best steel type for flint fire strikers?

[kiwisailor]

I have always used a Hacksaw blade end, as a Magnesium Fire Lighter came with one attached.
As it already has a hole in it and are dirt cheap (Every one has at least two in their workshop)
and are small and light, are a great option.
I realise that it is not the answer you are looking for mjdragonfly, but may help someone else looking for a striker and not to damage Knife.

[JD Spydo]

What the one Brother said about Nicholson files really makes sense to me. Never heard of "titanium" producing sparks before :confused: But it seems like I'm always learning something that everyone else already knew about :rolleyes:

The times I've played with firestarting stuff I've had good luck with some of my late dad's older files ( pre-1950) like Millers Falls, Nicholson as mentioned, and it seems like the files/rasps that they use on horses hoofs spark pretty good too.

I do find this thread interesting because I have been trying to learn the two most essential elements of survival>> and that is to be able to make water drinkable/potable and to be able to start fire without the use of matches and lighters. Oh how we modern people have been so spoiled :o I'm wondering if even one out of five of us could survive during the World War II days :confused:

[mjdragonfly]

For those interested in the old ways of fire starting techniques here is a link to a very old and fascinating booklet on the subject with excellent information and which is superbly illustrated. Very much worth downloading a copy of this small book.

https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http ... IxODI4NzY3

just in case the link ever goes dead the title is Fire Making Apparatus In the U.S. National Museum written by Walter Hough. This booklet shows you in detail how they made fire in the 1700's and 1800's.

[bearfacedkiller]

This thread seems to contain some confusion between flint and steel and ferrocium rods. They are two very different things.

My two favorite ways to start a fire without a lighter or matches is using flint and steel with char cloth/charred punk wood or with a bow drill. A hand drill kit is easier to build than a bow drill kit but getting an ember with a hand drill kit is much harder. My best results with a hand drill have been with using Mullen stalks, especially when drilling into a chunk of chaga. My biggest obstacle is finding good soft wood to use. Where I live we have mostly hardwood and evergreens which don’t work quite as well. When I lived in Colorado there were Aspens everywhere which are a good softer wood for friction fires.

I don’t think that ZDP, Maxamet or any other high alloy steel will work well. If they do I would love to know. In my experience D2 wouldn’t really spark. I have read many people say that even 52100 and 01 don’t work as well as 1095 due to the added alloy content and they don’t have much added at all.

I have done a lot of primitive fire starting. Otzi the iceman had a piece of Horse Hoof Fungus on him which is a great natural tinder. Where I live a different fungus called Chaga is very common and works better than Hirse Hoof.