at it again- forged a steel striker

[armymedic.2]

so i am trying to outfit myself with things i don't have and have wanted. a firemaking kit was on the list ASAP. I made some charcloth out of old blue jeans i had cut up to pattern my leggings anyway, and then got to work with the steel.

that same old plow coil spring was layin around, figuring it was 1080 i grabbed it and got to heating, cutting half of it off on the hot hardy.

i straightened it and got it to shape. pretty quickly, but i couldn't take too many pics, as this steel is only needing like a ten second heat, and cools very quickly as well. i even looked up an 18th century pic so i knew what to shape it like, hc and all!.....i think

when it was cool enough to touch i brought it inside and shined up the striking face on the belt sander quick. less than a minute and i was done, as i took extra care to keep hammer blows consistent on the strike face

then i heated it to cherry red, and quenched it immediately in room temp water, just the strinking face. when the red color left the rolls outside of the water i submerged the whole thing and swished it around until it was cool to the touch. this is it right out of the quench.

never having made fire before with steel (just fire piston), i had to try it out. in less than a minute i had a glowing ball of joy.

and now i finally have a use for that tobacco tin i bought....only to find they tell me not to let my tobacco touch the metal! ahhh well, neat fire starter tin anyway. the charcloth is under the buckskin

thanks for lookin, and critiques are welcome. i did find that it realllllyyyyyy matters how sharp the flint is. no sparks here, hit it here, viola!

 

[blackpowderscout]

Very nice!

 

[skunkskinner]

Looks good armymedic.2, for me they seem to put out better sparks if i make them a little thicker than a 1/8 of an inch thick.

 

wow that almost looks store bought

 

[jamesthomas]

Very nice!! :thumbsup: I would make a bunch and take'em to a Rondy and make a little bit of spending cash.

 

[armymedic.2]

deep or wide? thanks for the tip. i would venture to guess mine is 1/4 inch wide

 

[armymedic.2]

thanks gents. not much profit to be made there, as this one took me 2 hours start to finish! lol. and a $7 bag of charcoal. ahhhhhh learning


quick vid of it in action, fun! click the pic

 

[skunkskinner]

A thin edge will have better sparks even with a dull flint. Three strokes or less you should have the char glowing, if its top quality char.

Nice video :thumbsup:

 

[armymedic.2]

ahhh, thought you were goin the other way ha! funny idda thought more surface area the better, just like a gun lock.

ill try makin a skinnier one and see what happens, but i just made this one a touch thicker thinking you meant go fatter, and it really sends the sparks flying.

here's what the forge birthed tonight. 'nother striker and more work on valentines day present.

this ornamental work is tough......might take a few runs at it before im liking it too much.


PIC IS UPSIDE-DOWN. tilt yer head like so, and stick your tongue out a touch while bitin' it......better?

 

[Little Wattsy]

Nice Vid.. enjoyed it

 

[armymedic.2]

Oh wow.........took some hours without seein my project. But now i see exactly what i hate about the valentines day project so far.,
Ill be back with a less " anatomical" design :rotf:

 

[BillinOregon]

Very nice job on the striker. I have a couple of those on my project list as well, once the ice melts in the smithing area ...

 

[Rick Son]

One of the best vids on the subject i ever saw.That was great!Definatley going to get a stiker now.

 

[nilo52]

Love the vid ! :hatsoff:
nilo52

 

[William O.]

I really like the size of your steel, it looks as if it's got a good heft and I could get my fat paw though the oval section.

 

[gus13]

I was thinking the same myself... more surface area = better sparks. shows how much I know!

I, apparently, have huge hands cuz every striker I've had was so small I can barely fit my hand in it! same with knives...I have a rule that a knife handle should project approx. 1 inch from your palm,(dexterity reasons) which for me, means the handle has to be 5 - 5 1/2" seems like thats impossible to find anymore! everyone makes 'em 4 or so inches! glad to see someone making things for the in-average types for once! :grin: