Steel for strikers

[Bluesaberleather]

Hey all, new here.

Did some homework and research from this site, while informative and relevant to the question at hand, I could not find any info on what steels make good strikers for firesteels. I'm currently working a piece of leaf spring and it's coming along but read somewhere that they don't produce an adequate amount of sparks and that 80Crv2 would be better. Seen O1 and O2 but I'm not experienced with either of those and I've even seen some 10XX steels. So... is there a best steel or is it really just using a known HC steel, heat treat and maybe a temper?

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

In my experience high carbon steel makes the best fire steels.  You want something hard enough that the flint will carve off pieces which oxidize as sparks in the atmospheric oxygen.  I would think that an alloy which is "tough" rather than hard when quenched would not be optimum.  I have oftem used garage door springs and some of them have been excellent and some pretty punk.  I suggest experimentation, particularly if you are using scrap steel.  I have found that some modern springs are odd alloys which do not harden or temper well in a home shop.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. I just did a search like the recommendation in the Read This First thread and it came up with 510 results, so there has been a lot of discussion about fire strikers. My favorite steel to make them is old files, second favorite is coil springs, both quenched and tempered or just striking edge quenched.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[Daswulf]

I will second coil spring and old files. Tho some more modern/cheap files can be case hardened and not good to use. As mentioned high carbon works. And experimentation is a good thing. 

[Frosty]

Coil spring has worked for me just fine. The trick is getting the hardness right, too hard and you get white sparklers that don't last long enough to start fires easily. Too soft and you get red blobs that aren't hot enough to work well. Fat bright orange sparks that last a a while work a treat. 

Then a fellow gave me some 1085 rod to make him a striker and BOY did I like it better than coil spring for the quality of sparks.

The chrome in coil spring can make it less sparky than simple high carbon. It still works though.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Vladimir]

1095 steel. Water quenched. No tempering. The temperature is selected so that there is maximum hardness and no cracks.  Only the working part of striker is hardened. The hardness is checked with a file. The file should slide over the hardened surface without removing metal.

[Chad J.]

I think when I was researching this on here sometime had said old tire irons worked well.   I have a couple made, however the lack of flint in my area makes it hard to test and my ADHD makes it hard to remember to buy a piece when I see it. 

[Frosty]

There's plenty of various chert formations in Wi, there is "Taconite Jasper" aka Gun flint to be found in NW Wisconsin in the "Gunflint Formation"  Animikian Group." Cherts are pretty common in Wi, If you're collecting rather than buying check https://www.projectilepoints.net/Materials/Search/Wisconsin.html for leads, it's where I found the location and chert type I mentioned above.

If you are collecting yourself please follow the rules. collect ONLY where it's allowed some public lads do NOT allow mineral collecting, AKA "Rockhounding" and good deposits may be on private land. ALWAYS check with and ask permission from the land owner.

Asking permission has a couple benefits, #1 it's a good way to NOT be run off at gun point or arrested for trespass. Often the land owner knows the best places to look, what you need to collect and may send a kid or farm hand with you to show you the choice spots for a couple bucks. If they say NO apologize for taking up their valuable time and leave quietly. Too many people rockhound where ever they please and not only dig where they shouldn't, leave gates open, damage private property and generally tick people off. Besides asking permission of the land owner might result in him pointing out rock walls and piles from picking farm fields he'd be most happy if you carried off a few hundred lbs. worth. 

Of course you could call around rock shops in one of the places that shows chert, quartzite, etc. and ask what they have for good gunflint stone. Flint is just one type of stone in the chert group. Don't forget agate, agate strikes nice sparks. 

I'll bet you a cyber beer that if you forge a striker and try it with a freshly broken stones from YOUR yard you'll find some that strike sparks. Break it for a fresh SHARP edge and have at it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Daswulf]

Chad, through some more recent interest in learning about flint knapping one of the guys I watch on yt mentioned landscaping supply places as a potential place for find bull rock or bull gravel. I haven't had the need to check into that more but that might be a cheap source other than buying a grab bag of unknown but possible decent stuff on ebay which i have done. Id say that most of the stuff I got in a 40# box wasnt very good for knapping but certainly should be good for flint and steel, which was a secondary or firstly reason I bought it. That was before i heard about the bull rock.

It might be worth checking out and if you examine some chipped rocks you might find some decent chert or flint rock. At that point I would nicely explain your intentions with it and nicely ask if you could purchase a small quantety at they probably mostly sell by the yard or large weights. 

[George N. M.]

This is really simplified:  In the US the commonest occurances of chert are as nodules in limestone or dolomite formations.  They can often be found in steam beds, sometimes whole, sometimes broken.  The nodules are pretty much potato shaped.  They are formed of microcrystaline or amorphous quartz (SiO2). and are left behind as the limestone erodes and weathers away.

In the UK "flint" is chert from chalk or marl formations while "chert" is from limestone.

To me "chert" is the general name, "flint" is when it has been knapped into an artifact, "jasper" when it is red (has hematite in it), "agate" when it is banded and pretty.

Other stones such as quartz and quartzite are hard enough to strike sparks from a fire steel.  Anything that has a sharp edge and is harder than the steel will work.  Obsidian looks like it would work because it has very sharp edges but it is too soft.

An old term for chert is "fire stone."

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

Who are you watching Das? I'll have to check my bookmarks, some are good how tos others are so much philosophical interpretational ramblings. I need to start making rock club meetings though my knee still isn't up to serious rock hunting. I think one of the members can draw some maps to good knapping chert exposures in a couple stream and river beds reasonably close by. I really need to get back into teaching myself point and blade knapping.

The UK has some really ancient as in mesolithic mines into Tabular flint strata leading in from exposures and a few good paleolithic tabular flint knapping  "circles" on trade sites and routes.

I think "flints" is classification for artefacts more than  a mineralogist's isn't it? From what I recall the "mineral "flint" is more a grade of chert than an actual type but my classes and reading is kind of bleared by that danged tree.

Please don't take me as argumentative, I'm trying to clarify my reading more than anything. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Daswulf]

He goes by Jack Crafty on his knapping videos.  His videos are long and when he rambles I find it enjoyable. Just watching him work is very informative. 

I still have a lot to learn so I don't want to muddy up the waters going into what I think is right. I do "think" the same with flint as you stated. 

[Frosty]

Yeah, Jack's rambles are entertaining but I like more how to with close ups and tech details. I'll have to see if my bookmarks are still saved on my comp or have been moved to the cloud I don't have a password to access. Sorry, that's another thing I owe to the computer guy who debugged my comp. Sorry, that turns into a rant too easily for a Saturday morning.

My favorite knapper (thank you TREE!) who's name I can't recall goes into detail about nodule or flake evaluation and selection, platform selection and prep, strike angle, how it should break and why, analyses each flake, etc. etc. A lot of times his videos are in several parts. He lives in the west, AZ  I think but is  known as a major expert and champion knapper on the world stage.  He's a genuinely likable guy who retired from competition, teaching and much knapping because of the repetitive motion and stress injuries the craft did to him.

I started out watching the "Hunt Primitive" guy but he's more into trophy hunting and makes everything. It's a neat channel but not one of the better if you're trying to pick up the craft, they're pretty promotional. 

I used to collect obsidian at Glass Buttes Oregon every time I was in the area but never made a knap in. One of these days though, even if it's just to watch.

Frosty The Lucky.