Modern Frontier Tool: The Ferro Rod
The ferro rod has earned its place as one of the most reliable outdoor tools you can own.
If you study the American frontier, you can easily see that frontiersmen tended toward dependable gear. It just makes sense. Many of them lived rough lives, exposed to the elements, for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time. People around the world who live this sort of existence all seem to lean toward simplicity. Simple may mean more difficult, but it often means more reliable. In lots of ways, frontiersmen practiced the KISS camping method when there were no other methods. And it wasn’t camping, it was living.
Today’s outdoorsmen have many advantages over outdoorsmen of the past. The list is so long that it would be futile to even try to name everything. From the first aid, to communication, to firearms, to clothing, the list goes on and on. As good as all of our modern technology is, it can come at a cost. If we’re not careful, we can end up with a truckload of gear for even simple trips. I’ve written before about how oftentimes technology is a substitute for knowledge and skill. The reality is that we can depend so much on our technology, we forget to develop the basic skills that outdoorsmen can benefit from. One way to build your skills is to reduce the technology you use. Part of what The Modern Frontier is about is developing an approach to outdoor living that combines the skills and knowledge of the past, with the benefits of modern life. In some ways, perhaps the best example of this is the ferro rod.
The ferrocerium rod, or ferro rod, is an ignition tool that was first invented in 1903. Since then it has woven its way into the modern outdoor culture. Ferro rods are an alloy, which means they contain a mixture of metallic elements. Today, elements like iron, cerium, and lanthanum constitute the bulk of ferro rod elements. The principle the ferro rod works on is simple. When the alloy is scraped with appropriate pressure and speed, small shavings of the rod come off. When this happens, the tiny bits of metal oxidize and momentarily burn. Many of today’s ferro rods burn at temperatures of around 5,000˚F for brief moments. As a result, the hot sparks are good at catching small materials on fire.
Ferro rods are a great addition to any outdoorsman’s kit who is looking to step up their skill level. It’s not necessarily easy to get a fire going with a ferro rod, but it is proven. If you’ve ever watched the TV show Alone, you probably noticed that ferro rods are almost universal with the contestants. Of course, you probably aren’t looking to replicate the Alone situation on your next hunting trip, but the point is that the ferro rod has proven to be a practical method of starting fire for long periods. Although lighters are wonderful for starting fires, the ferro rod does have a few advantages. First, they offer a long-term ignition source. You don’t have to worry about them running out of fuel. Second, they don’t require quite the fine motor skills to operate. This is beneficial if your fingers are cold and stiff. Finally, ferro rods are simple. There is nothing to break except the rod itself. The downfall is that it requires skill and knowledge to work, and they only produce sparks, not a flame.
If you’re interested, you might enjoy this video I put together demonstrating the use of a ferro rod in damp weather.
Not all outdoorsmen are interested in building skills. Many people just want to buy the tools that make life the easiest and get on with the hunt, trip, or whatever. I get it. Whenever time passes and technology improves, people are left to answer the question about what you keep, and what you let go. However, if you are the type of person interested in skill development and simple tools, then the ferro rod with worth spending some time with. It is more effective than 19th-century technology like flint and steel, yet is still simple enough that it is very reliable. I have to think that if the frontiersmen of history were still around today, they would opt for a ferro rod for their long-term forrays into the wilderness. They are simple tools that can stand up to the elements for long periods of time. That, in many cases, was the type of gear those historic outdoorsmen were after.