Advice on getting a Mora to strike a fire steel please?

[Erro Telcontar]

Hey peeps,

I just took advantage of the woodlore Mora 2 for £20 deal, (delivered within 22 hours i might add! good on the woodlore team and royal mail!) and wondered:

does anyone have any advice on perhaps tooling the back of the knife so it'll spark a firesteel? ie. what to use the make an edge on it? or any other advice?

they are a great knife, but the back edge is rounded slightly so it just slides gracfully along the firesteel with no spark... like an ice dancer thats dead inside

 

[Hibrion]

Just use a diamond file carefully

 

[Mahikan]

I square the backs off with my dremel tool, axe file or blade sharpening stone. You don't have to worry about being too careful you only need to take a small amount of metal off to ensure a square edge, to get a superior spark from your firesteel.

 

[Phaestos]

I just tried this. Its rounded enough that there is alot of metal to get rid of, and even once squared, I can't seem to get it to get a good spark

 

[Samon]

I ground my mora with a small file and it now works perfecty. You could try filing it at an angle, mine is like this due to the original shape of the back of the blade, I just made the edges sharper/rougher.

 

[Mahikan]

When filing the edge be diligent and ensure that whatever you are using to reshape the back stays at a right angle to the back. If using a file try filing in one direction only, then pick out which side the naturally occurring metal burr appears and use this sharp edge to your advantage. It is possible to encourage this burr to suit whether you are right or left handed, when you run your finger over this freshly squared area you should be able to feel a sharp edge.

I use my carbon steel knives to demonstrate how one can produce sparks from the back of the knife when struck against flint or chert. This action actually roughs up the blade quite badly which is quite advantageous when returning to use the modern type of fire steel.
You only need to square up a short section of maybe two centimetres in length close to the handle.

 

[Erro Telcontar]

thanks for the help guys, i'll see about getting my hands on a file i think.

 

[rik_uk3]

I just use the striker that comes with the firesteel.

 

[Samon]

Lidly had a pack of files for a tenner, I picked one up and there are rasps, files and small files. Pretty decent for the quantity and money

 

[thebushcrafter99]

what you need is square spine to strike a fire steel so you can take a diamond file to it or use a linisher but be extremely careful not to over heat it or you will ruin the temper! you could use a normal file but its not recommended pt is a drawer quee

i also bought 2 but the 1 i kept is a draw queen!
Cheers Ed

 

[Mick721]

I recently modded my Mora by filing a ridged pattern about an inch long, close to the handle (very much like the one on a helle BraKar or Taiga) with a small triangular file to give a thumb grip and striker. This seemed to perform better than when I had it simply filed flat.

 

[Goatboy]

I just use the striker that comes with the firesteel.

+1 on that, I really don't like using my knife to strike a steel. Leaves residue and why wave a razor sharp knife around when a stikers safer and designed for the job.