Striker for firekit

luckykitty

luckykitty

Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
1,410
I'm pondering ... I like the firekit, but it is way too stylish for a broken off saw blade as a striker, and my little crappy keyring-knife ... even is crappy for throwing sparks ...

So what do you all use?

Has anybody tried a carbide tipped "knife sharpening" tool for that, as suggested here (waaaaaay down that page)?

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RAT Pack #28
 
I have a firesteel.com striker on it, its great
firesteel_scraper_f__60976.jpg

They are less than a buck

I have tried the "Knife Sharpening" Carbide and it works great, but too big and can't lash it to the firesteel.

The broken saw blade, was in my experiments, far from good.
 
The sharpener tool works great! As far as leashing it to the firesteel, slide it out of the red covering and there is a hole at the back perfect for paracord. Do a little wrap job and it matches your Izula to boot! The tip will rust easily so keep the black tip for covering the "carbide blade".
I have three of these! one in every kit!

BTW you can save the shipping cost by purchasing at most any DIY store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) find them in the garden tool area.
 
I picked up a Buck hartsook S30v, the knife is to little for really useage so I made it my RAT Firesteel Striker
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DSCF1013-1.jpg

DSCF1014-1.jpg
 
kta2402 said:
I have a firesteel.com striker on it, its great
firesteel_scraper_f__60976.jpg

They are less than a buck

I have tried the "Knife Sharpening" Carbide and it works great, but too big and can't lash it to the firesteel.

The broken saw blade, was in my experiments, far from good.
Click to expand...

I use this too. It's really easy to throw a shower of sparks if you use the very front of the tool. I have a little trouble using the side of the striker. :o

Before I got that I used the back of my RAT7. After a few tries the coating wore off on the corners of the spine and were able to throw sparks.
 
I have always just used the blade of whatever knife i was carrying at the time.
Is this method detrimental to the integrity of my blade, if it has been I have not really noticed a terrible amount of dulling to my edge?
Second question does using the strikers forementioned throw a larger spray of sparks than the RATS edge would?
 
The firesteel striker looks good, but is a bit silly to ship over to europe, at least so it seems to me ...

I remember having a piece of steel that would only need some filing to serve as a striker, but I misplaced that when we moved ...

I used the edge of my Izula ... and it works extremely well, but I'd rather do it with something else ...
 
luckykitty said:
The firesteel striker looks good, but is a bit silly to ship over to europe, at least so it seems to me ...

I remember having a piece of steel that would only need some filing to serve as a striker, but I misplaced that when we moved ...

I used the edge of my Izula ... and it works extremely well, but I'd rather do it with something else ...
Click to expand...

why would you rather use something else?
 
Basically all you need is a nice edge with a sharp corner, so you can use anything you want as a striker.

i don't use my RATS to strike because the coating on the spine makes it impossible without stripping a bit off and because I screw up my edge if I use the sharp side.

But if needed and I don't have anything else, I will use the knife to strike.

I just use the firesteel.com striker because I had a spare one and found it to be good with the RAT firesteel, else I had a piece of saw blade and even had a 50 cent keychain knife graciously given in a shopping promotion that I can use to strike.

So whatever works it's good.

My opinion is try anything you find at a hardware or outdoor store, If you find something you like than share it with us, I would love to know what you use.
 
crowdog said:
why would you rather use something else?
Click to expand...

cause I'm experimenting a lot with firesteels right now, and I dont want the added wear on the blade.

I've seen a neat carbide sharpener, 10 cm in length. Come somewhat more expensive than the standard DIY Store ones, though (while I don't know if German DIY-stores have them at all).

Found the homepage of the maker:
http://www.istorsharpener.com/english/default.htm
 
Anything with a carbide edge will do better than a standard striker.
As with anything there are trade offs!!!!
A carbide edge works well because it really shaves off a LOT of misch metal from the firesteel. Expect to see a cherry hot glob of metal burning for a couple of seconds, almost like slag from a welder. Some people complain that it seems to "waste" the firesteel. My firesteel is for emergency use. Yes ok I have one that I play with when camping too, but the ones in my PSKs and BOBs are pristine because I want every bit of use from it when I need it. If I need a fire in a hurry and Im in my PSK then I want the biggest, hottest spark I can get! I have LMF, RAT and StrikeForce firesteels, they all have their place but my favorite is the StrikeForce (1/2 inch of misch metal is awesome!)

Hey guys how about a super rat firesteel? just increase all the measurements to accommodate a 1/2 inch firesteel!

That Istor sharpener appears to be ceramic, they have others that are metal impregnated with diamond, I didnt see carbide.
 
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Electric jigsaw blade. Get the assorted pack at your local hardware store and try the different sawteeth options. Has two mounting holes already drilled for your cord or lanyard.
 
Well, I tried an all steel key blank (yes, I removed the chrome plating) - no good.
So while I was at looking at my lockpicking gear, it dawned on me:
feeler gauge, some of the thicker stock.

Took one out of a set, filed a sharp angle ... and it works fine ...

they are widely available for next to nothing, plus they even come with a hole for the lanyard ... :D
 
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