Flint and steel help

[Tommyd345]

Hi all!
So I have an old school Flint and steel set with a striker and a piece of Flint. Now I can get it working, but is there any tricks? Like I thought maybe a U shaped Flint might work better? Also is there a particular material that's really good for char cloth? I was thinking of having a go myself

Thanks!

 

[Fraxinus]

You say "now I can't get it working" , does that imply you did before?
If so it is probable that the flint is blunt. It will need the edge re-freshing by knocking a shard or two off it with another rounded stone or a bit of antler. By sharp I do not mean a thin knife edge but but a clean angled face, like a scraper.
Old jeans, terry towel face flannels or anything all cotton works for char cloth.

hth, Rob.

 

[Ogri the trog]

There is no "shape" of striker that will work any better than another, the secret will be in the heat treatment of the steel that it is made from - so whatever fits your hand and grip should suffice.

Fraxinus has mentioned some great donor materials for charcloth, but beware of how they have been treated in their recent past. Fabrics that have been washed in "hard" water, or with artificial chemical softening agents, will result in different spark catching abilities than those washed in "soft" water. I found this when moving from Hampshire to Mid Wales and would recommend that if you have hard water or can't wash without water treatment, try hanging the donor material out in the rain for a few days before charring it!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Tiley]

Cotton dusters also make very good char cloth, are pretty inexpensive and readily available, too.

 

[Monikieman]

Jeans for charcloth, just make sure they're not girlie jeans with lycra in them (not suggesting anything there).

Infact tent canvas that's brand new doesn't work well either (my wife suggested it was the fire proofing and was right!!!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSbiCa-46I&feature=youtu.be might help with making the char cloth.

 

[John Fenna]

Tesco tea towels are my favorite char cloth fabric ... but then burning anything wit the name "Tesco" on it just seems so right!

 

[ateallthepies]

Primark polo neck shirts are my char material. Rarely need more than one strike to catch. I also like charred Amadou, same spark catching qualities unlike the raw material which I could not get to take a spark at all!

 

[rg598]

No real trick to it. You just have to get the feel for the technique. For char cloth I like old denim, but just about any cotton material works. There is a lot of good info out there on flint and steel. Here is my short video:

[video=youtube;Bo-q0m-m0p0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo-q0m-m0p0[/video]

 

[nic a char]

Tesco tea towels are my favorite char cloth fabric ... but then burning anything wit the name "Tesco" on it just seems so right!

Haha yes indeed!

 

[Tommyd345]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll get hold of a tea towel and give it a go!!

 

[Atarian]

I'd second Denim. An old pair of jeans made me month's worth of charcloth.

 

[DocG]

M&S men's boxers, as destroyed by son, work well for charcloth.

I've found a Tate and Lyle syrup tin has an excellent lid that allows for a good seal when making the cloth. Just tap a small slit in the lid, load up and you're set.

As mentioned earlier, a sharp edge on the stone is important. I use all sorts of stones as there's not much flint near me. A quartz works well, but I've got sparks off freshly broken sandstone. Try some different stones and see what works. Mors Kochanski has some useful advice in his book.

All the best.

 

[Dave]

I also use a tate and lyle tin, with a small hole in the top! And bought some kids jeans from a charity shop.
Quartz or Quartzite works. But flint is best. Nice sharp edge. Not too fine. If you have a knife with a high content of carbon steel, you can get the sparks off the spine. Linen is supposed to be very good too.

 

[Atarian]

I also use a tate and lyle tin, with a small hole in the top!

Golden Syrup - my downfall!

I use an altoids tin with a 1-2mm hole in the top. You can't do much at once, but it isn't too great a hardship in winter to sit by the fire and make charcloth.

 

[Monikieman]

If you're struggling to eat all the syrup pop alone to your nearest car paint supply place. Lovely new tins about 10 bob each. Helpful when you need 6 for camp.

 

[Paulm]

Golden Syrup - my downfall!

I use an altoids tin with a 1-2mm hole in the top. You can't do much at once, but it isn't too great a hardship in winter to sit by the fire and make charcloth.

I've been doing the same, but without the hole, there's gaps around the hinges where the smoke comes out instead, works fine, no reason to not use a hole of course though I guess !

Cheers, Paul

 

[tsitenha]

All cotton as said. I use a cheap all cotton floor mop head (cut to length) as the char material. I have made my own generator from a length of 3/4" copper pipe, with a copper end cap (small dia hole drilled in cap) and then hammered the other end flat and air tight for 2" or so. Drilled a hole to drag the generator out of a fire(very hot, do not touch). once out of fire let completely cool before handling or removing end cap.

 

[Hammock_man]

Baked bean tin with a foil lid held on by wire, can never get the foil 100% tight so no worry about hole. Old jeans for char cloth.
Seen cotton mop heads in 99p shop, will give them a try next time, thanks