How to make a flint and steel fire.

[STAINLESS90]

I did a little write up last week about how to make char-cloth and found that for as much as a lot of us talk about it, I have yet to see a how to on flint and steel fires, so here one is.

First step is to locate "flint" I put quotes around this because there is actually quite a wide range of stones that will work for this. Despite popular belief it is not the stone or the friction that causes the spark. It is actually a small piece of iron that is shaved off, that ignites when it makes contact with the air. Iron is pyrophoric which means it ignites when coming in contact with oxygen at room temperature. This may confuse some as you are wondering why your car or other objects containing iron don't start on fire everyday. It is because iron oxidizes the instant it contacts air and there is typically too much surface area for it to ignite. By shaving a small portion off you are exposing fresh un-oxidized iron to a very large amount of oxygen at which point it ignites.

Now back to the how to, you are basically looking for any non-porous rock with a sharp edge. Typically rocks that are good for striking are shiny, so the next time you go for a hike take a striker and try rocks that look good.

Here are a couple pieces of quartz which is popular in my area and some standard river flint.

Next you need a high carbon steel striker, they are pretty easy to find online and I think we even have a few makers here.

Here is mine.

Make sure you have the proper materials for starting the fire. For beginners I recommend char-cloth and fluffed jute twine.

The smallest piece of char-cloth I can reliably catch is about the size of a postage stamp but I recommend using a larger piece. Also make sure you have enough tinder prepared as you may only get one shot.

Next place the striker above your piece of char-cloth at a slight angle.

I can't really get a picture of the next step as I only have two hands but you want to strike downward at the steel with the flint with the flint turned at a slight angle. Your goal here is to barely scrape the steel with the flint. You don't need to drag the flint down the entire length of the steel but you also don't want to strike at the steel like an axe with a tree. It is really a process of trial and error and every striking rock will be different as the edges differ. The best explanation I have heard is you want to come as close as possible to missing the steel while still striking it.

If done properly you will get a small group of sparks that should fall and hit your char-cloth, lighting it.

Place your lit char-cloth onto your tinder bundle.

I then roll my tinder bundle around my char-cloth completely enclosing it. Make sure it is not to tight as you can extinguish the spark.

Blow with steady even breaths until the tinder catches, do not puff or blow sharply. It will happen very quickly when it does so be prepared to transfer it to your larger tinder.

I can usually start the bundle in one or two even breaths.

Final step FIRE!!!!

Another good option to carry is something called slow match. It is a cotton cord soaked in chemicals so that it burns at a slow even rate.

It is great as it already has char-cloth at the end and can be used to transport an ember from one area to another.

Once your done with it you simply pull the cord inside the brass tube and snuff out the ember.

I hope this help a new member out in they're outdoor adventures.

 

[heresthedeal]

Try putting the char cloth on top of the flint and holding it with your thumb and using the steel to strike down on the flint, so the sparks go up into the char cloth.
You can do the same thing with the slow match, as long as its burnt and has charred material on the end it will act just like char cloth and doesnt have to be soaked in anything.

Hope this helps.

 

[STAINLESS90]

Try putting the char cloth on top of the flint and holding it with your thumb and using the steel to strike down on the flint, so the sparks go up into the char cloth.
You can do the same thing with the slow match, as long as its burnt and has charred material on the end it will act just like char cloth and doesnt have to be soaked in anything.

Hope this helps.

I have heard this before but have never honestly heard any supposed benefit other than personal preference. If there is a benefit please let me know I just listed this way as it involves less juggling of materials for beginners. When I talk about the slow match being soaked I am talking about the potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate that cotton cord is soaked in to make slow match.

 

[heresthedeal]

I have heard this before but have never honestly heard any supposed benefit other than personal preference. If there is a benefit please let me know I just listed this way as it involves less juggling of materials for beginners. When I talk about the slow match being soaked I am talking about the potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate that cotton cord is soaked in to make slow match.

Ok.
The way i listed takes less material and the sparks dont have to travel 5/five to 8/eight inches to get to the char cloth.
The sparks go right into the material.
Your way, the flint is struck down onto the striker wich can cause small flint flakes to shoot back toward your face, possibly into your eyes.
Once you have a spark caught, or a coal you dont have to pick it up its in your hand and can go right into the tinder bundle.
Once you start using something other than char cloth, like skitogan/chaga, or milk weed placentas the way i posted works a lot better.
There you go.
Almost forgot.
Im guessing you mean a slow match for a match lock gun, if so your right, but for just starting a fire or making a coal or ember theres no need to soak it and you can use natural materials like dogbane cordage as long as it charred.

 

[STAINLESS90]

Ok.
The way i listed takes less material and the sparks dont have to travel 5/five to 8/eight inches to get to the char cloth.
The sparks go right into the material.
Your way, the flint is struck down onto the striker wich can cause small flint flakes to shoot back toward your face, possibly into your eyes.
Once you have a spark caught, or a coal you dont have to pick it up its in your hand and can go right into the tinder bundle.
Once you start using something other than char cloth, like skitogan/chaga, or milk weed placentas the way i posted works a lot better.
There you go.
Almost forgot.
Im guessing you mean a slow match for a match lock gun, if so your right, but for just starting a fire or making a coal or ember theres no need to soak it and you can use natural materials like dogbane cordage as long as it charred.

You hold the striker right over the char-cloth so it travels the same distance not 5-8 inches and can be done with the same amount of material.
I have been doing it this way for about 5-6 years and have never had flake issues as I typically use quartz which flakes quite a bit less in my experience.
Picking up the char-cloth isn't that huge of a deal to me and goes right into the tinder just the same.
I always use either char-cloth or plant fiber as they are abundant in the desert as opposed to chaga which is non-existent, also why fix it if it ain't broke. I have used other materials and what you posted is commonly referred to as an opinion.
I mean the commonly accepted definition of slow match which I have only seen one of, if you have came across another type of slow match please share. Also I clearly stated it wasn't just for starting a fire it was primarily for traveling with an ember.
Finally it was clearly posted as a how to for someone who has never done this before, next time try offering these as advanced techniques and not for someone who is just learning the basics. I have experience in this and have gotten a system down that works for me. Neither technique is more right or correct but one is much easier for the beginner hence why I recommended it. YMMV

 

[heresthedeal]

Then carry on, didnt realize they were advanced techniques, but inches arnt measured by opinion, thats what rulers are for.
But what ever you say, its your thread. Have fun with it.

 

[STAINLESS90]

Then carry on, didnt realize they were advanced techniques, but inches arnt measured by opinion, thats what rulers are for.
But what ever you say, its your thread. Have fun with it.

It's just bad form to drop into a thread and give the op who took time to do an informational thread pointers on everything you perceive was done wrong, then back it up with shoddy information and opinions.

 

[heresthedeal]

I made a suggestion, you asked me to back it up with reasons, I did.

Didn't say your way was wrong, just that there was a different way, that in my experience was a bit safer, gleaned from over 25 years of experience.

YMMV but in no way was my information shoddy or just opinion, it just didn't agree with you.

Have a nice evening, great post thanks.

 

[STAINLESS90]

I made a suggestion, you asked me to back it up with reasons, I did.

Didn't say your way was wrong, just that there was a different way, that in my experience was a bit safer, gleaned from over 25 years of experience.

YMMV but in no way was my information shoddy or just opinion, it just didn't agree with you.

Have a nice evening, great post thanks.

Sorry if I came across attacking, reading back I came off a little stronger then I intended. My experience with the steel striking flint method happened when I was in boy scouts. One of the less coordinated boys had his thumb extended too far past the striker and managed to shave off a decent portion of skin while striking. That is the one and only reason why I don't recommend that technique to beginners. When striking the steel on flint the entirety of your hand is guarded by the striker so the thumb is not as much of a worry because you just tuck it.

 

[Bo T]

It's a good safety point on catching the flint with your thumb or finger.

 

[VaughnT]

I must have tried a hundred times, but I just can't seem to get the hang of striking the steel with the flint like you're doing. I've seen it done, so I know it can be done, but my brain just doesn't seem to be wired like that. It's a weird thing, I know!

Great write-up, hoss. I'll keep practicing that striking technique!

 

[vic2367]

another great post ,,thanks :thumbup:

 

[Rick Marchand]

Good post.

There are a few different ways to work traditional flint and steel. I prefer the "strike the flint with the steel" way. I don't like anything out of my hands and lying on the ground... susceptible to wind, rain, snow, etc... have you attempted your technique in high winds or rain? What hersthedeal was trying to explain it that when holding the tinder on top of the flint, the material can literally be put right next to the striking edge. The spark has less than 1/4" to travel at most.

That said, I have been using a historic method recently that I really like. You DO strike the steel with the flint, but you strike it directly into a tinder box filled with a mixture of char and plant fibers. You then blow the box to flame use it to light your tinder/fire/candle, throw a little extra tinder into the box and close it up. The cycle is self-charring. You are constantly renewing your kit. Pretty slick, if you ask me.

 

[STAINLESS90]

I typically lay my char cloth inside my birds nest of tinder which is typically plant fiber. My sheath is always wrapped in about 10 ft. of wax soakws sisal twine so I always have it available along with the plants here in the desert. In regards to the desert I always find a rock to put my fire lay on and make almost a stone oven enclosed on three sides. It keeps the wind out pretty well.

 

[kyturkey]

Thanks for taking the time to write that up, I hadn't seen the slow match before.

 

[SwiftDream]

That said, I have been using a historic method recently that I really like. You DO strike the steel with the flint, but you strike it directly into a tinder box filled with a mixture of char and plant fibers. You then blow the box to flame use it to light your tinder/fire/candle, throw a little extra tinder into the box and close it up. The cycle is self-charring. You are constantly renewing your kit. Pretty slick, if you ask me.

I just read about that exact method in a Bernard Cornwell novel called The Fort. He does a lot of historical fiction. Thanks for your more in-depth explanation.

 

[VaughnT]

What chemicals is the slow match soaked in to make it better than plain cotton rope? Is that something you do at home, or do you have to buy the match?

I'm out of room in my new tin....

but I could be talked into getting another tin if it means adding a slow match to the kit.

 

[STAINLESS90]

What chemicals is the slow match soaked in to make it better than plain cotton rope? Is that something you do at home, or do you have to buy the match?

I'm out of room in my new tin....

but I could be talked into getting another tin if it means adding a slow match to the kit.

The cord is soaked in a solution of Potassium nitrate (saltpetre) which binds some oxygen to the cord. Plain cotton rope makes excellent tinder but it will self extinguish after a little while where as slow match will continue to burn at an even rate because of the bound oxygen. It can be used to carry an ember over long distances or just to get an ember going out of the wind or rain and then carry back to your fire lay. You can do it at home if you feel adventurous all you need is potassium nitrate which you dissolve in vinegar and then soak the cotton cord in. The length of soak time and concentration of the solution determines how fast or slow it will burn. I plan on making my own next time but this one was purchased online I can PM you the seller's info if you like they are about $7 a piece and last for quite a while, the same seller sells refill slow match as well.

 

[panzertroop]

That said, I have been using a historic method recently that I really like. You DO strike the steel with the flint, but you strike it directly into a tinder box filled with a mixture of char and plant fibers. You then blow the box to flame use it to light your tinder/fire/candle, throw a little extra tinder into the box and close it up. The cycle is self-charring. You are constantly renewing your kit. Pretty slick, if you ask me.

That's the method I have always read about from historical accounts of mountain men and fur trade era trappers. Thus why it's called Tinder Box? Nice explination

 

[WEB2]

I strike directly into my tinder tin as well, pic out the coal or cloth put in jute nest or leaf bundle. Once i get a flame i light my beeswax candle for insurance.