I was watching the Grey Bearded Green Beret and on several of his you-tube clips he mentions preferring a longer ferro rod I think it was on his winter gear dump video. I thought Id give it a go, with the damage in my hands and found it much easier. On one course they taught to tie a piece of paracord to the ferro rod and attach it to your belt. I found it became tangled all the time. So my version was to do a reverse wrap which didn’t tangle but still filled up the pocket. I think Id only use this on certain courses where your always making fires and under a time limit for testing not for real world applications. I also tried wrapping the grip end with Gorilla tape for an emergency fire starter and ended up going with the same paracord wrap I used earlier for the tungsten strikers. in a bright color so I couldn’t loose it if dropped.

https://www.survivalsuppliesaustralia.com.au/Dragons-Breath-Heavy-Duty-Ferro-Rod-and-Striker-Firestarter

https://www.youtube.com/@GrayBeardedGreenBeret