striker for fire

[Burl Source]

This will take you to a post of a forum member who makes fire steels. I hope this helps. Mark

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7012037&postcount=7

I want a striker for building a fire. It seems that everyone wants to sell a kit. The problem is that I have everything I need except the striker. Flint, Char cloth, tinder, pouch, various other forms of fire making devices...got all those.

Anyone know of a reputable dealer that would part with just a striker? I am not opposed to improvising one, but I'm not sure if a file is going to work well enough. Any other ideas for a striker? Haven't found a blacksmith around these parts.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Speaking of natural flint and steel, I was taught to strike the steel with the flint, as with a flintlock. This makes sense because you are shaving off steel with the harder "flint" ("sparks" are molten steel). The steel struck was called a "fire steel," not a "striker." We favored a length from an old file (so hard, not soft), which pinned down the charred cloth and helped guide the sparks onto the charred cloth.

Somehow, a "fire steel" today is most often a ferrocerium rod, which is not steel at all (contains some iron).

The ferrocerium rod is often called called a "flint," when it's not (but at least lighters started that generations ago).

The tool used to scrape the ferrocerium rod is a "striker," when you don't strike.

The steel used with natural flint is a "striker" when it should be struck.

Language has power to illuminate or confuse. Look at this thread.