No, not "shiny", "sparkly" - there is a reason. As with all of the gun shows I have attended in the past, I, unfortunately, walked out without purchasing a single firearm. Though, I have to admit, the "gun" shows here in Kalifornistan are remarkably different from the gun shows I attended in Florida - here, they are much more gun accessory shows, as opposed to actual firearm shows. This is understandable, considering the idiotic laws Kalifornistan imposes upon firearms (10-round limits for handgun magazines, no removable magazines for "assault" rifles, etc.), but it is still a little odd to go to a "gun" show, and encounter no fewer than three jewelry displays. Granted, the knife displays (always good things in my books, especially after stumbling upon this gem - being an engineer, I cannot help to find that as anything except cool), and custom leather displays, and ammo displays, and self-defense-item displays, and all that good stuff are perfectly acceptable and expected at a gun show... but when the jewelry displays outnumber the honest-to-God firearm displays, there is a problem. Though, I guess I should rephrase that - there were quite a few collector's-style firearm displays, showing off weaponry that might be more at home in the hands of John Wayne... or Custer... or even Captain Jack in some cases. Basically, not my idea of "useful" firearms. There was a single table that included M1As, in any flavor, and just a single other table that featured the Kel-Tec SU-16CAs. Beyond that, there were a few handgun displays... and that was about it. The ammo stands were almost bigger, and I know the airsoft stands were significantly larger.

However, as with firearms shows I have attended in the past, I was unable to walk out without at least getting something. In this case, it catered towards one of my other, smaller addictions... fire. No, I am not a pyromaniac... I just definitely like a good explosion now and then, and being able to start a fire on short notice can sometimes be quite useful. Sure, matches are a good way to accomplish that, and work perfectly well at home, but when wet (a frequent occurrence any time outside of an air-conditioned area), they are all but completely useless. With that in mind, I got myself an old-fashioned fire-starter. Well, not entirely old-fashioned... after all, I am a toy freak.

Standard fire-starters are nothing more than a little flint and something steel with which to strike them. End result - lots of sparks. But sometimes sparks alone are not enough... Enter a "Texas Firestarter". Basically, this thing takes a basic, simple, tried-and-proven rod of flint, and then super-glues it to the back of a very large rod of soft magnesium. For those of you who do not remember your high school chemistry class, magnesium + hot-enough-sparks = lots and lots and lots of heat. And the flint on the back of the magnesium rod, when stroked with steel, can definitely make sparks hot enough, and since the same steel you use for the flint can be used to scrape off magnesium filings... well, you are all set. Scrape off the magnesium onto a hard surface, strike some sparks into it, and then start adding kindling, then mid-size stuff, then logs, and you should be all manner of set. For some reason, it recommends against setting up the magnesium on wood itself - not entirely sure why, since that would certainly accelerate the whole fire-starting thing, but I have not had a chance to experiment yet, so I cannot say for sure. Of course, I have not had a chance to play with it, period... I have no scraps of metal I could bear with destroying with magnesium fires.

At any rate, the link above includes an order sheet, if you are interested in grabbing one for yourself. The prices on the order form are a little steeper than what I paid at the show, but that is pretty normal. From the display, though, they are definitely impressively-sparkly enough to be more than cost-effective for anyone interested in starting a fire on short notice (campers, hikers, hunters, etc.), especially once you factor in the insane heat put off by magnesium burning. Add to that the all-weather functionality, as well as the caribiner that mine came with, and you should be set. And, hell, who can turn down easy fire?

Oh, and just to put in the no-doubt-required disclaimer, magnesium-fueled combustions are dangerous. Magnesium itself is capable of reaching temperatures of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit when burning, which can pretty much sizzle its way through whatever it bloody well pleases. Granted, we are not talking about copious amounts of magnesium with this firestarter, but this is still not something to fool around with. Please keep all fingers, toes, appendages, and other items away from all fires or burning metals. Unless you go for that kind of thing, in which case you are completely on your own.

---This post is not sponsored, I just like the product.---