Combat grade and firesteel

A

azoth

Joined
Jun 1, 2012
Messages
399
Has anyone sanded of a portion of the coating o. The spine of their knife, so that it would work with a fire steel?

I'm considering doing this to my new cg ams and wanted to see if it had been done and if anyone had any tips.
 
Yep use the blade.

I have tried the spine of my infidu and it wouldn't work.
 
I've never stripped the spine of a coated blade for striking a firesteel, but I've used the spine of some satin blades to strike a firesteel successfully. The most memorable was a Pork Shank.
 
jd4320t said:
Yep use the blade.

I have tried the spine of my infidu and it wouldn't work.
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The corners on the spine are ground to be free of burrs, essentially what starts as 90 degree angle is ground at 45 degrees to remove the burr. Therefore, you will not have a sharp 90 deg. corner for striking with unless you regrind your knife. Can't imagine why anybody would want a hard corner on any knife, best answer would be to carry a striker or use a sharp rock or file (multitool?) to strike it with. You may have also heard that fire steels only work with carbon steels btw, this is nonsense and anything hard and sharp should be workable in my experience.
 
Grind a little of the butt of the knife.

The butts get warn from rubbing you any how
Striking a fire steel on the edge can and will ruin the edge, I have done it and it does.
Most important, if you use the butt of the knife it allows you to keep the knife sheathed and no edge exposed to possibly cut you.
 
David that's a great idea. I really wanted to avoid using the blade, and I didn't want to carry a separate striker. So I'm gonna attempt to remove some coating from the butt and try to square it to 90 degrees. I'll try and post some pictures when I'm done.
 
azoth said:
David that's a great idea. I really wanted to avoid using the blade, and I didn't want to carry a separate striker. So I'm gonna attempt to remove some coating from the butt and try to square it to 90 degrees. I'll try and post some pictures when I'm done.
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It may seem like a good idea but just keep in mind that a sharp 90 degree angle can and will slice you pretty good given the opportunity. Many Busse's come with what looks every bit of 70 degrees inclusive at the tip and it definitely will slice you, another 20 degrees won't eliminate this possibility. A sharp 90 deg corner on a pommel is the last thing I would want to carry on my belt, but YMMV.
 
Just use the blade. If you are using a firesteel then things have gotten pretty bad. Who cares if you dull the knife a bit. It's not like the whole blade will be dull.
 
Its not the blade edge dulling that is the concern, its the temperature of the sparks that is the concern. That kind of direct heat will destroy the temper of the steel in that small area. The steel becomes brittle and breaks off the edge easily. Takes quite a bit of sharpening to replace that edge.

But, its your property, you have every right to use it like you want to. But do heed the warnings given here, they are well intentioned.
 
Also it's not that things have gotten bad, while I do tend to carry a bic lighter with me while camping I prefer the chalange of collecting the proper tinder and using a fire steel. As for the sharp edge on the pomel I tend to use sheaths with a dangler so I don't think it'll be an issue but I'll check just in case.
 
Red Angel Dragnet said:
It may seem like a good idea but just keep in mind that a sharp 90 degree angle can and will slice you pretty good given the opportunity. Many Busse's come with what looks every bit of 70 degrees inclusive at the tip and it definitely will slice you, another 20 degrees won't eliminate this possibility. A sharp 90 deg corner on a pommel is the last thing I would want to carry on my belt, but YMMV.
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There may be some misunderstanding here ?

The 90 degree angle does not have to be razor sharp or even "sharp" at all especially not sharp enough to cut you, to throw sparks from a fire steel.

One of the most important for me (and it may be different for others) is that I can strike with the blade/edge sheathed for safety

Last thing you want in any situation is a cut that can get infected.

Every time I see those amateur survival shows (Survivor and the like) I cringe when they are chopping at the fire steel with a machete or axe just waiting for a bad strike that lays their hand open, which has happened before several times.

The butt of my Elmax steak knife is no where near sharp enough to cut you and I have started dozens of fires with it.

The Fire steels I use throw 5500 degree sparks and it will burn the edge off of yes even Busse's.
I know in a desperate "survival" situation it will not matter as much to some that you are burning off the edge.

But I sure like practicing when things are calm as practicing sure helps when the chips are down.
When practicing will you use the edge of you knife or would a non super sharp butt end that allows to keep the edge/blade sheathed be better for you ? For me keeping it sheathed works better .

Pics and video later may help ? :)

I am by no means a survival expert and not looking to argue with any one, just my experience from actually using and carrying the items and some of my thoughts.
 
David Brown said:
Grind a little of the butt of the knife.

The butts get warn from rubbing you any how
Striking a fire steel on the edge can and will ruin the edge, I have done it and it does.
Most important, if you use the butt of the knife it allows you to keep the knife sheathed and no edge exposed to possibly cut you.
Click to expand...

leatherman said:
Its not the blade edge dulling that is the concern, its the temperature of the sparks that is the concern. That kind of direct heat will destroy the temper of the steel in that small area. The steel becomes brittle and breaks off the edge easily. Takes quite a bit of sharpening to replace that edge.

But, its your property, you have every right to use it like you want to. But do heed the warnings given here, they are well intentioned.
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^---- These right here. Like Dwayne said it's your knife if ya wanna take a chance on damaging the HT on the edge.
 
After striking several times on my Ratmandu I immediately put my fingers on the edge and it was not hot.

What am I missing???
 
What type sheath are you using? A striker can be easily incorporated into a kydex sheath.
 
Just get a rat tail file or square file. Cut it off to length.
( might need a abrasive wheel to cut it off)
Use the file to make magnesium flakes, turn the fire starter and use the
file to make sparks. It will makes a helluva spark.

I will post pics tomorrow. Wife is sleeping and iam retarded/ dont
know how to post pics.
Its a great way to do it and it saves your edge of the blade.
 
My first fire steel many years ago came with a section of hack saw blade, it was perfect! The new styled strikers that come with Swedish Fire Steels dont throw near as aggressive a spark, and they take up more room. Hack saw blades are cheap and easy to find and always seem to break. Good striker fodder.

kjd, the heat generated is very localized and very intense, the thinness of the edge dissipates heat rapidly. Unfortunately repeated heat cycles like that are harmful in time. The edge will heat blue in time, that is when you know the damage is done.
 
leatherman said:
My first fire steel many years ago came with a section of hack saw blade, it was perfect! The new styled strikers that come with Swedish Fire Steels dont throw near as aggressive a spark, and they take up more room. Hack saw blades are cheap and easy to find and always seem to break. Good striker fodder.

kjd, the heat generated is very localized and very intense, the thinness of the edge dissipates heat rapidly. Unfortunately repeated heat cycles like that are harmful in time. The edge will heat blue in time, that is when you know the damage is done.
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Dwayne, you read my mind!!! :thumbup: Great minds... :D

Break a 3" piece off the end of an old hacksaw blade (then you also get a free lanyard hole ;)), attach it to your firesteel, and call it a day. :) You can use the toothed side to shave magnesium filings if you have some, and the squared spine for a striker.
 
I now carry a military can opener with my firesteel. I've only used it once to start a fire. prefer to use a lighter or matches or propane torch or firework sparkler.. whatever works and is easier.. I did use a Dremil once to mar the back of a rodent solution FOR THAT EXACT SCENARIO. (WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I LOST MY STRIKER) and it worked great .. made the knife ugly but at least your able to start a fire. My point is this, use whatever you got in a survival situation to stay alive. But unless your hiking up into Alaska use something easier and don't mar the knife. Get a Lost mountain iron works sheath or some type of kit like I did to carry that extra striker.. always have more than one way to skin a cat ..but if your like me you have already done what your Gonna do "to hell with everyone else"...Who Needs patience!... Also if you want a real challenge use a flint and steel...
 
For me a firesteel is an emergency tool, so no problem if i have to use the edge of my blade one time in my life :thumbup:
 
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