which might have some effect is to grease them, and keep them wrapped, sort of the cosmoline method. Might work, messy though.
 
gadgetgeek said:
very few things are suited to deep storage. The only thing I have not tried which might have some effect is to grease them, and keep them wrapped, sort of the cosmoline method. Might work, messy though.
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Would putting Vaseline on them and throwing them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers do the job?
 
When you say corroded, do you mean like one of mine that I had exposed to the elements in the Kydex sheath and now it has whitish splotches on it?
If that's corrosion, will it still function at 100%?
 
yeah, they get powdery, I've had some that get really pitted, but once you get back to clean material they work just fine. I think that like rust, it promotes more corrosion, so I do my best to clean them very well if I find it.
 
gadgetgeek said:
yeah, they get powdery, I've had some that get really pitted, but once you get back to clean material they work just fine. I think that like rust, it promotes more corrosion, so I do my best to clean them very well if I find it.
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Thanks bro. Do you clean them just by using them or do you have another trick up your sleeve?
 
If there is no pitting, yeah I just scrape them down. if there is, or if I want to see what's going on I hit them with a scotchbrite pad to clean out any corrosion. soap and water, and a good drying.

Its one of the advantages to the larger sizes, there is more to loose before you risk cracking it. Thinking about it, i feel like my "better" steels, I have one from going-gear that I installed on an ESEE firekit in place of the original misch-metal, and my blast-match corrode more easily, where my mid-range ones (handle-less blanks off the bay) work well, but are more stable, and the super cheapies that you have to really work at to throw sparks are the most resistant. Given that what we are working with is a reactive material, that makes sense in my head.
 
Interesting thread. What's strange is some of my ferro rods corrode and some don't. Even stranger, I bought two LMF Army models at the same time about 10 years ago. Both are unused. Both stored in the same place. One has corrosion, the other has none at all. :confused:
 
Other than looks, I can't see any reason to protect them from corrosion. They still spark just fine. Just scrape it off and spark away.
 
Grease said:
Other than looks, I can't see any reason to protect them from corrosion. They still spark just fine. Just scrape it off and spark away.
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My one rod wasn't in a bag and the powder got every place. The BlastMatch in the original packaging still had a bit leak out somehow. If only for convenience I'd rather prevent it if possible. Plus it can't be good to breath that stuff in.
 
Some guys have had them corrode to nothing, the disadvantage of leather loops. If you were putting them in a deep cache, you'd want to be sure you had a usable piece at the end.
 
I found another and the white spots are actually pits. This IS the pits at around $15ish a pop.

To Thomas Linton, I assume you used clear nail polish that simply "burns" off as you strike it?
 
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