# Magnesium Fire Starter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2001, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518 "2001-01-05T03:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Foaming\_Pipe\_Snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/958977/32.png) [@Foaming\_Pipe\_Snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Pipe_Snake)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/1 "2001-01-05T03:44:37Z")
For Christmas I got a little neat little pocket survival kit from a white water rafting company I did some sales work for. It’s chock full of band-aids, a little flashlight, water purification tablets, a silver mylar blanket, not to mantion a whistle that’ll blow your ear drums out. It also has a “Teekay Australia - magnesium fire starter” which looks like an oblong tarnished metal crayon with a (I think) flint rod embedded into one side. The thing doesn’t come with any directions and I can’t find anything on the web. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Nen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Nen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/2 "2001-01-05T03:50:56Z")
Shave off a few strips of magnesium with a knife. Collect the shaving in a small pile. Use the blunt side of the knife to strike the flint. The sparks will ignite the magnesium. Have a supply of kindling ready as the magnesium fuel will be consumed rather quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/3 "2001-01-05T06:39:39Z")
Two hints: 1. Do not stare into the extremely bright magnesium flame. It will not be good on the old eyes. 2. Make really sure you do not get any magnesium dust or flakes on you, or on any part of your clothes that comes close to the fire. Magnesium burns are truly awful. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/4 "2001-01-05T20:55:16Z")
You know, I bought one of these things and I’ll be damned if I can get it to work. Mainly because it’s a royal pain to cut off those shavings. Carving magnesium ain’t like slicing through butter. ---
**Author:** ![Stylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stylus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/5 "2001-01-05T21:42:59Z")
Thanks for bringing back some old childhood memories. I used to love my Mg fire starter (which Pops bought for me). I used to start many small, backyard fires when the parents were away. I can still hear my father when he’d catch me yell, “You’re going to burn my Goddamn house down!!!”. ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/6 "2001-01-05T22:41:36Z")
I’ve never used a magnesium lighter before, but can’t you light those magnesium flakes by, say, spitting on it? The magnesium would burn in water, ripping the oxygen out while liberating hydrogen, which then burns again with oxygen in the air under the heat produced in the first step… or am I thinking about sodium? ---
**Author:** ![Tiburon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Tiburon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiburon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnesium-fire-starter/48518/7 "2001-01-05T23:32:45Z")
You’re thinking of Sodium. Pure sodium cakes are normally kept in oil to prevent them from coming in contact with water or air. Sodium burns like the dickens. Tibs.