putting a little handle on a flint

C

ChapmanPreferred

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Oct 7, 2006
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I see all these cool little handles on flint rods riding on some fixed blade sheaths, anyone feel like sharing how they put them on for themselves?

Cheers.
 
How to put a handle on a ferro rod? Find suitable material, shape it to your liking, drill it and glue it in with a good epoxie.
 
I had lots of fun doing mine. I had a small block of wood left over from making one of those pen sets.
I started by drilling a the lanyard hole then drilling another hole slightly smaller than the rod. But when I was testing if it fit I couldnt get the rod out no matter what (without glue) and left it like that. I whittled the shape with a knife then stuck the rod into a cordless drill with the handle sticking out and wrapped some sandpaper around it and turned it on.
I soaked it in some vegetable oil to waterproof it a little and the fibers swell a little so the grip is even tighter. Only tools I used were cordless drill, knife and sandpaper.
 
lotoblades said:
How to put a handle on a ferro rod? Find suitable material, shape it to your liking, drill it and glue it in with a good epoxie.
Click to expand...

Thats about it.

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Very nice, Ilbruche!!! (did you know there's a bug under the rock in the first picture?) ((( :D )))

I'm fixin to ask you guys a question.........

Where did you get the ferro rods?
 
Bens Backwoods on epray sells them. Or ferrocerium.com.

Used to be a guy on epray that sold them really cheap, but I haven't seen his listing lately.
 
I think not long ago there was a fellow in the for-sale forum who had a bunch of the smaller ones he was trying to unload, pretty cheap (like $4 if I recall).
 
ilbruche said:
Bens Backwoods on epray sells them. Or ferrocerium.com.

Used to be a guy on epray that sold them really cheap, but I haven't seen his listing lately.
Click to expand...

Ben's Backwoods has a regular web store too. That's where I got my blanks and my Mora 521. He's got some good prices on blanks and on the magneseum block fire starters too if you like those.
 
I am going to have to use some 1/2" micarta to match my knife. thats a good idea.
 
If your looking for the large type 1/2x4" epcamps is the place to go. this is the large size found in the blast-match & Gerber Strike-Force fire starters,It produces the largest stream of sparks of any ferro rod i've tried light-my-fire Army model is my back up to this one:thumbup:


http://epcamps.com/4in_Flint.html
 
I just discovered the fun of using a lathe and am working on a whole bunch of custom handles. I will post some pics when they are done.
 
ilbruche said:
Bens Backwoods on epray sells them. Or ferrocerium.com.

Used to be a guy on epray that sold them really cheap, but I haven't seen his listing lately.
Click to expand...

+1 for bensbackwoods.com

Personally I'd avoid the no name ferro blanks you can find on ebay. I dont know if theyre just hardened differently, or have a different composition, but the cheap ebay ferro rods I got are noticeably inferior to the sweedish "light my fire" version. They require much more effort to get a spark, and lots of times it just scrapes off a small shavings which dont immediately ignite. In a pinch they'll get the job done, but for a few extra bucks I'd get something more reliable.
 
If I may.

An idea might be to use a wood that takes a spark rather easy in case one does not have good tinder to make a fire.

i.e. while pine is not as striking as using a finer wood or antler/etc , a side of it could be shaved in an emergency for tinder, to use with your ferro rod.
 
Thanks to one and all for the information. I decided on a bit of green canvas Micarta and will post a photo tomorrow once the bonding agent dries fully.

rebeltf, that is an excellent idea, and when I get my next rod, I will use your idea. Well done. With yours, have you sealed them to be sure the inside was dry, or just let the sap content do the job? Just curious.

Again, thank you all.

Cheers.
 
rebeltf said:
If I may.

An idea might be to use a wood that takes a spark rather easy in case one does not have good tinder to make a fire.

i.e. while pine is not as striking as using a finer wood or antler/etc , a side of it could be shaved in an emergency for tinder, to use with your ferro rod.
Click to expand...

Excellent.
 
or you could use a piece of magnesium. Its very light, looks neat, and you could shave it.
 
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