steel strikers,

[monkey boy]

can any one tell me how i go about making a steel striker? just as another prodject

 

[Snufkin]

Simplest method is to get an old file. Put it in a vice, hit it with a hammer to snap off the excess and there you have it.

 

[Matt.S]

Find yonself an old file from you garage, car boot sale, junk shop or wherever. Put it in a vice with about 1 inch sticking out. Put on gloves and goggles and hit it with a hammer. If the file was homogeneous steel you're okay though you might want to remove any sharp edges. If it was case-hardened find another file and try again.

If you want to forge a striker you'll need a fire, something to hammer with and something to hammer on... and goggles.

 

[ForgeCorvus]

Find a bit of old file and decide what shape you want (based on how much metal you have)
Next question you'll need to ask yourself is "What tools do I have or can scrounge " because how you make it will depend what you can do

The simplest is one like my pocket steel

I forged the ends down (but if you anneal the metal you could cut and shape using just saws and files) and then while the metal was still soft(normalised rather then annealed) I filed the edge smooth and just took the absolute corners off.
Then I hardened the steel by heating to red and quenching in oil (I think oil is a softer quench then water or brine)
Then I polished the striking edge on my combination stone (it doesn't need to be smooth but it does need to be clean)

And thats it, total time about 30 minates (including cooling time) and a simple gas blowtorch supplied all the heat I needed


*edit, why can I only make the pictures work sometimes ?

 

[monkey boy]

thanx thats really helpful, i cant wait to give it ago

 

[Mesquite]

>snip...If the file was homogeneous steel you're okay though you might want to remove any sharp edges. If it was case-hardened find another file and try again.....

Can you explain how you tell the difference between the 2. It's something I've been wondering for a little while as I've fancied making my own knife from a file but don't know how to tell it it's been case hardened or not.

 

[launditch1]

Some files are made from high carbon steel stock.These have high carbon content throughout.Case hardened files have only a very thin layer of carbon(1'000s of an inch..)so no good for firestrikers.Try and buy old files at a carboot or something..these are usually high carb.

 

[Matt.S]

Can you explain how you tell the difference between the 2. It's something I've been wondering for a little while as I've fancied making my own knife from a file but don't know how to tell it it's been case hardened or not.

There's no definitive way of telling without either whacking a bit off, playing with fire or taking a grinder to it. As Launditch points out files that seem older are more likely to be homogeneous steel -- I suspect because case-hardened files tend to be lower quality and so are quicker to be chucked. Looking at the quality of the teeth is usually an indicator. Looking for a recognised brand like Nicholson or Black Diamond or looking for a maker from Sheffield is another way of increasing one's chances.