advice needed about making a REAL firesteel

[forrestdweller]

sorry in case it has already been asked, but 'thanks' to a certain swedish company the name "firesteel" gets incorrectly used for the wrong item (and my search showed a lot of results for ferrorods...)...

i'm toying to get myself a (traditional) firesteel made from a local blacksmith(providing i find someone to help me with translation as my korean is rather limited)... .
what kinds/ types of steel are suitable apart from old files(as i do'nt have one); especially when using quartz instead of flint(did'nt come across any in years)?
at how many degrees/ to which colour has the steel to be heated for proper spark production and -in case it has not been done properly the first time- how many times could you repeat the hardening process before the steel would be useless?
and how thick should the steel be for optimal spark production(the thicker the better i guess...)?

thanks!

 

[FGYT]

O1 makes a good firesteel striker you basically need a high carbon steel and harden as much as possible the if you do temper it all only bare minimum

edge wants to be rounded ie " D " section no sharp corners i find is best

the first 10 seconds of my vidio show my modern version its 3mm O1 approx 70mm long striking edge fully rounded
HT was take to cherry red (bit hotter dosnt matter so much on this as it does on a knife blade infact a large grain structure should give better sparks)
i do temper them by placing in the furnace hearth till water rapidly boils off so i guess 120 -150 ish mainly to ensure the Bottle opener wont snap off (not that it would )

[video=youtube;0XWaocpITX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XWaocpITX0[/video]

 

[QDanT]

Hi Forestdweller have you checked out
post No.6 in http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=622777#post622777
cheers Danny

 

[lannyman8]

its easy to do really, any carbon steel will work, old files or broken knife blade would be a good start or car spring...

heat it to cherry red (when shaped) and plundge into tepid water or old oil (any sort will do, engine veg etc etc).... it should now be rock hard, test with some flint if it sparks jobs a fish, if not heat again and then quench in the water/oil... this can be done as meany times as is needed untill its to your spec or it just burns to nothing.....

the whole job could be done with a BBQ and old hair dryer in the back garden, also makes it more fun.....

any probs just post up and ask or pm me dude....

quarts works fine by the way, i used to use it when i lived in Wales (loads on the beach)....it just tends to break appart a bit more than flint etc, just takes a bit of getting used to.....

as for thickness i have always loved my mora clippa for sparks, thats about 2 or 2.5 mm, works fine for me, dont forget the sparks are bits of metal that have been shaved of from the stone, too thick and you would get less maybe.....

happy hunting....

regards.

chris.

 

[forrestdweller]

lot's of good advice so far, especially #3. now i've to "hunt" for a piece of steel...

 

[forrestdweller]

still have'nt managed to start the project, yet as i've been busy working lately.... and i'm also still working on the details for the design(o.k., it's not rocket sience, but i also want it to look nice!). some time ago i stumbled accross a website with steels from all time periods from early middle ages until 19th century but now i cannot find it anymore.... . does anyone have by chance an idea which one i'm talking about?!

 

[John Fenna]

I find that most OLD files spark even without needing any treatment.
If they break easily with a thwack from a lump hammer then you can dress up the sides on a grinder and they are good to go!

 

[forrestdweller]

I find that most OLD files spark even without needing any treatment.
If they break easily with a thwack from a lump hammer then you can dress up the sides on a grinder and they are good to go!

do'nt have an old file(did that years ago with success) and the new ones do not work as they differently made... . got a few good-looking pieces of steel, though- need only to get them hammered into shape now!