Flint and Steel

[Fiddleback]

Thanks guys, Fiddleback, that's a big chunk of flint. You'll be good for a while with that one

Yep. Should be. I actually found two pieces, and left the biggest with my mom in Mississippi. We're rock collectors, my family. She didn't want to give the big one up.

 

[Bushman5]

ya, make a GIANT striker for that chunk of flint..... sparks the size of golf balls will fly off it!

 

[kgd]

Actually I was demonstrating this to my in-laws one night on their patio. They have this big (bowling ball sized) piece of quarts ornamental rock among the pea stones in their poor recreation of zen garden. I bent over the quarts and struck it with my striker at one of the edges and a series of sparks flew out. This all occurred at night and the effect was dramatic. While they were good showers of sparks, they weren't really more spectacular than what I can acheive with a nice thin slice of flint.

 

[abo4ster]

Good job! This was how fire was primarily made pre 1800s for the Europeans and for those that migrated to North America. Hence another reason to carry a carbon knife...

 

[pinetree]

Very cool video's. I'm going to give it a try, and try not to cut my fingers off. Nice to know in an emergency. I would like to practice my rock finding skills...knowing which ones will spark....

Thanks for demo.

tjg

 

[hushnel]

Lot of fun ain’t it
I’ve built hundreds of fires with flint and steel, it is still my favorite way. I usually do up char cloth in large batches and only need to make more every couple of years or so.

I was fooling around with a ball of jute, I fluffed out bags of it and still had almost the whole ball intact so I decided to knit up a 7” by 7” washcloth/pot holder that I could always break down a foot or so at a time for tender. Lift the boiler off the fire with what is also a life time supply of tender seemed like a good idea at the time.

This is my tin flint and steel.

And this is kind of like the mother ship. The chunk of flint in this picture I have used for 25 years along with the same striker, it’s like brand new.

 

[Tuxdad]

I love making fire with flint and steel, but have never been lucky enough to get a fire with just jute(with not charcloth of any kind).. Someone wanna share the knowledge for this ??

 

[Rotte]

And this is kind of like the mother ship. The chunk of flint in this picture I have used for 25 years along with the same striker, it’s like brand new.

Great looking kit hushnel. I can't believe that flint has lasted that long! I'm going to try my hand a char cloth this weekend.:thumbup:

 

[kgd]

Rotte - one trick that Rick (Magnussen) taught me was to use terry cloth (fuzzy towel or face cloth) to make the charcloth. You end up with the charcloth preserving that highly textured characteristic of the terrry cloth and all those nooks and crannies contribute to high surface area that really catches a spark well. Trust me, start with a face cloth in making it. It will take your wife a few weeks to notice she has only 7 instead of eight and you can always play dumb

Also, best to make the charcloth outside - it creates a lot of smoke. After removing the tin from the flame. Let it cool down. You should be able to hold the tin. If you open up the tin while its too hot, the charcloth will light up from the sudden influx of oxygen into the canister.

 

[Rotte]

Thanks for the tips KGD.

I definitely plan on outdoors production. I thought I'd try the tin idea, but also just wrapping some cloth tightly in tin foil and cooking it. Any reason that wouldn't work?

 

[Snake Dr.]

I am now hooked on flint and steel fire starting. Hooked!

I just got my flint and steel kit from White Hart Forge today. Nice little kit with a cool striker (thanks to KGD, I know to be careful with these now .).

In addition to the striker, it came with a flint, some jute, and some char cloth. The instructions seemed a little backwards to me--but foolin' around for a minute, I started throwing sparks by holding the 'striker' still and hitting hit with the flint. I then used a little piece of char cloth to catch a spark and--voila!--I had an ember and, with a bit of jute, fire!

I figured it would take days of trial and error to get this flint and steel thing going, but in 2-3 minutes I had a fire going (no pics--I didn't have my camera ready because I didn't think it would work .)

If you haven't tried this yet, I highly encourage you to do so. This was a lot of fun and very satisfying. The White Hart kit is the same as the prize in my Mountain Man contest (dingobubba, yours is on the way!). There are other nice looking kits out there. I may try a few different flints now too--it was just too much fun not to use in the future.

That's a Nice Kit Rotte, I need to get me a Old School Style Tin, I got my Forged Steel Striker & Flint's from Keith Johnson "Great River Forge" It was a Gift with a TomaHawk Order I placed, I need to add some Char Cloth and some Jute to my Pouch, I'll keep useing my Medicine Bag Style Pouch till I get me a Tin, They got a Real Nice selection from TOTW http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(gw...catId=1&subId=4&styleId=11&PageSize=10&Page=1 I like the one with the Burning Glass Lens Top but I'll most likely get a couple of different Style's and make two Kit's, they got some Nice Forged Steel Srikers also check em out, http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(gw...ries/partList.aspx?catID=1&subID=4&styleID=10

I really like your Kit's Hushnel "They are Real Nice" You got It all In a Nice Leather Pouch with The Mother Ship and your Tin & Steel Striker Is of Perfect size,

This Is a Great Topic Rotte, And Thank's to everyone for sharing your Info. and picture's, :thumbup:

 

[Tuxdad]

Man I really like your medicine bag kit , SD!! Has its own character !!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Rotte]

Man I really like your medicine bag kit , SD!! Has its own character !!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

+1. Very cool medicine pouch. I need to work on one of those.

I was up in the Snowy Range today and picked up a couple of pieces of quartz:

The one on the right is quite translucent. Both threw great sparks off my striker. Used the one on the left to light char cloth and jute and then light the charcoal grill for dinner. This fire starting technique rocks! (literally) Why do we focus on flint or chert when it seems any sharp rock will do? Or am I missing something here?

 

[Snake Dr.]

Man I really like your medicine bag kit , SD!! Has its own character !!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Thank's, Here's a picture of It with all of the above Item's In the Pouch and there Is still some room In there for some Shedded Jute & Char Cloth,

 

[Tuxdad]

I've got a couple of medicine bags but it always seems I overstuff them... I keep wax and unwaxed jute in my other fire kit along with a fresnel, and a firesteel, striker, a piece of fatwood, flint and charcloth, and one PJCB for good measure(JIC).. I may have to just break it down a bit and try and stick with that...

Btw is that a neck or hip carry for your medicine bag ??

 

[kgd]

Why do we focus on flint or chert when it seems any sharp rock will do? Or am I missing something here?

Yeah - part of the fun is finding out that there are so many options available for rocks that will throw. The only rule is that it has to be harder than the steel striker. I find, when I'm fooling around with rocks that I will notice in a given area certain colour variants of rocks do better than others. Sort of like geology by fire.

Flint is prizes because 1) it is hard enough to throw good sparks and 2) it breaks in shards which generally creates a nice sharp flat edge ideal for throwing, 3) it is easy to find or knap a flint piece that is nice and flat and takes up little room in your kit.

Flint can easily be knapped to produce a sharp edge when you dull the one you are working on. In the case of other rocks, once the flat edge you were using dulls, you try to knap it and half the time it crumbles without a usable edge. Of course, you can go off and get a new rock. The point, I think with the flint is that it is a perfect piece of kit, while rocks that throw sparks are great for throwing sparks but they may not be a great piece of kit with the versatility that a piece of flint has (even the ability to knap into a point or knife can be thought of here).

I'll start another thread later today. But I was at Rick's (Magnussen's) yesterday and was showing me some better technique for holding the flint. Anyhow, Rick, always up for a challenge knapped a little tiny piece of flint about 1/5 the size of your pinky finger fingernail and then took a single strand of charcloth and got the damn thing to light!

 

[Tuxdad]

I always keep my old pieces of flint from my muzzle loader just for that reason.. Tha's about as small as I've tried using...

 

[Snake Dr.]

I've got a couple of medicine bags but it always seems I overstuff them... I keep wax and unwaxed jute in my other fire kit along with a fresnel, and a firesteel, striker, a piece of fatwood, flint and charcloth, and one PJCB for good measure(JIC).. I may have to just break it down a bit and try and stick with that...

Btw is that a neck or hip carry for your medicine bag ??

It's made for Neck Carry, I've got a smaller one I'll get some picture's of, I also got a Nice Leather & Buckskin Possible's Bag but It got lost In packing In my Storage unit and I'm still trying to find It,

 

[dipbait]

What makes the strikers work so well. Will a piece of chert knocked against a carbon steel knife blade work just as well? A cheap mora or Opinel perhaps. I dont have a striker but lots of flint\chert.

 

[kgd]

Dipbait, I answered you on the other thread, but high hardness of the striker makes them more effective at getting sparks. Your knife will likely be able to produce sparks, but most times not as effective and it requires you to have better technique. Here is Rick demonstrating the use of his bushmorrow on a flint to generate a spark. In this case it worked for him, but the sparks were far and few between compared to his striker.