Just to be sure, when you strike this item with a knife it will creat sparks?

Survival Instructor here. Anyone saying that the "striker" (you *SCRAPE* a ferro rod, you don't strike it) needs to be a special alloy such as carbon steel is completely, totally, 100% dead wrong. You can create beautiful big showers of sparks with stainless steels, carbide scrapers, broken glass, and even rocks with a sharp edge. The scraper can be anything that is harder than the rod itself, but it MUST have a sharp edge. And that is the KEY folks, the edge you use to scrape the ferro rod needs to be *SHARP*. That said, don't EVER use the cutting edge of your knife unless you want to ruin it. The biggest issue that most of my students have is that the VAST majority of knives do NOT have a sharp 90 degree spine. Knife manufacturers round those sharp edges off the spine because it makes a prettier, "more comfortable", and more finished looking product. Also, jimping on the spine will get in your way. Even some knives specifically advertised as having a sharp spine for use with ferro rods fall short. Whatever scraper you use should have a sharp enough edge to take off fine shavings/scrapings of your fingernail if dragged lightly down. Luckily, you can put this sharp 90 degree edge on your knife spine if you're willing to file/sand/whetstone it. Or, if you prefer not to alter your knife, you can get a carbide "tool sharpener" at most big box stores that will hog off huge gobby shavings and essentially never go dull. There are TONS of options for a scraper, but it has to be SHARP. Anyone saying it must be carbon steel is likely confusing a ferro rod with true flint and steel, but they are NOT the same thing. True flint and steel requires a hardened piece of high carbon steel that is STRUCK, not scraped, by a stone that is harder than the steel like flint, chert, quartz, etc., with a sharp edge. However, flint and steel sparks are "cold" at around 500 degrees, versus the 5,000+ degree sparks created by a ferro rod.

Is this a hard, medium, or soft ferrocerium rod? What's its magnesium content?

I would say it's a hard ferro rod....works great!!!!

How do they perform if wet?

Water has NO effect on the rod itself, other than causing the exposed material under the black protective coating to corrode and dissolve if left wet for a very prolonged period. Really no different than regular metal rusting over time if not protected with oil/paint/etc. The beauty of ferro rods is that they work in ANY condition; subzero temperatures, torrential rain, high altitude, etc. However, your tinder must be dry and properly prepared for it to ignite from the sparks of the rod. If you're in a marine environment or a place with high humidity, you can simply use a light coating of spray paint on your rod after use to prevent corrosion. On your next use, simply scrape through the paint to expose the bare metal, and then scrape your sparks as usual.

Where are these made?

China has a lock on most of the rare earth metals these days. Ferrocerium rods are a mixture primarily of Iron ("ferro" - atomic symbol Fe) and the rare earth metal Cerium (chemical symbol Ce) plus a number of other ingredients, all formed under high pressure. Many countries (e.g., Sweden, US, etc) sell ferrocerium rods with various features, but you can bet the "raw material", meaning the rod itself, originated in China. I look at this like the old VHS players; there were a lot of companies selling VHS players some years ago, each with its own look and feel and list of features, but there were never more than 4 manufacturers in Japan that made ALL the "head" mechanisms that read the VHS tapes. Look at performance of the rods, because they all should have iron and cerium, but the mixture is what is important, especially if they state the rod has "more" or "added" magnesium. The rods that "throw burning balls of metal" are high in magnesium and burning magnesium produces a fire better than sparks alone. I have also seen some rods that would not even throw a spark, so buyer beware. I have practiced primitive survival for decades and taught fire starting with just flint (rock) and steel (carbon steel striker), and any of the ferrocerium rods should (hopefully) beat that.

Brand	bayite
Model Number	1A20B
Color	Black-16
Product Dimensions	15.24 x 12.7 x 1.27 cm; 22.68 g
Material	Ferrocerium,Flint,Steel
Item Weight	22.7 g

bayite 1/2 Inch X 6 Inch Drilled Ferrocerium Rod Flint Fire Starter Steel Survival Kit with Toggle Lanyard Hole 15cm

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