Firesteel prices [ rant]

[Knightfisher8]

I dont own a firesteel but Im looking for a 9mm blank around 3" long

I have looked on loads of websites and the going rate is about £4.95 which is ok but then you go to checkout and the postage is another £3.95 .......

also the same websites blanks are more expensive than there firesteels with a handle and striker !!!! there around £4.95 also

I dont get these prices ! even on ebay people think they get a good deal but when you add postage etc its overpriced

k.

 

[sapper1]

The prices are very good,postage is what you pay to have it delivered to you not part of the cost of the item.How much would it cost you to go and collect one?

 

[Knightfisher8]

The prices are very good,postage is what you pay to have it delivered to you not part of the cost of the item.How much would it cost you to go and collect one?

Its impossible for me to get 1 anywhere near me , but I do know that £3.95 p+p is too expensive for the size and weight of it .

 

[sapper1]

Thing is they carge you for getting it from the shelf, packing it ,packing materials and postage.Is there anyone on the forum who lives where they sell them perhaps they could pick one up and post it to you.
Try camping shops for a ready made one that can be modified to the way you want it.

 

[sapper1]

try here

http://www.firesteel.co.uk/firesteel blanks.htm

 

[Knightfisher8]

Just manged to find 9mm x 75mm firesteel and posted to me for £6.50 , thats from firesteel.co.uk , alot cheaper than other suppliers with the same dimensions of firesteel .

k.

 

[rancid badger]

The other thing to think on, is; what you are actually getting for your purchase price.

you may well pay £4.95 for a blank but frankly, a lot of the blanks sold on the net are not that good.

I've recently paid £6 each for the Fireflash blanks from Woodlore, which in my ( 20+ years) experience, are the best I've come across.

Please don't think I'm any kind of "Ray Mears" groupie by the way, I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination. I always try to find the best kit I can afford and return to it when replacement is needed. In this case; Woodlore happen to stock what I need-simples

If I was posting a firesteel blank; I'd expect to pay £1.75 for 1st class recorded delivery, plus maybe 50p for a padded envelope.

So there's £2.50 so far, then there is the time and effort of actually typing or writing the address label, sticking or taping it to the envelope, and actually going to the post office to post it.

It's likely that a company,may have a collection contract with the post office, so that adds to the cost of the p+p too.

just trying to think out why some folk might charge more than others for p&p.

Of course; some folk particularly on ebay, are just out and out robbers too

 

[Knightfisher8]

Iv noticed alot of custom firesteels that have a bit of hacksaw blade as a striker ... I was wondering if there was reasoning behind this ? are some striker materials better than others ?

 

[JonathanD]

Iv noticed alot of custom firesteels that have a bit of hacksaw blade as a striker ... I was wondering if there was reasoning behind this ? are some striker materials better than others ?

I think it's more a case of some firesteels being inferior to others and the hacksaw blade improves their performance. They are also cheap and easily sourced too.

 

[FGYT]

The other thing to think on, is; what you are actually getting for your purchase price.

you may well pay £4.95 for a blank but frankly, a lot of the blanks sold on the net are not that good.

I've recently paid £6 each for the Fireflash blanks from Woodlore, which in my ( 20+ years) experience, are the best I've come across.

Please don't think I'm any kind of "Ray Mears" groupie by the way, I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination. I always try to find the best kit I can afford and return to it when replacement is needed. In this case; Woodlore happen to stock what I need-simples

If I was posting a firesteel blank; I'd expect to pay £1.75 for 1st class recorded delivery, plus maybe 50p for a padded envelope.

So there's £2.50 so far, then there is the time and effort of actually typing or writing the address label, sticking or taping it to the envelope, and actually going to the post office to post it.

It's likely that a company,may have a collection contract with the post office, so that adds to the cost of the p+p too.

just trying to think out why some folk might charge more than others for p&p.

Of course; some folk particularly on ebay, are just out and out robbers too

postage 1st class should be 66p (tho i suspect its going up soon ) (why waste mony on recorded just means you have to be in to sign no extra protection or tracking etc )

jiffy bag for one would be >7p (boxes of 100 of amason)

and you should be able ot put in a few steels for the same price up to 100gms total package weight then only 96p postage up to 250gms £1.32 gets you up to 0.5kg

if the company has a franking machine the postage costs are less


ATB

Duncan

 

[rancid badger]

Buxxer! that old faxt in the post office is ripping me off then!

I thought 1st recorded was traceable though, otherwise what's the point of the barcode number?
I never thought of Amazon for jiffy bags!:togo:

cheers FGYT


On the subject of firesteel blank qualities; that's what I'm trying to tell you!

There are excellent,good, okay, not so good and sh......terrible ones available.

I'd say; Fireflash, Light my fire,firesteel uk, then its a bit of a lottery after that.

update: I've just ordered myself some jiffy bags off amazon

cheers

 

[Oblio13]

Iv noticed alot of custom firesteels that have a bit of hacksaw blade as a striker ... I was wondering if there was reasoning behind this ? are some striker materials better than others ?

Firesteels are tough on knives, and they don't work at all with stainless steel blades. A hacksaw blade, or even better, a larger and heavier Sawzall blade, is a good idea.

 

[Stew]

if the company has a franking machine the postage costs are less

I think our work franking machine is 1p cheaper than going to the PO! not much to write home about...

 

[JonathanD]

Firesteels are tough on knives, and they don't work at all with stainless steel blades.

Yes they do. It has nothing to do with type of steel but the sharpness of the edge. Even glass works on them. I've used them for years and they've never marked or worn any of my knives, stainless or otherwise as the metals used in them are very soft.

 

[sasquatch]

My local Sport Soccer usually has Light My Fire ones for less than £4. Might grab them next time I'm in and offer them on...

 

[Mojoracinguk]

For a Stricking implement I did not want to use my blade (would have required squaring the spine) so made a small (tip of my thumb sized) stricker from 01 (Heat treated) and it remains attached by cord to the firesteel & sheath. So as long as i have the knife, the sheath will be close by and the firesteel + stricker are ALWAYS attached....easy!

There are loads of Blade smiths on here...do any other make lumps of steel with the sole purpose of running down fire steels?

Mojo

 

[Knightfisher8]

Well I did order a firesteel blank earlier but iv made the handl eout of antler.

for the striker I have a 75mm/9mm mild steel bar that iv fitted so the 2 will look identical except 1s a firesteel and the other is not , I just wondered why the hacksaw blade was popular , maybe the mild steel bar iv made wont be as good ... but iv got a handle on it now !!!

 

[FGYT]

I think our work franking machine is 1p cheaper than going to the PO! not much to write home about...

Current saving on a large letter is 16p from the 66p normal price .

ATB
Duncan
from tapatalk phone

 

[FGYT]

There are loads of Blade smiths on here...do any other make lumps of steel with the sole purpose of running down fire steels?

Mojo

Yes sort of but not its sole use


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=0XWaocpITX0

Is tempered harder than a knife so sparks flint well to

ATB
Duncan
from tapatalk phone

 

[John Fenna]

Yes they do. It has nothing to do with type of steel but the sharpness of the edge. Even glass works on them. I've used them for years and they've never marked or worn any of my knives, stainless or otherwise as the metals used in them are very soft.

I have even used bits of rock from the ground, broken crockery - basically anything with a sharpish edge will work - I failed when I tried using my wit though....
A hacksaw blade is good at removing vast amounts of firesteel at - literally - a stroke, meaning that you will wear away your firesteel in triple fast time and have to buy another....quick repeat sales for the maker!

A lot of folk seem to think that Firesteels will not work with SS - I think that they are getting confused with the fact that you cannot get a spark from SS with NATURAL flint - for which you need carbon steel.

Using natural flint on the back of your carbon steel blade (as long as the spine is hardened) will give fair sparks - if it gives great sparks I would think that the blade is a little too hard and could be brittle!

After using flint on the spine the knife is pretty roughed up and will tear great sparks off your firesteel...just like a hacksaw!

Flint and steel is my favourite way of lighting fires and it may be due to this fact that I have yet to wear out a single firesteel - despite the fact that I have loads of them dotted around my kit...all part worn.