Any ideas where a person might find one?

D

DirkPitt

Joined
Apr 30, 2008
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In a wonderful book I read, "A Soldier of the Great War" the main character, Alessandro, has with him a pocket knife. It is described as follows: "Next to emerge was a pocket knife, very sharp and very old, with a flint in the handle. 'The flint pulls out, you see,' Alessandro said, 'and if you strike it against the top of the blade, you get a spark. When we rest, we may need a fire to keep us warm.'"

I am a great lover of classic style knives, fixed and pocket style. I am fascinated by the mental image of this knife. I realize there are a great many modern style knives with fire starters integrated into the knife. But that modern style is not attractive to me.

Does anyone know of a classic style pocket knife with an integrated fire starter? I have searched aggressively and come up short.

I appreciate the input of your collective knowledge.
 
In a wonderful book I read, "A Soldier of the Great War" the main character, Alessandro, has with him a pocket knife. It is described as follows: "Next to emerge was a pocket knife, very sharp and very old, with a flint in the handle. 'The flint pulls out, you see,' Alessandro said, 'and if you strike it against the top of the blade, you get a spark. When we rest, we may need a fire to keep us warm.'"

I am a great lover of classic style knives, fixed and pocket style. I am fascinated by the mental image of this knife. I realize there are a great many modern style knives with fire starters integrated into the knife. But that modern style is not attractive to me.

Does anyone know of a classic style pocket knife with an integrated fire starter? I have searched aggressively and come up short.

I appreciate the input of your collective knowledge.

This is a repost from the General Discussion forum. Upon reflection I realized this was a more appropriate place to post.
 
Actually, this may be better asked in the Bernard Levine Forum. Levine may know of the knife described above.
 
In a wonderful book I read, "A Soldier of the Great War" the main character, Alessandro, has with him a pocket knife. It is described as follows: "Next to emerge was a pocket knife, very sharp and very old, with a flint in the handle. 'The flint pulls out, you see,' Alessandro said, 'and if you strike it against the top of the blade, you get a spark. When we rest, we may need a fire to keep us warm.'"

I am a great lover of classic style knives, fixed and pocket style. I am fascinated by the mental image of this knife. I realize there are a great many modern style knives with fire starters integrated into the knife. But that modern style is not attractive to me.

Does anyone know of a classic style pocket knife with an integrated fire starter? I have searched aggressively and come up short.

I appreciate the input of your collective knowledge.

This is a repost from the General Discussion forum. Upon reflection I realized this was a more appropriate place to post. And now at the suggestion of Ed over in traditional knives forum, I am posting it here also.
 
That's a great book by Mark Helprin,A Winters Tale is very good also.

As for the knife....I just saw an old knife that matches that description on Ebay the other day while browsing old pocket knives,but I'm sorry to say I don't remember the maker.

Victorinox made or makes a modern version also.
 
Mykel:

I think I found the one you were talking about on ebay. It says "fire knife" on the blade, and on the side, which removes to reveal the flint rod it says "flint and steel". The scales appear to be something akin to the old brown bakelite. It unfortunately shows signs of repeated sharpening and the blades are worn. Still, it is on my consideration list. I tried to find anything at all about the "fire knife" on google, but got stymied. Just about every search inquiry I could craft brought back "light my fire" knives by the hundreds of hits.

I'm hoping someone out there knows something about this unique knife. I'd love to find a really fresh one. I haven't been able to find the Victorinox one you wrote of yet, either. Yes, Helprin is a very gifted writer. I will have to pick up a copy of "A Winter's Tale"

Thanks for the response.
 
DirkPitt said:
Mykel:

I think I found the one you were talking about on ebay. It says "fire knife" on the blade, and on the side, which removes to reveal the flint rod it says "flint and steel". The scales appear to be something akin to the old brown bakelite. It unfortunately shows signs of repeated sharpening and the blades are worn. Still, it is on my consideration list. I tried to find anything at all about the "fire knife" on google, but got stymied. Just about every search inquiry I could craft brought back "light my fire" knives by the hundreds of hits.

I'm hoping someone out there knows something about this unique knife. I'd love to find a really fresh one. I haven't been able to find the Victorinox one you wrote of yet, either. Yes, Helprin is a very gifted writer. I will have to pick up a copy of "A Winter's Tale"

Thanks for the response.
Click to expand...
Glad you found it.At least you know they are out there.
The Vic I mentioned was a limited Swiss Bianco release now that I've thought about it so you might ask over in the Swiss Bianco sub forum.
Good luck on the search.
 
Dirk, I can't help you with your search, but I wanted to thank you.

I've been searching for a good book to read. I'm usually reading something, but I've been busy lately. Right after I read the title of the book I searched for it for the Kindle. I'm only a little into it but the author has a knack for painting a picture.

Next time I go for a march I'll be sure to first take inventory. ;)
 
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Ted (T.Erdelyi) has a knife with a flint striker, from the 70's I think. He posted a pic of it just the other day.
 
I borrowed these pics from Ebay.
Fire Knife seems to be the only tang stamp.
It looks like the flint holder might be held in place with magnets,either that or friction fit.

$(KGrHqN,!qMFJE!u46F5BSYCuilkZg~~60_57.JPG


$(KGrHqV,!jUFE13ZIwYCBSYCudRs2Q~~60_57.JPG


$(KGrHqR,!loFEr1MbVHgBSYCuOk36!~~60_57.JPG
 
Actually, I think the small blade "nocks" onto the "nubbin" on the removable side plate, holding it in place. Just speculation, but I spent considerable time viewing the above photos, and you can see where the nubbin fits in, and you can see the small blade down past the hole it goes into. Anyone have any information about this knife? Like where, and when it was made, etc?
 
Oh man, oh man, that one is awesome! Full on Boy Scout furniture. I love it. Your's doesn't appear to say "fire knife" on the blade, and I can't read what is etched or engraved there. It also seems to have something written inside the "port" where the flint goes. Do you have further details? I really need one of these babies. The model you have is really nice. But I'm having a heck of a time finding out much about them, let alone locating a nice one.
 
The December 1999 issue of Blade Magazine apparently contained an ad for them. I can only find the text. "Flint & Steel Camp
Knife Has Fire Starter

The Flint & Steel Camper's knife with
stainless-steel, spear-point and pen
blades doubles as a fire starter by
using a flint insert in a Delrin® handle.

For more information contact Flint &
Steel, attn: R, Bray, Dept. BL12, POB 1658,
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 (914) 463-2366."
 
Strigamort:

Yes, it's a very fine book. A very long book. “Anticipation is the heart of wisdom. If you are going to cross a desert, you anticipate that you will be thirsty, and you take water.”
And one of those nifty knives. In truth though, it is highly unlikely that the knife Alessandro had was the one made in Poughkeepsie, New York. I'm still hoping to find an Italian example of the knife described.
 
PLEASE do not post the same thread in forum after forum. Once is enough, and combining them is a real pain, especially late in the day.

If one forum doesn't get a response, we can move it to another, and bring any comments with it. Posting all over the place means people don't see the hints in the other versions.
 
My problem with lighter flints and ferrocerium rods is that they turn to dust when exposed to moisture. The Exotac Nanostriker (for one) solves this problem by putting the rod in a waterproof case that fits on a keychain.
 
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