Where is a good place to get flints for fire stsrting? We don't have much flint or chert where I live. I found some online for $22 for 11 pounds of big pieces of flint i would have to knap down. Or $23 for 5 pounds of smaller flint pieces already broken down. Are there other places i could find some? Also, how much waste would there be if I got the bigger pieces?
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Where to get flint for fire starting?
- Thread starter awreis
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You are in Kentucky, there is lots of flint and chert there .You don't need big chunks. Or a lot.
Part of the fun of buckskinning is sourcing your own things from nature. Go for a walk with your fire steel, and check out any rock that looks like it may spark. I often end up with a pocket full of rocks to break for fire starting.
I'm in the northern Rockies, and flint and chert is very rare here. However, I find lots of quartz that sparks just fine.
Iron pyrite (fool's gold) sparks well, even if it looks rounded with no edge like you need for flint. Any rock with a smooth glossy look is a good candidate for sparks. I even use obsidian at times. It's not the best thing to use, but it works.
Any time you start breaking flint, expect a lot of waste, although for fire starting you will have more usable chunks than if you were making rifle flints.
Part of the fun of buckskinning is sourcing your own things from nature. Go for a walk with your fire steel, and check out any rock that looks like it may spark. I often end up with a pocket full of rocks to break for fire starting.
I'm in the northern Rockies, and flint and chert is very rare here. However, I find lots of quartz that sparks just fine.
Iron pyrite (fool's gold) sparks well, even if it looks rounded with no edge like you need for flint. Any rock with a smooth glossy look is a good candidate for sparks. I even use obsidian at times. It's not the best thing to use, but it works.
Any time you start breaking flint, expect a lot of waste, although for fire starting you will have more usable chunks than if you were making rifle flints.
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Take a road trip to the Flint Hills of Kansas and walk around...
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A while back I came into a few flints made for muskets. So I stuck one or two in my fire kits, they work bery well, and don’t take up much room in the kit.
Daryl Crawford
50 Cal.
Quarts has the required hardness to create sparks with a steel, but isn't great for making gun flints.
