Need Steel (for flint/steel)
- Thread starter IntrepidStu
- Start date
Is the steel in the kit of the type that wraps around your hand John.
If not do you have any steels for sale (iirc didnt you make some??).
Cheers john
Stu
Not the C-shape - simple rectangles of sparking steel with selected bits of flint, charcloth, birch polypore, birch bark etc all in a leather pouch.
Cheers John, but since ive got flint, charcloth,etc I think I may try to find just the C-shaped steel striker. Cheers Anyway.
Thanx.
Stu.
Anyone know where I can get a Steel C-shaped striker.
Ive tried the search facility but I think the web server is throwing a wobbler lately.
I know somebody on here has made some (one in the shape of a whale).
Any help welcome.
Stu.
Ive tried the search facility but I think the web server is throwing a wobbler lately.
I know somebody on here has made some (one in the shape of a whale).
Any help welcome.
Stu.
Try Mike Ameling, he's an American member here and forges many types, and has reasonable prices and shipping rates as I recall.
Yes, I've been known to beat up some steel on occasion. I try to base the ones I make on originals that have been found - from all the time periods they were used in - from early Roman times B.C. up to the present. I make/sell around 500 to 600 a year. And less than 10% of those are that classic C shape.
Today I made up 4 French style strikers from the mid 1600's. Yes, I only made 4 today, because I was concentrating on making up the parts for 2 Tourtieres - the early 1600-1700's French cooking/baking vessel before the Cast Iron Dutch Oven was invented. (Sheet iron pan with a sheet iron lid that has a lip forged around the top so than you can put coals on top to "bake" things with - just like those cast iron dutch ovens - which only became commonly available in the mid to late 1800's.)
A couple days ago I made up 4 Irish strikers. It's a little hard to identify regional strikers in the UK because they all tend to be just given that "British" or "English" designation in the museums.
But do jump over to the Firecraft sub-forum under Bushcraft and Survival Skills. There have been a number of message threads discussing flint strikers. There are probably at least a half dozen people on BCUK that make them. A PM to any of them should help you out.
And you might send a PM to Eric Methven. He got a large number of strikers from me a little while ago, in many different styles. On the Classifieds section he listed some kits with the Oval flint strikers. So you might check with him to see what he has left. Or even send me a PM. I usually have around a hundred strikers floating about - in dozens of different styles/shapes and historical backgrounds. And shipping to the UK by Internatinal First Class mail is pretty reasonable ($4).
Hope this helps. Check with some of the people around you to see what might be available.
There's also going to be a multi-period historical gathering near Maidenhead this weekend. I just saw it listed over on Eric's Mountain Man forum. I have no idea where that is or how close it might be to you, but would be a great place to see things in person before you buy. There are supposed to be a lot of vendors there.
Thanks
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
Today I made up 4 French style strikers from the mid 1600's. Yes, I only made 4 today, because I was concentrating on making up the parts for 2 Tourtieres - the early 1600-1700's French cooking/baking vessel before the Cast Iron Dutch Oven was invented. (Sheet iron pan with a sheet iron lid that has a lip forged around the top so than you can put coals on top to "bake" things with - just like those cast iron dutch ovens - which only became commonly available in the mid to late 1800's.)
A couple days ago I made up 4 Irish strikers. It's a little hard to identify regional strikers in the UK because they all tend to be just given that "British" or "English" designation in the museums.
But do jump over to the Firecraft sub-forum under Bushcraft and Survival Skills. There have been a number of message threads discussing flint strikers. There are probably at least a half dozen people on BCUK that make them. A PM to any of them should help you out.
And you might send a PM to Eric Methven. He got a large number of strikers from me a little while ago, in many different styles. On the Classifieds section he listed some kits with the Oval flint strikers. So you might check with him to see what he has left. Or even send me a PM. I usually have around a hundred strikers floating about - in dozens of different styles/shapes and historical backgrounds. And shipping to the UK by Internatinal First Class mail is pretty reasonable ($4).
Hope this helps. Check with some of the people around you to see what might be available.
There's also going to be a multi-period historical gathering near Maidenhead this weekend. I just saw it listed over on Eric's Mountain Man forum. I have no idea where that is or how close it might be to you, but would be a great place to see things in person before you buy. There are supposed to be a lot of vendors there.
Thanks
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
From Eric's Mountainman UK site:
http://www.mountainmanuk.yuku.com/topic/508
Cliveden Multi-period Event 6/7-9
Near Maidenhead this(Wet?) weekend...I'll be there with the rest of New France & Old England.....looks like we may have woods to camp in!..looks like a good turn-out of traders as well,so if anyone wants to brave the weather & join the multitudes(/)
Again, I don't know how close this might be to you, but it's always better to see in person the stuff you might want to buy.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
http://www.mountainmanuk.yuku.com/topic/508
Cliveden Multi-period Event 6/7-9
Near Maidenhead this(Wet?) weekend...I'll be there with the rest of New France & Old England.....looks like we may have woods to camp in!..looks like a good turn-out of traders as well,so if anyone wants to brave the weather & join the multitudes(/)
Again, I don't know how close this might be to you, but it's always better to see in person the stuff you might want to buy.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
hi intepid stu try using an old metal working file you can heat it up and bend it or just use it straight although its a bit tricky to use and you can pick up old files for about 50p from carboot sales
regards robwolf
regards robwolf
by the way did anyone know that you can use flint on the swedish fire steels so if you dont have a carbon steel knife you can still light a fire all you need is a sharp edge of flint or glass or.........well lots of things really
Cheers for that Mike. I live quite near so hope to get the family down there this weekend.
Link is http://www.eventplan.co.uk/Cliveden08.htm
Cheers
George
Yes, you can use a sharp edge on a piece of flint with a modern ferro-cerrium rod "fire steel". Just scrape along it like you would with any sharp steel edge. But you can also "strike" it against your flint like you would with a traditional steel flint strikers. Just be ... prepared ... for the FLASH you will see! Scraping that rod like you normally do does give you lots of sparks, but using it like a traditional flint striker just tends to give you a more ... concentrated ... batch of sparks. And that "flash" sure lights up a dark room! But it also uses up your ferro-cerrium rod a lot faster.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
Oval Steel Recieved from Eric today (Cheers Eric). Not had a chance to try it yet as the weather is wet and I dont want to be cleaning the flat with my bad back!!!
Thanks again Eric.
Intrepid.
Thanks again Eric.
Intrepid.
Nothing to do with the start of the thread but ......
Did anyone try to go to the Cliveden Multi-period Event near Maidenhead this weekend as Mike mentioned?
Checked the website to make sure everything was on this morning but when I turned up with the family they had posted up that it was cancelled. Slightly dischuffed as I had to endure 4 hours in Legoland instead. Mind you all the kids were happy.
I can understand that it was cancelled either due to the worry of rain or if the ground was waterlogged and the old NT did not want their fields ploughed up but I wish they would have posted it up on line.
George
Sorry to hear that George. We were thinking about it but didn't due to the weather.
SWMBO thought it would be cancelled so we ended up decorating all day
Cheers,
Steve
SWMBO thought it would be cancelled so we ended up decorating all day
Cheers,
Steve
