best steel for sparks

[armymedic.2]

Id sure trust wicks strikers. He helped me immensely while forging a hunting sword. Man knows his steel.

Anywho, made this one years ago from a broke. Rake tine. Cherry red, water quench. Its made a few fires over the years

 

[necchi]

Sweet looking sparkles :thumbsup:
How'd ya get the photo? Clip from a vid?

 

[armymedic.2]

Thanks. I stole a still screenshot from the slo-mo video on my phone. Crazy. I remember when i was happy it would make a call. Now I get mad when i cant insert a video in the email easily on it. Ha!

But yeah, simple mystery spring steel water quenched Just dont drop it!

 

[LaBonte]

FYI - that rake tine is most likely 1070-1084. Hi-carbon simple steels like those were/are common for such modern uses and as a plus they are great steel for forging especially those with limited heat treating tools. A second plus is the simple steels in that type/range are the closest modern equivalent to the common pre-1850 steels based on several chemical and hardness equivalency tests by some of us old timers

 

[coloradoclyde]

Rake tine

Like from a garden hand rake or from a hay rake you pull behind a tractor?

 

[armymedic.2]

Cool info labonte thanks!

Cc its from a hay rake. Im a farmer in upstate ny. I came about metalwork by way of necessity. And now i blacksmith stuff for fun as well.

 

[LaBonte]

There are several sites that discuss "junkyard" steels and list what was the most common steel used for those jobs. While not perfect most will get you in the ball game - still no matter what steel I use new or used I do spark tests, etc. before building dedicated items.
While most of the custom knife makers will warn you against using junkyard steels, especially for beginners (with good reason up to a point), there are many of us, all forgers, who have used old steel with success. One maker in particular, Ray Richards, has even made a reputation from using such steels as well as the House Bros. The bottom line if you're selling is always to be upfront with the customer on what steel you've used.

 

[armymedic.2]

Yeah good point labonte. Ive bartered some but am not selling. Its all just for me and friends that need weaponry and fire kits. I recently did a sword from a crowbar that turned out well. I just posted a pic of it. Boy was i nervous quenching that one!!!

 

[buffcreekforge]

I have been blacksmithing since 1979 and have made hundreds of strikers from dump rake teeth. It is good sparking spring steel. One secret I learned over the years is to heat cycle strikers to make them spark better. Heat them to orange in the forge, pull them out and let them cool to room temperature on the floor. I do this 3 times for each striker and then quench them on the 4th heat. I get them throwing sparks like a sparkler. Another good source of striker steel is broken garage door springs (the big ones that help raise the dead weight of the door along the top of the track). Good high carbon spring steel and with quarter inch springs, the perfect thickness for strikers. Others may disagree, but this works for me.

I remain your humble servant,

Just Dave :grin: :grin:

 

[armymedic.2]

Interesting and i will give it a try for sure. Any idea why normalizing produces more sparks? More grain in line to be shaved off?

 

[LRB]

The multiple heats would equal a single short soak time, allowing a better distribution of the carbon. Depending on how carefully it was done, it could also reduce the grain size making a stronger striker. As far as the actual amount of sparks, it would really have little to no effect.

 

[armymedic.2]

Makes sense. Thanks wick!

 

[Stormson]

So its the STEEL that matters most??

When I lived in Central VA I used to get half way decent spark from a couple of pieces of the quartz that was everywhere in the area... No steel, of any kind, even need apply.

I moved down here to coal country in southwest VA and there simply IS no quartz, that I can find. Ok... No problem, I tells myself, there are a LOT of flee markets...

K... Found me a pouch filled with some jute... a dozen or so really TINY pieces of flint (comparatively speaking, most where worn out flintlock flints)... An unused (and questionable) mantle for a fire drill... And (woohoo!) that elusive colonial shaped firesteel I had been looking for!!!

Yeah.... Cept one thing... It SUCKED!!!

LOL... After MANY attempts and MANY cuts... A couple of which probably could have used a stitch or two... I actually DID manage to get a couple fires started with this manure.

I figured all this time it was because of the pathetic little pebbles that the seller had passed off as rocks... Being as how rocks half the size of a mans fist could actually give me sparks elsewhere.

Being as how I stopped smoking I soon found that it wasnt very smart to keep filling my zippos, that i USED to collect, only to find them dry when they where most needed. I actually broke down and bought a damn walmart striker just to have some back up... It sucks TOO, but it sucks less then the "kit" with the used up flintlock rocks...

Soo... Thats a HELL of a lot of typing just to ask one simple question...

So its the STEEL and NOT the flints fault??? :shocked2:

 

[LRB]

It is a combined affair. A good flint with sharp edges, and a good hard high carbon steel striker. The spark created is burning steel, and not flint. Some prefer to strike the steel with the flint, others, and myself, would rather strike the flint with the steel. I like to hold the char on the top of the flint, near a sharp edge and strike with the steel, throwing sparks onto the char.

 

[coloradoclyde]

LOL... After MANY attempts and MANY cuts... A couple of which probably could have used a stitch or two... I actually DID manage to get a couple fires started with this manure.

Scraped knuckles are a rite of passage... :haha: But Sometimes I wince as I watch newbies try to master a flint and steel.....
Painful to watch it is, as they grab the steel as if it where brass knuckles and proceed "whacking" away as if they were a chimpanzee trying to open a coconut....

Hold the steel with your fingertips...and strike with precision not force....

If your looking for flint, look for clay soil, riverbeds, constructions sites, etc......It's probably right under you feet and you don't know it.....

 

[coloradoclyde]

I always check the flint for sharpness just like you would a knife before I use it.....I aim for the sharpest spot on the flint....If it feels dull I knap a clean fresh edge first.

 

[Stormson]

I discovered charcloth a couple years ago.. MAGICAL stuff!

Never thought of putting the char on TOP though... Gonna have to give that a shot, thanks!

 

[Stormson]

Painful to watch it is, as they grab the steel as if it where brass knuckles and proceed "whacking" away as if they were a chimpanzee trying to open a coconut....

OMG!!! You must have a camera hidden next to my fireplace... Thats EXACTLY what its like when I try! :rotf:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Painful to watch it is, as they grab the steel as if it where brass knuckles and proceed "whacking" away as if they were a chimpanzee trying to open a coconut....

OMG!!! You must have a camera hidden next to my fireplace... Thats EXACTLY what its like when I try! :rotf:

:rotf: I've wrapped my own knuckles before... :haha:

If you like char cloth.... you'll love charred punkwood....

 

[coloradoclyde]

30-40 years ago when I started making flint and steel fires, the strikers were bigger than the handle on a barn door.....Now my strikers are small enough to fit in an Altoids mini tin...