fire steel and knife

[kai055]

i have just got a fireball fire steel and forest clipper knife and i thought that the knife would work with the firesteel,

Can anyone tell why is not cos all that happens is the back of the knife is taken a thin layer off the knife? or is it just better to the bit of hacksaw sort of stuff that come with it cos so far i have been lighting tiusse paper and shavings of basla wood in one go?

 

[leon-b]

the back of your clipper may not be square, just file the back untill you have a good set of square shoulders on the knife
leon

 

[scottishwolf]

is it a stainless clipper? Carbon ones are best but the stainless should still work ok. Also, when I got my clipper I had to take a file to the spine of the blade to square it off, mine had a slightly rounded spine. You will only get sparks from a steel if it has a sharp edge, preferably 90 degrees.

 

[kai055]

the back of my knife is new and square, what else could cause the problem

 

[kai055]

it isnt a stainless clipper just a high carbon steel and the knife is very new today so it is very square , any other things that could cause problems?

 

[addyb]

The angle of your knife relative to the firesteel? Personally, I don't like using the spine of my Clipper for that purpose. It's too sharp and it worries me. You might try using the can opener tool from a SAK. It works wonders.

Adam

 

[leon-b]

first off when your clipper came to you the spine was rounded so you will need to do that and secondly it doesnt matter if your knife is stainless or carbon, it will still produce good sparks because it is harder than the fire steel
leon

 

[leon-b]

The angle of your knife relative to the firesteel? Personally, I don't like using the spine of my Clipper for that purpose. It's too sharp and it worries me. You might try using the can opener tool from a SAK. It works wonders.

Adam

the awl on my sak throws crazt sparks from a firesteel, much better than my clipper
leon

 

[kai055]

when i got my clipper the spine werent rounded cos i got it 2day

 

[leon-b]

it will still be rounded
leon

 

[miniac]

just because the knife is new, doesnt mean the spine is square. I had to square of my one. You may be holding it at the wrong angle, trail and error I'm afraid...

I use the little blade that comes on the fire steel, I find it much easier to use

 

[scottishwolf]

My new clipper came with a rounded spine aswell, fairly common I would think! Another thing, have you scraped off the black coating on the ferro rod in order to get to the shiny stuff underneath?

 

[kai055]

doesnt matter anyway the little piece of metal thats comes wit it is better i guess

 

[bushyboo]

it sounds like you need to file your knife if its working with the bit that comes with it
i think nearly everybody files their clipper when they first get it coz they useualy are rounded

 

[Wettstuff]

Even though your knife is brand new the spine wont be as square as you think it will due to machining. a couple of minutes on the edge of your sharpening stone will true it up or as leon said a file. I did this to mine and the sparks and amazingly concentrated now.

Mark

 

[Thrym]

I also had this problem but im just going to use the little blade included with the firesteel as i find it works qutie well

 

[Biddlesby]

Check out these threads by Martyn:

Firesteeel Challenge (different materials to use as strikers)
Knife Steels & Sparks

Its not like to have to use your knife. It's not too much trouble or added weight to carry a little bit of hacksaw blade around! They are good for fire steels to use with flint, too. Mors swears by them .