Bronze or Iron Age strike a light, from Glengarry,

[Toddy]

I came across this quite by accident when looking for something else entirely

Thought it might be of interest

http://www.archhighland.org.uk/news.asp?newsid=92

atb,
Mary

 

[udamiano]

Looks very interesting Toddy, thanks ill read it in more depth, when I get back home.

 

[Mesquite]

That's showing a fair amount of wear

 

[boatman]

Nice article, thanks. Interesting that pyrites on pyrites and materials other than flint are possible,never thought of that. A friend of mine would light fires with flint on pyrites but he found an odd thing that after a time it got more and more difficult with the same piece of pyrites even if different areas were struck.

 

[Tor helge]

Similar stones are found in Norway too. Called belt stones. Archeologists suggest these were used with an "ildtein" (don`t know the english word), but you could see some reproductions below.
These stones were used in early iron age.

 

[TinkyPete]

I know in theory you should be able to get a spark from any rock harder than 7 on Moh's scale of hardness, which include quartz, corundum, diamond and flints etc. when struck against a steel item. I have seen it done with quartz a while ago, I feel some practice coming on. One thing to consider is that not only do you want an item to make a spark, but it has to make one reliably in many types of conditions, it is why with the structure of the rock why flint is so good, or iron pyrite cause of it composition.

 

[Galemys]

Similar stones are found in Norway too. Called belt stones. Archeologists suggest these were used with an "ildtein" (don`t know the english word), but you could see some reproductions below.
These stones were used in early iron age.

These were used in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, here's a Swedish article about this method of firestarting:
http://www.forntidateknik.z.se/IFT/litte/eldslag2.pdf

And an earlier thread:
http://www.forntidateknik.z.se/IFT/litte/eldslag2.pdf

Cheers,

Tom

 

[Shark Tinderbox]

I came across this quite by accident when looking for something else entirely

Thought it might be of interest

http://www.archhighland.org.uk/news.asp?newsid=92

atb,
Mary

Well done you, for finding such an interesting article.

I have another method of creating sparks from Pyrite and Flint that seems to work better than just hitting the rocks together the sparks are more localized. I’m in the middle of an article for The Bushcraft Magazine on this very subject at the moment, so I’ll say no more about it. If you have a mind to read it and Steve has a mind to publish it, it’ll be in a forthcoming edition, otherwise I'll have it on my own web site.
Cheers

 

[Shark Tinderbox]

These were used in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, here's a Swedish article about this method of firestarting:
http://www.forntidateknik.z.se/IFT/litte/eldslag2.pdf

And an earlier thread:
http://www.forntidateknik.z.se/IFT/litte/eldslag2.pdf

Cheers,

Tom

This looks like good article, I’ll try to get it translated so I can read it; Swedish is not my strong point!

I have a home spun fire lighting kit that uses this method for fire lighting, but it has been a bit, actually a lot, of trial and error. I get lots of sparks, but they are always at the wrong end of the stone. My practice sessions were shelved for a while due to the fact that I sometimes have to work for a living.

Cheers,

 

[John Fenna]

I know in theory you should be able to get a spark from any rock harder than 7 on Moh's scale of hardness, which include quartz, corundum, diamond and flints etc. when struck against a steel item. I have seen it done with quartz a while ago, I feel some practice coming on. One thing to consider is that not only do you want an item to make a spark, but it has to make one reliably in many types of conditions, it is why with the structure of the rock why flint is so good, or iron pyrite cause of it composition.

I often demmo Quartzite and steel sparking.
As long as the rock is sharp it gives good sparks - but the edge crumbles quickly, so if you do not catch the first sparks you may need to remake the edge....

 

[redneck]

Great find Toddy,and some other interesting links in there too..