Improve your Knife for a Firesteel

[@unitytira4954]

Thank you so much for sharing this excellent idea to use for firerod, blessings😊

[@danielgrant9213]

Hey, many thanks for the instructional video. I recently bought an amazing knife at an amazing price, and then discovered its inability to strike a fire steel was its one weakness. I was able to adapt your instructions to give it a a sharper spine and with maybe 30 min of work, it turned into a fantastic fire steel striker. I've got a little something to add though. Those 2 Mora companions, the carbon one is literally made out of 1095 (at RC 58-60 I think) and the stainless is made out of 12C27 (at RC 56-58 I think). Great knives (I own a stainless Companion myself), but neither are really the most difficult in the world to shape. After I spent a little time asking google what kind exactly chainsaw teeth are made from (best guess 1085 carbon steel), I hazarded a guess that while a chainsaw file might be fine for a regular carbon steel knife or most stainless steel knives, it might not work as well for a more exotic steel formula. The knife I was looking to mod is made from 3V at 60RC, which isn't exactly a high speed tool steel, but still might be quite a bit more difficult to file than something like a Mora knife. So I tried something a bit different. I googled "diamond chainsaw file", and while I did find such a thing for sale, it was 1, Round, and 2, not cheap. So I decided to try out the little Smith's 2 sided diamond stone I use to sharpen my knives. It took a bit longer than your video demo (I'd say about 20 min, the other 10 min was going back and forth to try it against the ferro rod), but it did work, and my otherwise awesome 3V knife went from not being able to throw sparks from a Ferro Rod at all, to being able to throw sparks like a Mora Garberg. Incidentally, the reason why this took so long is because the "Coarse" side was only 400 grit, so a lot finer than a chainsaw file. The Blue Grade DMT diamond stone for about $10 would ( I would guess) be about as fast as a chainsaw file on a regular knife. I figured I'd post this in case you 1, Get any questions about changing the spine on a knife made out of amore exotic steel, and 2, My guess that a regular file isn't so great for steels with relatively high wear resistance is actually correct. You may already have experience I don't here, I made my guess based on my experience that sharpening exotic steels using stones meant for regular steels really sucks and that the same might apply to filing the spine.

[@davidleasure9138]

Great demo Ben. Thanks for sharing. The top on using the chain saw file was new information too. The draw filing and sandpaper around the file was awesome

[@MartiniDave02]

Great explanation. If you load the file with chalk it will cut more cleanly and lubricate the cutting, meaning the file will last longer.

[@greywindLOSP]

Demo was spot on, thank you for the heads up on the file......ATB

[@asiangirlinthewild]

Very good tips!

[@northernembersoutdoors1045]

I know you from the bushcraft magazine, it's awesome that you have a channel, fantastic.

[@PhilEvansOnline]

Thanks Ben, the chainsaw file is a great tip. 👍

[@yargstrebor4340]

Great content you guys continually put out. Very professional and very enjoyable to watch.👍🏽

[@paulturner4366]

Really helpful video, thanks!

[@northwoodsrat6686]

Excellent demo and very well explained. Thanks, Ben!

[@forestwanderer1232]

Great video, Ben!!! I love my mora companion but it has always annoyed me that I couldn't use it with a fire steel! Now I know how to change that!!! Thanks for the video!!!

[@leonidaslantz5249]

Great information. I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you Ben and Lois!

[@supernoobsmith5718]

I did my 511 and it surely worked. But I left a burr on one side so I had to take that down which then softened the corner a bit again. I did it by hand with sharpening stones, don't have a vice. It all works but if I take away the burr I just keep rounding that edge again.

[@BenOrford]

Ok if you make a large burr on the side of the blade just drag it trough some wood a few times it will break off the burr but leave the square edge. Hope that helps. cheers Ben

[@domcarr1973]

Brill, will definitely try this Ben. Do you expect to get chipping of the edge though, or will the edge be hard enough? Nail suggestion - excellent. 👍

[@Francois_Dupont]

thank you very much! Merci Beaucoup!

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Thanks for the file recommendation 👍🏻 Will get a couple 🙏🏻

[@elderhiker7787]

Hello Ben ~ the striker that comes with the fire steel has a burr on one side and no burr on the other side. The burr side produces excellent sparks, while the non-burr side does not. As a left-handler, The striker is set up backwards for me, so I’d prefer to use my knife. I watched closely as you filed both knives and you only applied pressure in one direction. Does this produce a burr on one side that is better for striking the fire steel? Or, are both sides equally square and, thus, equally good for producing sparks? This is a critical question for lefties.

[@AlanAlanAlanDave]

Could you use these files to put a grind on a knife blank in a hand grinding knife jig? Rather than bastard files?

[@nikolai841]

Where do you get these old Frost moras?