Hi,
Here is at least the text from the article:
I remain convinced that a dedicated striker for the firesteel leads to a safer and more reliable method for starting fires.
Having previously made a rather chunky handle for both steel and striker I tried to fashion something a little smaller. I had enough birch left over for a customised Opinel handle so I did one of those too.The striker pictured turned out to be not as good as Id hoped. I had the idea that a helical edge would always present at least part of its edge at the perfect striking angle. In the end the edge itself was too thin and seemed to chip easily. I replaced it with a square edge whose rectangular cross-section was about 3mm x 7mm. It was much sturdier and cast very acceptable sparks.
The leather holder was made by a third party to my suggestion, as was the sheath for the Opinel. The striker and steel holder is simply two leather tubes with a belt loop. The Opinel sheath was somehow moulded to fit the handle perfectly. Theres even a nice click as the knife sits into place. The leatherworkers name is Eric Methven, and I contacted him through BCUK.
As a footnote, the handle for the Opinel broke off where the securing pin goes through the wood. Thinking about it this is probably the weakest part of the handle. Id never heard of any original handles breaking so I guess curly birch is too weak for this use. However, all was not lost and I was able to drill out the birch handle and turn down the original handle. The original was then inserted into the birch and glued. From outside you cant see the join. And more importantly, I can still use the tailored sheath.
