Just got back from the winds (sic) of WY again and had all of the success of post #75 above.
My son's ferro rod has pretty much been whittled away with very little success. The magnesium shavings blow away easily in the wind. We had 15 to 20 mph most of the stay there.
I wanted to make a Swedish Candle (AKA Swedish Torch, Swedish Log Candle, NTM it's named for every other Scandinavian country and Canada). We set out to use only scrounged material except for what we normally carried (not including Bic lighters).
I found two saw cut pine logs and some wire. I spit the logs partially and wrapped the wire around them. My son wanted to start the tinder/kindling on top with his mag/farro bolck, but was unsuccessful. In my scrounging I just happened to find a Kingsford Match Light® briquette and a match in my backpack.
OK, maybe they were in the trailer and the match blew out and I used my Bic.
Ya use what ya got!
Turns out the SC burns too quickly in windy conditions. I brought the 2nd SC home and will try to get a more favorable result here without the freaking wind.
Pat