Was the steel used to make sparks soft or hard. I tried a couple of old steel punches and a large rifle flint and have almost beat my hand to death with no sparks. Any suggestions. Thanks
Great images! Thanks Jerry.View attachment 1544 View attachment 1543 Here's a couple of original tinder boxes and strikers. The one on the left was found in Wisconsin by Lake Superior and the one on right was found in Virginia. Both had the steels still with them. The boxes are just about identical.
Jerry
I have used a variety of different rocks over the years toot, but yes, I have been carrying a gun flint for a long time now.it looks like you are using old discarded gun flints for your flints? am I rite? as that is what I do with them when I replace them with new ones in my weapon, you will still get many fires/ sparks out of them. just curious. today I see guys at shoots when there flint stops sparking they change them out and discard them on the ground and I pick them up and repurpose them.
A fire steel should be hard & made from a high carbon steel such as metal file steel. Many old steels were made from old files.Was the steel used to make sparks soft or hard. I tried a couple of old steel punches and a large rifle flint and have almost beat my hand to death with no sparks. Any suggestions. Thanks
Your steel should be hard the more carbon the better. The older the file you can find the better, they are case hardened now days.I may be misunderstanding but the steel used to start a fire with flint should be softer than tempered tool steel which is what I've been trying to use. Looks as if I'll order the correct components. Thanks Roger
Thanks. I'm looking for one of my larger files to make one of those now.In my Gun bag (steel I made from a file)
View attachment 1567
Small Fire kit in greased leather bag:
Tin with charcloth (charcloth is for absolute emergencies such as when I can't feel my cold fingers)
Burning glass
Candle stubs
Tinder (Old tow, birchbark and inner bark)
Hemp cord for friction fires (I know they didn't make friction fires, but I carry it anyway)
View attachment 1569
In my pack:
Waxed bag
Cottonwood inner bark
Pitchwood
Candle stubs
Tin with charred punk wood and tree fungusView attachment 1570
Keep in mind that some of the files available in recent years don't make good strikers. My understanding is that some are cheap steel that is case-hardened on the surface. You may wish to do a spark test to see if they are high-carbon steel throughout.Thanks. I'm looking for one of my larger files to make one of those now.
You could also try Potassium nitrate - similar to the way slow-match is made. Potassium nitrate is used as stump remover, but you must research which brands use it, as not all do.The puffball is sliced thinly and dried, then painted with wet black powder and dried again.
Here is Mike’s web site that is still up.We had a wonderful member here who passed a few years ago -- Mike Ameling -- and he was a genius with hot metal. He made some wonderful strikers in patterns going back to the Romans. I keep some old Nicholson files in my stash and will start with one of those for the carbon.
I carry both, but can make do with just the flint & steel. The rest of the materials just make life easier. The leather bag kit travels in my pack but is transferred to my person if I leave camp. The gun bag, horn and gun leave with me too...BLACK HAND, you have great fire making kits both of them, each for a different purpose with the continence that they have. thanks for sharing with us.
I use my 6" bench grinder with a green grinding wheel.jackley, it seems that my question didn't print all of mt question, the last part was, what do you use to do it with? thanks, toot.
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