Are rabid squirrels a pressing concern in your neighborhood? They terrorize mine, attacking cats and dragging newborns into trees to feed the squirrel rabies babies. Concerned citizens are arming themselves in an attempt to combat this new menace.
Ugh, that sounded like a really bad movie plot, or maybe just a really bad intro. Either way, I’ve got a few new knives in the store, including the preorder for the Sparky knives that should be done in a couple of weeks. Along with their big brothers are some itty bitty baby knives for those of us that believe that no container should be without a way to cut things and a way to start fires.
I tried really hard to make a video about something other than fire. Those flickering little flames won out in the end though, so here is a video about making a fire starting goo with a couple of very common ingredients:
The goo actually works really well and is fun to make. Be sure to store it in a container that can handle gasoline byproducts, unless you want your whole backpack to smell like a gas station.
After my last video, I had several people ask for another video showing more detailed use of a firesteel with various tinders. I like playing with fire more than the average person and was happy to oblige. I really hope there are no arson cases in my area, because the investigators could just point to my videos and I’d be done.
I get questions from Going Gear customers on a pretty regular basis asking how to use the firesteels I sell. Typing out angles of strikers, pressure involved, wind speeds, tinder fluffiness, favorite color, etc. is kind of hard, so I made a video instead. This video is now on every firesteel product page to help answer those questions and I figured some of my blog readers might find some use in it:
I get e-mails on a regular basis asking when my store will have the Sparky knife back in stock. The original maker did a great job on the first batch, but got caught up with work at his day job, so I had to go off in search of a new maker. I started out with Bryan Breeden, a knifemaker with a great reputation on BladeForums, and he was as far as I had to go.
He made me a prototype that was a wonderful interpretation of the design. The blade and handle are similar to the original, but the firesteel has a threaded cap instead of the original cap with a set screw, which will make it more secure. We want to try and make another change or two to the design, but I should have them in stock on a more regular basis starting next month. I will also start offering other handle materials along with small and large versions of the design.
The original Sparky prototype is still the only fixed blade I ever use, which is saying something when I used to buy a new knife every week or two in seasrch of the perfect design. Bryan’s version of the Sparky is looking to be a worthy successor.
