Swedish FireSteel

Firesteel

A Fire striker is a piece of high-carbon steel used for striking a spark, usually kept in a tinderbox together with flint and tinder.-Usage:...

is a brand of ferrocerium

Ferrocerium

Ferrocerium is a man-made metallic material that has the ability to give off a large number of hot sparks at temperatures at when scraped against a rough surface , such as ridged steel...

-based fire starter

Making fire

Fire was an essential tool in early human cultural development and still important today. Many different techniques for making fire exist...

 manufactured by the Swedish company Light My Fire. It was originally developed for the Swedish Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (Sweden)

The Ministry of Defence is a Swedish government ministry responsible for the national defence policy.The Ministry of Defence has existed in its present form since 1920...

. It creates a shower of sparks at temperatures of around 3,000 degrees Celsius

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

 that can be used to ignite a campfire

Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, to serve the following functions: light, warmth, a beacon, a bug and/or apex predator deterrent, to cook, and for a psychological sense of security. In established campgrounds they are usually in a fire ring for safety. Campfires are a popular feature of...

 with the correct materials and experience. It can also operate in damp conditions.

The Swedish FireSteel operates in a similar way to other ferrocerium fire starters. When scraped, the FireSteel gives off small metal shavings which then spontaneously ignite because of ferrocerium's pyrophoric properties.

Models

The Swedish FireSteel is currently produced in three models. The Army model is the largest and has a 'lifetime' of around 12,000 strikes. The next largest, the Scout, lasts for about 3,000 strikes, and the smallest model, the Mini, can be used approximately 1,500 times.

Examples of models

Model	Weight in grams	Weight in ounces
Army	57	2
Scout	28	1
Mini	14	0.5