Help with FireSteel

[Stew]

Stew,
My suggestion was to use the back of the saw blade of the SAK, not the knife blade. Though its a worthy idea for those who don't have a saw.

ATB

Ogri the trog

Good point - the saw spines are very square!

[dommyracer]

Is there any reason that a lot of people seem to like using the back of a knife to strike their firesteel?

I've found the best striker is the striker that comes with the steel itself....

[gregorach]

It's OK - but it's not much good for anything else. If you've got a knife anyway...

[Simon E]

To be brutally honest, you should be able to shave wood fine enough for use as tinder. A good sharp edge on the striker is equally important though. A Fallkniven with its very sharp spine will throw sparks off a Firesteel at least 4 feet!

Knife: Bark River 'Highland Special' (A2)

Wood: Unseasoned Japanese Cherry

[Ogri the trog]

An excellent pictorial demonstration of the method.

Thanks for posting Simon E



Ogri the trog

[Mantic]

An excellent pictorial demonstration of the method.

Thanks for posting Simon E



Ogri the trog

But you can't see him shouting KAZAM!

Yup, a good picture showing not only how to light a fire but also from the positioning of Simon's feet, you can slearly see how he intends to put the fire out using his own internal water supply

[Simon E]

Thanks guys, I did a couple of pics for a topic on another forum. I tried to describe it as a long stroke (OK, OK, simmer down back there ) and a short stroke. You can see how a short stroke will concentrate the sparks in a very confined area and is especially useful when trying to ignite a somewhat less flammable tinder. The long stroke I find if best with finer, fibrous tinder like grass.

Long Stroke

[crazydave]

Continuing the theme of wizard sparks - I have a Swiss army knife as my chief tool. It occurs to me that many of you wizards are using the back of a fixed blade knife? Sharpenned? So can I get the big sparks with a SAK?

JoeG
Well done mate. Fire starting with a flame is a bit different than from a glowing coal - such as charcloth. Char cloth is an absolute doddle to light. The skill is in nurturing a glow all the way to flame. That is where my magical abilities are reputed to be. Have a look at http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...ad.php?t=14445 where I reveal all.

if you have a swiss multitool then you can use the saw edge back the hacksaw/file blade is good or even the tin opener works on the smaller ones - I tend to leave the lil metal striker on the steel I do however have three steels and they all have different strikers, the newer ones wearing more away funnily enough. you can also grind a flat spot on the back of a swiss blade if its a locking one and use that. using the blade edge makes a good spark but remember you are using metal on metal so it wont like it for long.

if you struggle to get a spark and want some help then alcohol swabs light with no effort and are easy to carry in you med kit - puncture repair glue goes first time and shoe polish can be pretty good if its fairly new. all of which can take a soaking and help light wet wood.