« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.  (Read 3898 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Ncsnipe

  • Member
  • Posts: 178
Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« on: January 25, 2010, 10:28:12 am »
Will all the flints and cherts spark when struck against steel? The reason I'm asking is that I like to share primative knowledge with a group of kids I work with at church. This is one of the reasons I want to learn knapping. Thanks for any info offered.
Logged

Offline jamie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,387
  • born again pagan ,dirt worshipping heathen
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2010, 10:29:55 am »
quick answer is no. dont know why.
Logged
"Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all."

waterbury, ct

Offline aaron

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,037
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2010, 01:04:52 pm »
i think most do, but some better than others- harder ones work better than softer ones. flint must cut the steel to make a spark, so softer ones don't spark much and the rock gets dull quick. you need a nice sharp and squarish edge. Getting the right steel helps too.
Logged
Ilwaco, Washington, USA
"Good wood makes great bows, but bad wood makes great bowyers"

Offline DanaM

  • Member
  • Posts: 9,211
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2010, 01:08:26 pm »
Quartzite will strike a nice spark
Logged
"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

Manistique, MI

Offline caveman2533

  • Member
  • Posts: 640
  • Steve Nissly
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2010, 07:57:40 pm »
Obsidian will throw a spark but will not hold an edge for long.
steve
Logged

Offline billy

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,233
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2010, 06:58:52 am »
yes, flint, quartz, and obsidian will ALL throw sparks from steel, as they are all rocks with high silica content. I have done it.   However, you must have the right kind of steel.  Hard, tool-grade modern steel is too hard for most attempts at making sparks for a flint/steel fire.  You must have a softer steel so the flint can shave off minute particles of metal when the two are struck together.  These softer metals also have a lower "flash point", which means the sparks will flash at a lower temperature (the same way soft woods burn at lower temperatures than hard woods).  If you already have the steel strikers made specifically for flint/steel fire-making, then just take any flint/quartz you can get your hands on and start making sparks. 
Logged
Marietta, Georgia

Offline Swamp Bow

  • Member
  • Posts: 322
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2010, 11:26:04 am »
Easy way to tell about the steel is to hold it to a grinder.  If you get only a few short, orange colored sparks then it is not ideal.  How ever if you get many long, forking, bright yellow or white sparks it is a nice high carbon steel.  Now a question about heat treatment for strikers.  Is it better to have the steel hardened or annealed?

Swamp
Logged
From the middle of a swamp in SW Florida.

Offline billy

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,233
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2010, 01:19:25 pm »
i believe annealed is better...it's softer and works better for flint and steel fire lighting.
Logged
Marietta, Georgia

Offline Swamp Bow

  • Member
  • Posts: 322
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2010, 04:29:25 pm »
That's what my intuition said.

Swamp
Logged
From the middle of a swamp in SW Florida.

Offline II BYRDS

  • Member
  • Posts: 41
Re: Somewhat off topic question about flint and chert.
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2010, 05:00:35 pm »
I shoot flintlock smoke poles and the hardness of the frizzen well will determine what kind of spark you will get. so like fire starters used for starting fires, diffrent strikers through diffrent amounts of sparks. to answer your question is yes, depending hardness of the striker on what kind of spark you get.
Logged
Pages: [1]
« previous next »