flint and steel

zeke · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2007 Posts: 174

I'm having a hard time finding a flint and steel kit which doesn't cost a small fortune...

I'm pretty sure I can get a bit of steel, but how to find a chunk of flint? Is this worth the time and effort to try to look? IOW, will I *find* some?

thanks!

zeke
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joeltrout · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

I dont know what you mean by small fortune but you can pick up a good one for $11.00 or as cheap as $6 at REI.

joeltrout
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Pops · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

Quartz works.

I use a Bic personally
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zeke · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2007 Posts: 174

Pops · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

I'm no expert here but I started a fire with the opaque stuff at some Boy Scout thing, so it doesn't need to be pretty.

Practice with a bow too...

Where are you heading?
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zeke · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2007 Posts: 174

Pops · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

Go out and practice building a fire with a match in progressively harsher conditions, learn to make a fire-stick, find tinder in really wet conditions, and mostly banking your fire so you don't need to start over.

Fires are cool, said the pyro-boy in Pops!
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gnm · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:29 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

Get yourself a nice thick acrylic magnifying glass or Fresnel lens... Cool

-G
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Pops · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

zeke · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2007 Posts: 174

I'm no expert, but lenses don't work so great for this purpose at night or on a cloudy day...

zeke
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peasea · Tar Sands Joined: Jul 26, 2007 Posts: 48

the ray mears approach is worth looking at

take an old bicycle tyre and cut it into strips , they will help start a fire with wet weather, admittantly with matches. the rubber will burn well . Red matches soaked with candle wax so they'll light in wet weather and burn better ( wax ) .

find you old dry log and cut it , the center should be dry , finer and finer slithers will get you to kindling.

ok these are wet weather things but worth remembering

and a good knife is required!

oh , yes , matches predate the oil world :- )

gnm · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

I don't wear eyeglasses... I am blessed with perfect vision even at my advanced age... Very Happy

Night - true but you could always keep a coal from the night before etc... make the fire ahead of time etc. If you're camping or somesuch you might want a cooking fir e in the day anyways. If you are being tracked you wouldn't want a fire period, And if it was just for warmth you could start it in the day. Stupid easy way to make a fire. In ancient times people would simply carry a coal in a box of sand or similar and use it to remake the previous nights fire when traveling. Using an old coal beats the heck out of trying to make a new one with a bow.

Or you could always use one of these...
http://www.firepiston.com/

-G
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Pops · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:59 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

steam_cannon · Expert Joined: Dec 28, 2006 Posts: 2425 Location: MA

To make a steel and flint set

* Any old lousy looking quartzite rock, a large half fist size chunk is
better so you don't nick your fingers.

* Any springy steel. Some rusty strapping by a rail road tracks.
If you can bend it back and forth a few times and it cracks off, it's perfect.
So find some scrap, bend it back and forth so it breaks off to be about
8-12 inches long.

* Swish the steel like you were chopping slices off an onion and you
should see sparks.

To light something on fire, make some char or char cloth. Charcloth
is just thin charcoal. Get an altoids tin and put some cotton cloth in
it, then put the tin into your BBQ or a fire. After it's all cooled off the
the tin will be full of cloth shaped charcoal. When the sparks from
your fire starter kit land on this charcoal it will light it. Once it's lit,
blow on the charcloth gentally to light some hay or leaves.
Then you have fire.

It's not hard, though I think there are more practical solutions like:

* any convex lens

*a polished soda can
Use fine steel wool instead of a chocolate bar if you are trying this.

* fire bow
For the bow string, if you weave the fibers using nettle fiber, dog hair, cotton...
Then the thing can be 100% natural, if that's what you're going for.

* carrying coals

* a lighter or matches! Laughing

Jenab6 · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: flint and steel

I have about 1000 cheapo cigarette lighters.