STRIKERS
I decided to test out some newish strikers I have had in my possession. Not that my opinion means anything in the survival industry, I mean after all, I'm not a survival expert, I only played one on TV.
First I emptied out my flint and steel set to see what was in it. I have not had my F&S set out for a few years so I was uncertain as to the content.
Contained there in was 1 striker made from a broken file. 30 pieces of char “cloth” made from old army web belts, 1 piece of Illinois Chert, 1 piece of white quartz from the Chiricahua mountains in Arizona, 2 gun flints, 1 small piece of chaga, 1 piece of light 100% cotton cloth, and a small tinder bundle.
he 5 strikers I was trying out were made by different manufacturers, 2 were commercially made and 2 were made by blacksmith artisans, and 1that I got in a trade that has a wooden handle, supposedly made from an old whiskey barrel.
As a control, I used the striker I have been carrying since the 70s, made from an old file it throws massive sparks regardless of the stone – as long as the stone is hard.
Anyhoo, 1st up was the wooden handled striker. I liked the look and feel of this one but after repeated strikes on all 3 stones this one threw very few sparks because the steel is too soft. Disappointing.
Next was a hand made “D” shaped striker. Like the first one, this rascal threw very few sparks but still a degree better than the 1st one.
Next was “C” shaped striker that was a bit difficult to hold on too due to its shape. Like the other 2 it didn't throw many sparks and the steel once again appears to be a bit too soft to make a good striker.
Next was a “U” shaped striker that was also difficult to hold and strike with but unlike the other 3 this one did throw some decent sparks.
And finally a Bear claw shaped novelty striker I got from my friend Mikhail in a trade. This rascal not only looks cool , its easy to hold, throws sparks like crazy, had a lanyard hole, and fits easily into my tinder box along with my old striker.
The steel is vary hard and sparks as well as my old file striker.
Any lastly, just for shits and giggles, I used my old timer pen knife as a striker to see how it fared against legit strikers made for that purpose. Amazingly, it worked better than 3 of the 5 strikers. As an aside I also like the old school cheap “Camp king” boy scout style knife as a striker. In the days of old they were made of good steel and were pretty must indestructible.
So there you have it, my evaluation of how well legit strikers fared against a broken file and an old timer. If you decide to use flint and steel as your primary method of fire making it would be a good idea to test your stone, steel, and cloth before heading to the woods, oh! And, practice, practice, practice.
Flint and steel fire making is another excellent way to get a fire going without matches or lighter.
My set consists of s colonial
period replica striker ( made from a pitchfork tine), char cloth made
from cotton belts and canvas, Utah flint, petrified wood, an extra
striker made from an old file.
There is also a small tinder bundle of cottonwood cambium. The tin is a candy container I got at a department store in Singapore.
I first put this set together back in the early 80's and use to carry it but as my experience in the outdoors grew I learned about alternate strikers, char, tinder ,etc.
Lately if I use F&S to start a fire it is my "Old timer" pocket knife or the back of my green river knife as the striker and any piece of flint, quarts, chert, or pyrite I happen to find. The char is usually from an old fire pit. I once started a fire in Utah using a horse shoe, a piece of flint and charred blue jeans i found in an old fire pit.
The stone is more important than the steel in F&S fire making, I have made sparks using flint on my hatchet head, on pyrite ,my old green river knife, and have seen locals in Indonesia strike a spark with quarts and green bamboo - yup, green bamboo. You can also make a decent F&S set from a small piece of broken hack saw blade and some steel wool.
