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Magnesium Fire Starter
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A magnesium fire starter could be the most important tool to carry with you. If you ever watched any of the survival shows on the Discovery channel, you'll know that having the availability of fire can be the key to your survival.
A magnesium fire starter works by igniting small magnesium flakes that produce a very hot flame of 5400°F (2982°C). A usual magnesium fire starter will consist of a block of magnesium with an flint striker on one side. To start a fire, you first shave flakes of magnesium off the block. Then, use a piece of steel or iron on the flint tube to create the sparks over the magnesium flakes. The flakes will ignite causing a chain reaction with the other flakes and produce a fast and extremely hot flame.
A magnesium fire starter is a preferred fire starter for many people because it is safe and light weight to carry and doesn't use a liquid fuel. One fire starter can provide hundreds of fires. Magnesium is also hot enough to ignite damp tinder.
The starter works by causing a chemical reaction between magnesium and oxygen. When the magnesium come in contact with the sparks, it oxides with the oxygen into magnesium oxide producing heat.
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