Ebay Magnesium Fire Striker Scam
Which kit offers the best value for money?
Whilst checking over my survival gear the other day I noticed something rather amusing.
During one of my ebay shopping sprees I had purchased two different type of Magnesium Fire Striker/Fire Steel kits.
The first one acquired was a short 2-3 inch rod + striker, the second being a much longer 5-6 inch rod + striker. The longer of the two was much thicker in diameter and overall seemed more substantial.
Both rods cost roughly about the same which meant that the larger of the two seemed a much better proposition and great value for money.
The short rod + striker arrived first and worked well under testing. I was quite easy to make a fire.
It seems good quality and likely to last for a long time.
The extra long rod + striker arrived eventually and all was good until it came the time to test it.
Despite my best efforts I could not get any sparks what-so-ever. It was a little bit strange? Was this just a steel rod in disguise?
Can you see it?
Turning the rod over revealed something rather bizarre.
Instead of the whole bar being made from a single piece of Magnesium like the shorter one, we get a full steel bar with a much thinner bead of Magnesium cut into a channel down one side?! The cheeky beggars!
Magnesium Rod is set in a channel
To be fair, the rod and striker do work provided your run the striker directly in one particular place. The only problem with this is wear and tear over time. With only one side of the rod being used for striking, it won't be long before it's worn away.
Bad design. Must try harder lads!
When the actual surface area of Magnesium is measured on both size rods it's the smaller one which has the most material and is the more versatile.
Simply wrapping a thin Magnesium rod in a steel bar is a blatant fraud imo.
There is no need to build a rod + striker kit like this - other than to fox the general public into thinking they are getting more.
It's amusing to say the least.
There's a lesson to be learned here I'm sure.