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AL...
01-05-2012, 10:02 AM
OK this will most likley be a dumb question BUT!!!!
what makes a good steel for throwing sparks from flint?
And would an old file do the job ok? Never thought of useing one before comming on the fourms here as I always carry a couple of lighters when I used to head out
I collected some Horsehoof fungi when I was out the road on sunday and cut some up got it to smolder real good useing a Magnesum (spelling sucks) stick and the back of my knife But realy want to try with flint and steel .
Need to head to the beach now so I can find some flint I think.

Cheers
AL

john scrivy
01-05-2012, 02:23 PM
A peace of broken File works - grind the edge smooth and strick away like a goodun I got my one I use from the Wilderness gathering Made by Dave Budd I think he has a website that may sell such things

Martin
01-05-2012, 02:47 PM
...Need to head to the beach now so I can find some flint I think.

Cheers
AL

Check this out Al

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/archaeology/special/flint.asp

Martin

AL...
01-05-2012, 05:36 PM
Thanks for that John I dident know if it should be left rough or if I needed to grind the file


Martin Thanks for the info on the Flint ... Lived here all my life and dident know about the mines there.
I did wonder why we got some flints on the beach here :D

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
01-05-2012, 10:27 PM
Al If you want some right nice flint from the South ESSEX chalk quarrys that are right out side my back garden I could send you some for the postage price.

AL...
01-05-2012, 10:45 PM
Tony that would be fantastic mate aye . How do we go about that?

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
01-05-2012, 11:12 PM
Al PM me you'r adress or you,r phon number and I'll get in touch

Marvell
02-05-2012, 01:04 AM
This article may interest you:

http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html
(http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html)

Also, you don't need flint, you just need something hard. We have no flint in Devon, so I use quartz. Give it a good smack to get a decent edge (mind your eyes) and have fun making fire.

dave budd
02-05-2012, 07:18 AM
I've even used bits of broken pottery to get sparks from a steel. Basically the struck object needs to have an edge that is hard and sharp enough to scrape a piece of steel from the striker. The steel will produce sparks if it has enough carbon to burn and is hard enough that the shearing of the piece from its surface generates friction sufficient to ignite said carbon ;)

So the best combo is:

Hard, sharp and elastic material for the 'stone' (flint is very elastic, so supports a better edge than say obsidian which is more brittle)
Hard, very high carbon steel for the steel (surface finish is less important, but if it is ridged like the non-safe side of a file then it will break the flint edge easily)

Quartz (and the quartz crystals in granite, basalt, coarse pottery, etc) has corners that can be sharp enough to work and while they aren't as elastic as flint, they do break into new sharp edges due to the smaller grain sizes ;) Basically just pick up anything that you can get a sharp corner on and give it a go!

I know folk who use car springs for steels and they work well, files work better though. That is because the files have more carbon (1% vs 0.5-0.6% for springs) to burn and also are capable of greater hardness as a result. BUT a higher alloy such as 52100 ('bearing steel') has the same 1% and will attain a high hardness, but won't create such good sparks due to the other alloying elements hindering the process. The stuff I use is low alloy and hits 1.1% carbon. I reckon I could make an even better firesteel if I make my own steel, but that would make them very expensive! Then of course there are heat treating effects, quenching temperatures, quench mediums (speed of cooling), grain refinement, etc, etc. All make some difference and you have to experiment to see what works with your steel. Strangely, I've noticed that the steels I make in the workshop using a coke forge and a large bucket of water for quenching are better sparkers than the ones made in the charocal demo forge and a small bucket of water, despite the steel type and temperatures being the same. weird

AL...
02-05-2012, 11:00 AM
Tony you need to clear a messege or 2 mate yer full up LOL

Cheers
AL

AL...
02-05-2012, 11:03 AM
Marvel Thanks for the link there Its a real nice steel ye made yourself .

Dave Thanks for the Info Its real good of ye to take the time and write
Im realy lookin forward to trying this .

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
02-05-2012, 10:01 PM
I'v dune that now Al should be OK now:happy-clapping:

AL...
02-05-2012, 10:16 PM
Cheers Mate sent the Addy to ye .
Just let me know how much and I'll get it sent to ye mate

Cheers
AL

Tony1948
02-05-2012, 10:31 PM
Done that ALT^

AL...
02-05-2012, 10:39 PM
Cheers Tony

magnet
01-11-2012, 04:14 PM
I make my firesteeels out of en9 carbon steel i use this alot at work when left dead hard it throws good sparks. Al if you want a bit just pm me your address ........magnet

mr.punch
02-12-2012, 08:31 AM
This article may interest you:

http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html
(http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html)

Also, you don't need flint, you just need something hard. We have no flint in Devon, so I use quartz. Give it a good smack to get a decent edge (mind your eyes) and have fun making fire.

Erm??
http://www.beer-devon.co.uk/flint.htm
Is beer too far from you as it is a nice place to visit good fresh crab shop too.

nilo52
23-02-2013, 04:28 AM
This article may interest you:

http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html
(http://blog.artandscienceofsurvival.com/2012/04/harder-but-not-that-hard.html)

Also, you don't need flint, you just need something hard. We have no flint in Devon, so I use quartz. Give it a good smack to get a decent edge (mind your eyes) and have fun making fire.
Here in California we don't have "flint" either, I use Chert instead. It works well for "flint"

CanadianMike
23-02-2013, 01:42 PM
All from the same type of family I think as far as getting sparks from.

midas
24-01-2014, 04:20 PM
Whilst realising this is an old post,I am just getting into "primitive"Flint n Steel,(Got one on order.)I'm using a piece of file at the moment.(think its alloy ?)and my flint prob isnt the best either,but having fun!
I think i'm in danger of becoming a pyromaniac,as I view everything as "TINDER",I'm putting togther a tin box containing "TINDER"ie from Char Cloth to Tea Bag,Alcohol Swabs to Cotton Wool/vasline.Seeds n Chaff to Fat Wood.Etc.lol!

DuxDawg
25-11-2014, 08:08 AM
http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?8069-Flint-Steel-striker-How-to-make-or-got-a-spare&p=122845&viewfull=1#post122845

For the striker in F&S any 10 series steel such as: 1060-1095 will work. Also many tool steels such as: W2, O1 or L6. The key factor is that they are heat treated to 59-62 HRC (Rockwell Hardness C Scale). While I have been successful with steel in the 57-58 HRC, it requires such effort as to be very discouraging. People often state "high carbon" steel when refering to strikers. It is important to note that it is not the carbon that burns, rather that high carbon steel is easily heat treated to the desired hardness range. The interesting take away from the above is that there are many sources of strikers. Some axes, knives, files, hacksaw and SawzAll blades work. Naturally occuring pyrites work, however those I have found here in the Upper MidWest work better as the flint than as the striker. Quite noticably fewer and weaker sparks when using pyrite on pyrite or flint on pyrite. There are likely many other objects that will function successfully as the striker - the above are the ones that have worked for me.

In addition to the above mentioned steels and tools, I have heard of people using W1 and O2 tool steels, fish hooks, replaceable carpet (OLFA ??) blades, trailer hitches, etc. Leaf springs from vehicles and springs from garage doors are popular sources of steel for forging one's own strikers.

The spines of hacksaw blades are my #1 choice when improvising a striker and make great keyring EDC tools. A bit of Duct tape protects us from the teeth until they are needed. The teeth can be used not only for cutting but also for processing tinder. Scraping any wood or plant stem yields a "fluff" that works better than curls or dust from the same material for catching a ferro spark, taking a flame or when used in a tinder bundle.

With every striker I have used for F&S, the initial surface did not work as well as the metal just underneath the surface. File, hacksaw blade, knife, purpose made striker - all of them worked much better after the outer layer was worn off. Not sure what an actual measurement would be. At a guess 1/64", maybe less.