Strike-a-light steel made from a file

[John Fenna]

It is great - but a flat top would make truing egdes easier...

 

[sticks65]

It is great - but a flat top would make truing egdes easier...

Thats very true.

Im going to try and get myself an anvil next year,ive always wanted one.

 

[addo]

Nice work sticks. I fancy giving this a go too.

 

[red dreads]

Lovely work and great sparks .
Made one years ago out of an old blacksmiths file ,but the sparks it threw were orange rather than white and quite weak .

Eventually with lots of effort and "sweary mearys" my charcloth might catch a spark.

Ive heard about being able to heat treat ie harden metal only a few times before it cant be hardened or it loses its carbon?

Or is there something else I'm missing?

It is carbon steel and i hardened it in oil(olive and diesel mix)

Can any of you more knowledgable gents or ladies point me in the right direction?

Best regds S

 

[sticks65]

Lovely work and great sparks .
Made one years ago out of an old blacksmiths file ,but the sparks it threw were orange rather than white and quite weak .

Eventually with lots of effort and "sweary mearys" my charcloth might catch a spark.

Ive heard about being able to heat treat ie harden metal only a few times before it cant be hardened or it loses its carbon?

Or is there something else I'm missing?

It is carbon steel and i hardened it in oil(olive and diesel mix)

Can any of you more knowledgable gents or ladies point me in the right direction?

Best regds S

I use old metal work files and harden them in salt water,i don't know if this is the correct method but it sure works for me.

 

[sticks65]

I simply water quench the steels that I forge from files - I have not fractured any from dropping them....yet! I have cooked some of the fancy curls off in the forge though
The sparks are phenominal - even better than the ones off my "Dragons Breath" sets (un -reforged file steel) - and they are pretty darn sparky!

I did as you said and just water quenched them and they spark like crazy John.

I did heat the part you hold though to give it a slight temper.

You can see the results here.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55476&highlight=


..

 

[caliban]

These are really cool, I must give that a go. The one you're wearing as a pendant looks the business. I've been told on the metal work forum that strikers are quenched in water to make them more brittle and that it's the brittleness that makes them more sparky. So maybe oil quenching is the reason some people are getting unsparkyness?

Really good work Stick.

 

[sticks65]

These are really cool, I must give that a go. The one you're wearing as a pendant looks the business. I've been told on the metal work forum that strikers are quenched in water to make them more brittle and that it's the brittleness that makes them more sparky. So maybe oil quenching is the reason some people are getting unsparkyness?

Really good work Stick.

Yep I water quench mine and get a good shower of sparks,oil quenched doesn't seem to give the same results.