Knife as a striker for firesteel?

[tobes01]

OK, stupid question time

I've seen Ray & co. on TV produce great streams of sparks using a firesteel and the back of a knife. Try as I might, I can't get more than a measly spark or two. I'm using a BG Woodlore clone knife, so clearly I can't blame poor tools for this. A couple of daft questions:
- can I damage the knife by pushing really hard? (I assume not)
- is it possible to use the blade, or will that knacker it? (I assume so)

What's the technique for using a knife as the striker?

TIA, and excuse me asking the bleedin' obvious.

Tobes

 

[Logit]

guessing your knife isnt purely stainless steel? my understanding is that you need some carbon in that here blade!

also, dont ever use the blade.... ouch!

The way i do it is to hold my knife locked out and rather than pull the knife across the firesteel, i pull the fire steel over the back of the knife... this way you can have more control with the angle of the blade...... play around with angles of the blade, that may work.

 

[Bushwhacker]

You need a good square edge on the back of the knife to take the shaves.
I just used a file to get a decent square edge. Some people might not like 'defacing' their tools in such a way though.

And, like Logit said, hold the knife still and draw the firesteel back, it helps prevent overstriking and messing up your tinder bundle.

 

[BushTucker]

Dont know if this helps but, I use a cheap full tang knife usually but I did set up my grinder and cut tiny serations on the back of the blade, a bit like very small bread knife blade serations, works a treat. As a bonus it acts as a thumb rest when doing hard work with the knife and stops the hand slipping..

 

[John Fenna]

No need to worry what your blade is made of - any sharp scrapy thing works - SS, carbon steel, rocks,even a sharp mind!
You only need a carbon steel for a true Flint and Steel set up - "firesteels" are a bunch of verious metals that are difficult not to get a spark off as it is the "firesteel" that burns not the strinking implement, with flint and steel it is the striking steel that burns and needs the carbon content to do so.
This "only use carbon steel with a ferro "firesteel"" is a commonly held misconception that a couple os seconds practice disproves.
Have fun!

 

[Shewie]

I have a couple of knives which didn't strike a good spark straight away, usually it's the firesteel that just needs "breaking in" or the spine of the blade can be very polished and just slides across.
Keep going at it and it should come good eventually, don't worry about damaging the blade either Tobes, Bernie's gear is plenty strong enough

Try to think about shaving slithers off the firesteel rather than big chunks.

 

[Martyn]

Use only the spine of the knife. It needs to be very "square", not rounded at all. Sometimes it is necessary to file the spine to a good square, to make it scrape properly.

It makes no difference what steel the knife is made from. They all work equally well.

Sometimes how a knife has been tempered will have an effect. Harder knives strike better than softer ones.

 

[gregorach]

I find that how you hold the firesteel and drive the knife makes a difference... I place the thumb of my right hand (holding the knife) flat against the side of the blade, then place the thumb of my left hand (holding the firesteel) on top of my right thumb, and strike by pushing forward hard with both thumbs. Hard to describe, but it gives good results.

 

[rawshak]

There is also the ferrosteel itself to consider. I own steels from a good half dozen different manufacturers, and their quality varies considerably across the board with some considerably easier to strike than others.

I've also found that the ones that are harder to strike seem to produce a hotter spark, catching tinder that an easier striking steel won't. That however, may just be coincidence, you'd have to test a lot of steels to find out if it was true for all. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this experience.

 

[tobes01]

Thanks all - will have to sit outside later and have a play. I'm awaiting delivery of my new party toy, namely a 5" Bunker Firesteel, so let's see what sort of fireworks display we can put on with that

Tobes

 

[Siberianfury]

its not about steel, its about a sharp edge. on my BG knife Brenie had polished the edges of the spine to give more comfortable handling. personaly i use an opinel for a striker, its got a very sharp unfinishd spine shich works well on a ferro rod.
But steel dosent make a difference, i used to use a brusletto balder made from swedish stainless steel and that worked great due to the sharp spine.
i now use a Kellam wolverine for Bushcraft wich hand a soft rounded spine, so this is an unlikley candidate for striking a ferro rod, however guess what its made of, high carbon steel.
ATB
Josh

 

[Hoodoo]

Some of those firesteels with a high magnesium content can be a bear to get a good quantity of sparks from. To test your ferro rod, try using a carbide paint scraper. If you still can't get sparks, something is seriously wrong. Most of the time, I don't use my knife anyway, I use a carbide scraper. It is also excellent for making piles of magnesium curls that can be used for starting a fire.

 

[Siberianfury]

ive never used a magnseium firesteel, can you use tha magnesium as tinder on its own?

 

[John Fenna]

You can do the same with an old style metal pencil sharpener!
The block is magnesium alloy - shave it with the blade, aply spark from whatever....

 

[tobes01]

Cool - where did you get the magnesium and striker?

Tobes

Some of those firesteels with a high magnesium content can be a bear to get a good quantity of sparks from. To test your ferro rod, try using a carbide paint scraper. If you still can't get sparks, something is seriously wrong. Most of the time, I don't use my knife anyway, I use a carbide scraper. It is also excellent for making piles of magnesium curls that can be used for starting a fire.

 

[spamel]

Cool - where did you get the magnesium and striker?

Tobes

You are on a computer connected to the internet, google for it!

 

[tobes01]

Have just found out - it's a Stanley carbide paint scraper blade.

See? Wasn't that straightforward was it?

 

[spamel]

Have just found out - it's a Stanley carbide paint scraper blade.

See? Wasn't that straightforward was it?

Google is your friend! I have to be honest though, I don't rate the strikers on the magnesium blocks. If you do get one, get a proper fire steel to use with it.

 

[Martyn]

I use a carbide scraper. It is also excellent for making piles of magnesium curls that can be used for starting a fire.

That little scraper is very interesting. I remember comparing different stuff as firesteel strikers some years ago and a tungsten carbide tool was way better than anything else.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=945

Is that heat shrink you've covered one half with? Neat idea.

 

[Hoodoo]

That little scraper is very interesting. I remember comparing different stuff as firesteel strikers some years ago and a tungsten carbide tool was way better than anything else.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=945

Is that heat shrink you've covered one half with? Neat idea.

Yup, heat shrink.

The firesteel on the original Doan tool is first rate. What they put on cheapie imitations is another story.