shaving magnesium

D

Dave in PA

Joined
Sep 23, 2000
Messages
123
I'm sure this has been beaten to death, but since I've never used magnesium before...does it ruin the knife edge if that is used to shave off some material? Is it better to use an awl, or similar type instrument? Scrape it off with an old hacksaw blade? I thought I'd add some to my kit as an additional firestarter tinder. Thanks in advance. Dave

 
It doesn't hurt the blades edge, but it dulls it pretty quick. I cut a 3" piece of hacksaw blade to use for scraping and sparking. Works great and is so small and light as to be unnoticed.
 
I find that trying to scrape chips off of a magnesium block is an act of futility. The chips are so small that they are blown away by the slightest breeze. If you do get enough to light then they just flair up in a hot flame and are then gone.
I have picked up some magnesium chips from a machine shop that works with magnesium. These chips are real CHIPS and will not blow away and when lit are big enough to keep burning for a while in order to get a fire started. I also pour melted wax over these chips and add a cotton ball to get the whole mess started with a ferrocium rod.

good luck
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Ron,
Bremerton, Washington
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I have to agree concerning the tendency of the magnesium to blow away. Would like to find some larger chips, but don't have a source at the moment. Still, if you prepare the magnesium ahead of time you can coat the smaller lighter particles with wax or vaseline, mix with cotton, etc. and they work just fine. Was wondering how soldiers who are supplied with those blocks as fire starters are taught to handle the powder to avoid the blow-away and burn-too-fast problems...

I have used my knife blade to shave the magnesium blocks. Wrote up the process a couple of weeks ago right here on this forum. I try to use the last one or so inches of the blade (the base at the handle end) so as not to dull the rest of it. I find shaving it with a knife produces some larger curled strips while scraping generates a finer powder. The curled strips don't blow away quite as easily (still too easily though) and they burn a little longer (but still not long enough). Frankly, I have never found magnesium by itself to be a realistic tinder in less than ideal conditions. Aside from preparing it ahead of time as described, how are you supposed to use it?


[This message has been edited by matthew rapaport (edited 03-16-2001).]
 
I think the idea behind the magnesium block is to produce enought of a spark to ignite your tinder but if you already have the ferrocium rod and the waxed/vasolined cotton balls then the magnesium is an unneeded step. I mix it it with my cotton balls and bees wax just as an extra measure to keep the tinder going,however, I don't think it is really needed.
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Ron,
Bremerton, Washington
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Hey Guys...

You guys want an unlimited supply of magnesium...??

Go to any heating and coling contractor who does hot water tanks...

If you see a bunch sitting around ask the guy if you can have the magnesium anodes out of them..
Take a pipe wrench and some WD 40 with you..
There is a square cap on the top of every tank...
Hopefully you find about a 3-4 foot of magnesium in each one...

I take a wood rasp to my bars and powderize it.
Takes a little time,,but works well....
Cheap too..
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ttyle

Eric....

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On/Scene Tactical
Leading The Way In Quality Synthetic Sheathing
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by matthew rapaport:
Was wondering how soldiers who are supplied with those blocks as fire starters are taught to handle the powder to avoid the blow-away and burn-too-fast problems...</font>
Click to expand...
Around here, they aren't. Current thinking and training considers the magnesium unnecessary.

Personally? I haven't decided yet. Sometimes it helps [me] and it doesn't take up much space or mass.



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Urban Fredriksson www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
 
How about just drilling a few 1/2" holes in one of the usual magnesium/rod combos.

Take the drill shavings to mix with vasoline/wax cotton. Carry the now lighter rod with handle as ususal
 
I wondered about the friction ~heat~flames part, so I tried it. Works great.

Using a 5/32" bit gave about 3 cc's (compressed) of Mg flakes. For a relatively small hole, there is quite a bit of usable flakes. Much more efficient than scraping that bar with a blade.


Excuse the poor quality of the pic -I have the world's cheapest digital camera
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-and that's a quarter.

 
Now that's doable! I took the sparking rod out of my magnesium bar, because I consider magnesium to be fairly useless, as a lot here do. But, I didn't throw it away; inveterate pack-rat. And I was thinking about some way to powder the bar ahead of time, and store in 35mm film cans for field use. I hadn't yet come up with a time efficient way to powder the bar, but now I'll just break out my drill. Lots of nice, long curly pieces of magnesium, ready to hand, and without a dull knife. Great idea.
 
I wouldn't be surprized if you could email a few machine shops that use magnesium and get a good hunk of the chips for pretty cheap.

I've also seem, hmm I think it was 1/3lb bags of the heavy machine chips on ebay for sale as well, they were very clean not floor sweepings etc. I don't think the price was too high and a 1/3lb should last anyone quite awhile

 
Ron Hood shows a great way to use a magnesium fire starter in his video. First he shaves a pile of magnesium about the size of a quarter into the well of his hat. Then he puts that in the hollow of a cotton ball. Hit it with a spark and you got it.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
My answer was to buy a cheap little lockback knife, and attached it to the Magnesium firestarter. it works great as the curls of magnesium start fires realy quick and dont blow away...


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****** The Ridge Runner ******
A man is not a warrior by steel alone, ethics, courage intelligence, compassion and honor are the true tests of a warrior's prowess. Once these are achieved, the spirit will guide the sword.
'Kahless

Check out my web site and Forums at: http://ridgerunnersurvival.tripod.com
 
Hey Muzzleup -- am lurking over here on the south side of Sinclair Inlet. Can you point me towards the machine shop -- if not in the Yard?

(Sorry to just jump in here my first time on this forum, but the proximity, and chance of something worthwhile for free/cheap, made me do it. Am Scottish, you understand.
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Am trying to put together survival packs for my cars, and puzzled about magnezium. This thread has been great.


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Bugs..;
I got my magnesium chips from a machine shop in Ballard when I used to work over there. I also got some from a machine shop in Belfair but I don't know the name of it. A machinist who worked there brought them to me when we were both working with Ed LaPour ats his gunshop.
I have a couple of cardboard boxes of chips, so if you want some, email me and we can meet and I will be glad to share some of them with your for your survival kits.
I was a machinist in "the yard" and am retired now but don't ever remember machining any magnesium there.
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Ron,
Bremerton, Washington
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