Old style Flint & Steel

Nuke_Spook

Nuke_Spook

Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
582
Does anyone know a good source for the old style carbon steel "C" and natural Flint? I need several sets for Fire starting training. I can find ferrocium rods in bulk but not the primitive sets.

Thanks,
 
I've seen a seller on that auction site that offers multiple kit lots. I've not bought from them so I can't say how good they are nor the reliability of the seller.
 
Right here:

http://www.grannysstore.com/Wilderness_Survival/flintandsteel.htm

20.00 + shipping gets you everything you need. Works well, I promise. :)

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I added some dryer lint to mine, but works well.
 
Try possibles bag .com. I buy my english gray shards there. Also a good source of c strikers.

Kev
 
You might try http://www.trackofthewolf.com/

I've been dealing with them for around 30 years and they are generally good folks; if you explain what you're doing they cut you a deal on a quantity purchase. Depending on where you are in TN, you may be able to find a local source for flint. The banks of the Tennessee River would be one reliable source.
 
I can't help but to point out that there is no flint in a ferro rod.

Ferocerium is a metal. That misnomer causes a lot of confusion around here.
 
I actually do have some flints. I have heard that flint needs to be heat treated in order to be effective in fire striking. Anyone know if this is true and if so how to go about it?

Thanks,
 
Flint is plentiful around here. I have yet to make a decent spark withit. Just dont know how to do it ,I guess. I chipped the hell out of a Schrade Bear Paw one time trying it.
 
Flint doesn't have to be heat-treated; in many cases there is no benefit (at least for this purpose). You ideally want a fine-grained stone that exhibits conchoidal fractures (chips from the edge look like clam-shells), and hard enough to spark when struck on hardened steel. (Most stainless steels won't work for this.) Marginal stone is sometimes heat-treated, but if you aren't going to be knapping the stone it is usually easier to just find another rock.
 
So heat treating the flint does not harden it or make it more capable of shaving steel off your striker? I guess the couple of shards I tried were just too soft as they just chipped pieces of flint off with no sparks.

Thanks for the info,
 
The steel has to be heat treated. I've never heard of this with the flint.
 
Fiddleback said:
The steel has to be heat treated. I've never heard of this with the flint.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

Steel too soft = too easy to shave off pieces of steel = not enough heat generated.

The striking angle is one issue in whether you get sparks or pieces of flint showering down. Start too shallow and gradually increase angle.
 
Nuke Spook, do you want to borrow a tested striker and rock? Or I could just send you a couple of rocks you could use for comparison--send me a PM or email if I can help you out.
 
coffeecup said:
Nuke Spook, do you want to borrow a tested striker and rock? Or I could just send you a couple of rocks you could use for comparison--send me a PM or email if I can help you out.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the offer but I have just ordered a couple of sets from "Black Bear Haversack Trading Post". He is including some extra flint to make sure there is a good striker. Part of the reason I was inquiring is I have 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket full of flint arrowhead pieces collected by my wife's grandfather. Before I started testing for good pieces I wanted to make sure that I was headed in the right direction.

Thanks for the offer and thanks to all who shared information,
 
I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to flint knapping. You could ask the guys at paleoplanet. They're REALLY knowledgable. BUT, heat treating steel changes its molecular structure. I can't imagine thats happening with rock. Could be. Or it could just be changing the moisture content I guess. Have you tried glass? I've used glass to get sparks off my steel striker.
 
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