Magnesium Fire Starters

A magnesium fire starter is a simple, effective, and lasting tool to have your kit. Matches and lighters are obviously great to have, but a magnesium block is waterproof and lasts a long time.

Most magnesium fire starters consist of a simple block of magnesium with a flint attached on one side. I have used both Coghlan's and Coleman magnesium blocks; both work well and are available anywhere. To make a fire using this method, all you need is:

Magnesium fire starter
Knife
Tinder

To use, simply drag the blade of your knife on the block at a 90 degree angle, and create a small pile of magnesium shavings. Have your tinder ready to add to the flame as the magnesium burns up quickly.

With tinder and wood ready to burn, scrape your knife along the flint on the side, igniting the magnesium. Add your tinder and there you have it...FIRE.

In the example shown below, I brought along some dryer lint in my kit which burns quickly. In the desert there is a seemingly endless supply of tinder. My problem is finding wood that burns for a while. The wood found in the desert is dead and extremely dried out. Desert wood burns quickly, almost like paper. You should gather plenty of desert wood before nightfall in order to have enough to make it through a cold desert night.