Where do you get your flint and steel from?

A

andrew7978

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
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I have always wanted to try real flint and steel, where do you guys get yours from? I'm not sure if I trust the ones off of eBay.
 
Matt of ML Knives makes them. I have two of them, and they work GREAT!

I made one not that long ago, I have not had a chance to fire up the forge in a while, but next time I do I am going to try to make a few.
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Cabelas has a kit also, includes: striker, flint and piece of cotton for making charcloth
 
The Gun Works is a good source for flint and steel. www.thegunworks.com They specialize in traditional primitive mountain man technology including muzzleloaders, knives and flint 'n steel. Nice folks too. They go to the Reno Gun Show every year, been to mega number of Mtn Man gathers and Joe (the owner) has hunted with muzzleloader all over the world.
 
I'm so glad you asked this question, because it gives me an oportunity to retell this story:

I'd been kinda looking for a piece of flint so I could play with another fire-making skill. A 45 minute drive from my house is a store that sells rustic furniture, antlers, furs, arrowheads, etc. I wondered if they sold flint, but I didn't have a phone number, and I didn't remember the name of the place.

A few days later, I'm visiting with a friend. We're talking, and I bring up the subject, and ask him if he thinks this particular store would sell flint. He says, "almost definitely." My friend's wife overhears this conversation and says, "You want flint? I'll be right back." She goes out to her garden, and returns with a chunk of flint almost as big as my fist. She hands it to me and says, "Here. I've got lots more. That piece is from England. I found it in the center of a crop circle."

So everybody-- my flint is way cooler than your flint!!

Here's how I got my second piece of flint, and maybe how you can get yours:

So I had the flint, but I needed a striker, so I ordered it from ragweed forge. When the striker arrived, it was accompanied by a nice size piece of flint--about 2"x2" and 3/4" at it's thickest. I don't know if he always includes a piece of flint. I had no reason to expect it from the website.

You might ask and/or hope you get some.
 
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I pick chert up off the ground. A sharp piece of it does a fine job on a ferro rod.
 
I "made" a steel out of an old file. I bought it at a flea market for $1.

Many stones will do. Chert, flint, quartz, granite, etc. Though some work better than others and the knappable stones can be fixed with an edge that seems to get more sparks.

Once you have the steel and tinder, just experiment.

I've used home made charcloth, steel wool and tinder fungus to catch the sparks.
 
Big Mike said:
That’s not a flint........That’s is a Firesteel........Big Mike[/I][/COLOR][/B]
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Man, that was a good chuckle!:D I am glad someone brought it up though. Just about the time you're not thinking that everyone is not necessrily on the same page....

FYI: I got some ferro-rods with magnesium in them, very nicely made, good sized, etc. and they're a booger to throw sparks with, but you can scrape a pile of shavings up and give it a good strike and get fireworks. I was about to ditch them (and they were not cheap) and I discovered my flint (the rock) would throw incredible sparks from them, where my steel strikers would not.

Good thread. I just sent a fella home with a tobacco can today to make some char cloth in his woodstove and will be getting him a flint and steel soon.
 
Jeff H said:
FYI: I got some ferro-rods with magnesium in them, very nicely made, good sized, etc. and they're a booger to throw sparks with, but you can scrape a pile of shavings up and give it a good strike and get fireworks. I was about to ditch them (and they were not cheap) and I discovered my flint (the rock) would throw incredible sparks from them, where my steel strikers would not.
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Agreed, the ferro/mag rods are much harder to use, :grumpy:

…but do work great once you get proficient with them.



I’ll have to try that flint trick. :cool:



"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
Jeff H said:
....

FYI: I got some ferro-rods with magnesium in them, very nicely made, good sized, etc. and they're a booger to throw sparks with, but you can scrape a pile of shavings up and give it a good strike and get fireworks. I was about to ditch them (and they were not cheap) and I discovered my flint (the rock) would throw incredible sparks from them, where my steel strikers would not.

.
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I am really liking those rods. The ones I get are about 5" long and throw mean sparks that sizzle for a second or three!

I don't know where you're getting yours but I pay about 5 bucks for mine.
 
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