Will Elmax spark a flint ?

David Brown

David Brown

Kydex Sheath and Holster Artist :)
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Hi Everybody,

Been doing some experimenting with strikers and fire starting.

Fatwood rocks by the way :)

INFI will spark
All my Carbon Steels will
My old Victorinox Stainless with throw sparks

But my steak knife will not ?
I am using the light my fire Ferrocerium rod
and some regular Ferrocerium rods, no sparky ?

what are others experience ?
 
If you use a sharp corner it will. I've used sharp rocks to spark a ferro rod in the past.
But as far as elmax with a ferro I have a zt 0566 that I modified by flattening the spine to make the corners a sharp 90 degrees and it will shower sparks now.
 
Any hard sharp edge will scrape sparks from a ferrocerium rod. I have gotten sparks with flint and glass.

Getting sparks with natural flint is a different topic.
 
kooter55 said:
If you use a sharp corner it will. I've used sharp rocks to spark a ferro rod in the past.
But as far as elmax with a ferro I have a zt 0566 that I modified by flattening the spine to make the corners a sharp 90 degrees and it will shower sparks now.
Click to expand...

The spine is pretty square and no sparks ?
 
Thomas Linton said:
Any hard sharp edge will scrape sparks from a ferrocerium rod. I have gotten sparks with flint and glass.

Getting sparks with natural flint is a different topic.
Click to expand...

Ditto to this.
When using ferrocerium rods, its the rods that is shaved and the ferrocerium that is making the sparks. When using natural flints however it is the steel that is shaved and creating the sparks.
I have had no problem creating sparks with my "light my fire" ferro rod and unhardened elmax steel blank.
 
Are you talking about a firesteel or a flint rock? I wouldn't want to use anything other than a striker made for that purpose on flint. Any sharp corner will work on a firesteel. Firesteel is way better in any case.
 
Natural flint

Properly, a sharp edge of flint or a similar rock strikes a piece of knife-hard carbon (not stainless steel) and shaves off a piece of steel that is heated to glowing hot by the friction = "spark" This was the normal way to start firs in the Colonial Period, a time when the flintlock musket or rifle was well-understood.

One can chop wood by mounting a blade in a block and striking the blade edge it with the piece of wood, but why would you? Equally, you can strike the flint edge with the steel (traditionally called a "fire steel") to get the steel shaved off, but why would you?

Ferrocerium rod/metal match/misch metal rod/man-made flint and, misleadingly, "fire steel"

This tool has been around as a camping item for at least forty years.

The sparks are produced by scraping the ferrocerium rod with any hard, sharp edge OR drawing the ferrocerium rod across the hard, sharp edge. The sparks are several times as hot as those produced by natural flint and steel.

If you get no sparks despite varying the pressure and speed, the edge is not hard or sharp enough or the ferrocerium rod is very defective.

If Light My Fire is not the gold standard it is damn close.


Pause


I just went out and got sparks with the back of my Spyderco Elmax Mule with a Light My Fire ferrocerium rod.
 
Well went to walk the dogs in the snow at night, took the Steak knife and the Ferrocerium rod, instead of using the spine I used the tail end of the knife (sharper angles) and ta da sparks :)

problem solved, woo hoo.

Now I can slap a rod holder on the sheath and use my nice thin knife everywhere, Thanks Hogs :)
 
I wish. It is too cold to go shooting. Wind chill is somewhere around -20° again. I am staying inside for awhile.

Garth
 
ya shooting inside does tend to upset wives :)
 
Yes, Fatwood or Fat Lighter is great stuff. I have some that is so saturated that it drips pine resin when it burns.
 
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