Problems with Flint & Steel

[deerstalkert]

while elk hunting I was stuck on top of a high mountain ridge in a cold almost freezing fog. temps went from 62 at noon to 30 by 3pm.
i was also doing a Daniel Boone impersonation of being a mite confused as to which way was out of there.
Theodore Roosevelt had hunted that ridge on his Idaho trip. he also he was a mite confused.
anyhow, that fog started to suck me dry of warmth. no sweat. birch bark, twigs and broken dead tree limbs and my ever present bic and i would be able to spend the night if i had to.
now a bic is mostly just flint and steel right? strike the round frizzen, the flint causes spark. the little valve thingy emits some flatulence. Home free! except that bic, brand new from wallyworld 2 days before, had no juice. no fart to ignite. sparkity spark.
i started to tremble from the chill that reached my core. trouble.

i dug deep into every pocket, crease, and crevice for a match with nothing to show but a sticky hand full of those cinnamon barrel thingies from the last decade.
but in my possible bag i found a round tin. with char cloth. peeled several birch bark feathers and struck the whole mess afire with that traitorous bic.
after a hour i stopped trembling and my cousin followed the smoke to find me.
i will never go deep again hunting, but if i could, there would be proven char cloth, flint and steel in my bag.
and a live bic.

 

[Walkingeagle]

while elk hunting I was stuck on top of a high mountain ridge in a cold almost freezing fog. temps went from 62 at noon to 30 by 3pm.
i was also doing a Daniel Boone impersonation of being a mite confused as to which way was out of there.
Theodore Roosevelt had hunted that ridge on his Idaho trip. he also he was a mite confused.
anyhow, that fog started to suck me dry of warmth. no sweat. birch bark, twigs and broken dead tree limbs and my ever present bic and i would be able to spend the night if i had to.
now a bic is mostly just flint and steel right? strike the round frizzen, the flint causes spark. the little valve thingy emits some flatulence. Home free! except that bic, brand new from wallyworld 2 days before, had no juice. no fart to ignite. sparkity spark.
i started to tremble from the chill that reached my core. trouble.

i dug deep into every pocket, crease, and crevice for a match with nothing to show but a sticky hand full of those cinnamon barrel thingies from the last decade.
but in my possible bag i found a round tin. with char cloth. peeled several birch bark feathers and struck the whole mess afire with that traitorous bic.
after a hour i stopped trembling and my cousin followed the smoke to find me.
i will never go deep again hunting, but if i could, there would be proven char cloth, flint and steel in my bag.
and a live bic.

I don’t pack a flint/steel hunting. I pack a couple lighters (one in pack, one on person), a small ferro rod/striker in pack and matches in pack and pockets. Flint/steel is for fun and games, not for serious stuff. However a tinder kit must be in the pack and T/P in the coat. Both work for emergency fire.
Walk

 

[SOLANCO]

If you are fairly rural there is a store near you with a fabric section. Years back bought a yard of cotton diaper flannel to make cleaning cloths for my glasses. Cheap.
Have cut scraps from it for char cloth and it works very well.

 

[Pilgrim]

My approach to flint and steel.

• Source tight woven 100% cotton for char cloth (thrift stores for old clothing, sheets, table cloths, etc.; cloth shops, bandannas, hankies)
• A good flint, steel set, or high carbon steel knife blade with a square spine.
• Dry well-processed tinder from your geographical area. (Learn to use the resources available to you)
• Practice, fail, learn, and practice until failure is eliminated. (This means I never stop practicing)

my description may sound crude or rude, but this skill requires constant attention and development. No two people or circumstances are exactly alike. Only the tools are consistent. So hang in there and practice, practice, practice.

 

[earlwb]

The type of steel definitely makes a difference. I bought a fire steel that sparks very well when struck, but on a whim I’ve tried other random pieces of steel and barely get a spark. I assume hardened steel sparks better.

Yeah the steel needs to be hardened. You see it with the flintlock guns. Unless the frizzen is hardened on its face, it will not spark. The soldiers used to carry a spare frizzen they could swap out as needed back then too. You can wear through the hardened surface over time so it needs to be hardened up again.

 

[earlwb]

i wonder, could one make a firestriker from a discarded TC frizzen? Naw, it would not spark any better than on the rifle and we would freeze to death trying for a spark!

They used to use their unloaded guns to start fires with way back then too. The well to do folk even had mini flintlock firestarters too. Those were just the flintlock action with a tinder box attached instead of a barrel.

The frizzen on flintlocks needs to have the face hardened from time to time as you can wear it off with use. They used to carry spares in the field to swap out too. Then when they found a blacksmith they could get them rehardened.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

There are two basic ways to light a fire. Flame to flame, such as igniting a birch curl with a match or a bic, and coal to flame, such as flint and steel, friction methods, etc. In our modern era most people are most familiar with flame to flame because that's the only method they have seen or used. However, for tens of thousands of years, prior to the invention of the match, coal to flame was the method that got us to where we are today and it has some advantages.

The single flame from a match or lighter is a delicate, fragile thing, easily extinguished by a strong puff of wind as anyone who has tried to light a fire in a storm will recognize. On the other hand, a coal in a bird's nest grows stronger and hotter in the wind. ( You blow on your tinder to ignite it ).

You can perform a little experiment to compare the methods.

Prepare matches/lighter and some suitable combustible along with flint, steel, char and cedar bark/jute fiber and try lighting a fire with each in the direct air flow of a window fan.

My point being, we should not discount the value and significance of skills that are now out of fashion.

Now.....who wants to learn the bow drill?

 

[Red Owl]

One other thing. Most of the diaries, etc. I've read. A lot mention, "when all else fails" take a rag and rub it with a little black powder, both sides and then use that instead of char cloth- it bursts into flames and doesn't last long so you need to have tinder right there. You-Tube has some demos. The thing is, today it is probably looked down upon as an unskilled way to do it but even in the old diaries, I sense a reluctance, as if even back in the day it was looked down upon.
On the jute for tinder. It is similar to tow and you can use it to scrub out a barrel and also as tinder. It is pc. There is an oil in it (I think) that causes it to burn well. Same with birchbark- there is an oil in birchbark- it will burn when wet. (or almost so).

 

[Packrat]

When I first started this game, many moons ago, I was still a smoker, a old buckskinner showed me how he could light his pipe with char faster than I could with a Bic lighter. I became a believer in Flint and steel that day. As stated, have your nest ready to put the char in, small twigs to start the fire and watch your beard

 

[Trapper Scott]

There are two basic ways to light a fire. Flame to flame, such as igniting a birch curl with a match or a bic, and coal to flame, such as flint and steel, friction methods, etc. In our modern era most people are most familiar with flame to flame because that's the only method they have seen or used. However, for tens of thousands of years, prior to the invention of the match, coal to flame was the method that got us to where we are today and it has some advantages.

The single flame from a match or lighter is a delicate, fragile thing, easily extinguished by a strong puff of wind as anyone who has tried to light a fire in a storm will recognize. On the other hand, a coal in a bird's nest grows stronger and hotter in the wind. ( You blow on your tinder to ignite it ).

You can perform a little experiment to compare the methods.

Prepare matches/lighter and some suitable combustible along with flint, steel, char and cedar bark/jute fiber and try lighting a fire with each in the direct air flow of a window fan.

My point being, we should not discount the value and significance of skills that are now out of fashion.

Now.....who wants to learn the bow drill?

I'm with you on the bow drill challenge.

 

[sleepingbulldog]

I wonder if the char cloth I made is the problem. Is it supposed to actually generate a flame when you blow on it? I can catch a spark with it really easily, but it just smolders and my bird nest never catches no matter how much I blow on it. The ember in the char cloth burns faster the more I blow but it never turns into an open flame.

I made the char cloth out of an old 100% cotton white t shirt, but it was pretty thin material.

 

[Pilgrim]

I wonder if the char cloth I made is the problem. Is it supposed to actually generate a flame when you blow on it? I can catch a spark with it really easily, but it just smolders and my bird nest never catches no matter how much I blow on it. The ember in the char cloth burns faster the more I blow but it never turns into an open flame.

I made the char cloth out of an old 100% cotton white t shirt, but it was pretty thin material.

It could be the material you mentioned, or maybe you didn't leave it in the fire long enough. If char cloth isn't burned long enough, it will behave like this too. I have had great success using a flat oil lamp wick if you find some old denim that also works well. Oil lamp wick isn't expensive. It is 100% cotton and chars great. However, it is thicker and tighter than standard cloth, so it does take longer to burn.

Respectfully

 

[springfield art]

I'm curious to know if I'm the only one who has been unsuccessful at starting a fire with flint & steel. I have tried 7 or 8 times over the past few years and no luck. I first bought a cheap kit, then bought a better steel from TotW and more flint. I even bought some denim to make new char cloth, but I haven't done it yet. I've gotten a few red glows on the char cloth that came with the kit, but couldn't keep the spark alive. What's your experience?

I've never tried, but I bet the key is to, as the saying goes, Practice, Practice, Practice!

 

[Rifleman1776]

take a rag and rub it with a little black powder, both sides and then use that instead of char cloth- it bursts into flames and doesn't last long so you need to have tinder right there. You-Tube has some demos. The thing is, today it is probably looked down upon as an unskilled

In a rondy camp when others are watching or a fire starting competition, that certainly would be looked down on. But, in a true survival situation it certainly would be acceptable. In fact to not do something that can save your life because it is not 'pc' would be stupid. I'm sure it was often done back in the day.

 

[Red Owl]

The char cloth HOLDS the ember, it really doesn't burst into flame- for that you need to have very finely shredded tinder, the "bird's nest". Wrap that around the ember, blow on the ember gently to make it glow more and the oxygen should enlarge the ember and ignite the bird's nest. That's why I suggested the tinder tube and magnifying glass- a fast easy way to get an ember and then practice turning the ember into fire.

 

[Flint Striker]

I wonder if the char cloth I made is the problem. Is it supposed to actually generate a flame when you blow on it? I can catch a spark with it really easily, but it just smolders and my bird nest never catches no matter how much I blow on it. The ember in the char cloth burns faster the more I blow but it never turns into an open flame.

I made the char cloth out of an old 100% cotton white t shirt, but it was pretty thin material.

All it’s supposed to do is catch the spark and smolder. You should use dry grass, unraveled twine or hemp rope, fine shredded bark, dry pine needles, etc. to go from coal to fire. It sounds like your charcloth is good.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Sounds like you need to gather the nest closer to the charcloth.

Here are the instruction I include with our Flint and Steel Kits:

Instructions for fire lighting with traditional flint and steel

• Pull out enough jute fiber to shape a loosely formed ball about the size of a baseball. Flatten the ball, making a depression in the center like a small bird’s nest.
• Tear off a 1” square of the charcloth
• Place the charcloth square on top of the flint and positioned such that the edge is even with a sharp edge of the flint.
• Using a downward glancing blow, strike the edge of the flint with the steel striker. Sparks are made when the sharp flint shears off tiny fragments of the steel. The sparks will jump directly into the charcloth and become a glowing coal.
• Now place the charcloth with the growing hot coal into the jute bird’s nest. Gather the nest around the charcloth and gently blow into the coal.
• As the coal grows in size and its heat output increases it will make a roaring sound. Be prepared for the bird’s nest to suddenly burst into flame.

 

[SciAggie]

If you are fairly rural there is a store near you with a fabric section. Years back bought a yard of cotton diaper flannel to make cleaning cloths for my glasses. Cheap.
Have cut scraps from it for char cloth and it works very well.

A kindred spirit… I’ve used diaper flannel for many, many years for cleaning patches.

 

[Rifleman1776]

There is a particular open weave cloth I used for years. But, memory fails me, can't remember the name of it. Now......that was a lot of help.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

There is a particular open weave cloth I used for years. But, memory fails me, can't remember the name of it. Now......that was a lot of help.

Gauze?