The 9V battery and the steel wool will work in a pinch but in reality it's probably more in the catagory of a McGuiver trick. It's a good thing to know if you have those materials handy and you have nothing else to work with. I thought it was interesting so that's why I posted it. Like others have mentioned "why not just use a lighter"? I wasn't familiar with the BlastMaster so I looked it up on the web and saw some comparrisons with other fire starter kits. I was impressed by it so I ordered 2 of them. One to keep in my ATV kit and the other for my 1st line gear.