SIMPLE GEAR PROJECT - Make your own Bushcraft Flint & Steel Set

Here is another of my Simple Gear Projects, a great way to recycle stuff that would otherwise be put in the bin! In this simple DIY project you have complete step-by-step instructions for how to make your own “Flint & Steel” bushcraft fire lighting set.
Enjoy
Music - "Mockingbird" by David Mumford sourced from the Free Music Archive
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If you are interested in the gear I use have a look at these links:
Jumpers, Thermals and Base Layers - Forces Uniform and Kit
And if you want to get in touch directly - my email address is - [e-mail]

[@itchyfeet4205]

If you can't get an old saw blade a piece of an old file works just as well :)

[@PlayaSinNombre]

Until I can find a piece of flint, I use a welder’s torch lighter for getting spark.

[@duxdawg]

I use duct tape to protect my hands from the teeth of the saw blade. That way I can remove it then use it as tape, or fire starter (burns well) and use the saw teeth if needed. Most tins do not seal well enough to need a hole. If it does need a hole, the best place to put it is through the side of both the lid and the tin. That way the holes can be aligned to make char. Twist the lid so the tin seals out moisture, protecting the char. This works with any symmetrically shaped tin.

[@keepthefaith35]

Nice recycling trick there Neil, Thx. ATVB Malcolm 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@ceri1796]

Great tips

[@johnturner6251]

Thankx Neil

[@jimmycornflake2636]

I use a piece of an old file, easy to find at flea markets. A piece of quartz works just as well as flint.

[@waveman0]

excellent advice, files are much cheaper (Silky blades are way too expensive to snap IMHO) and flint is all but unheard of in my neck of the woods in Australia, quartzite is my day-to-day working stone.

[@marksadventures3889]

I used denim from an old pair of jeans for mine, the rest went to make a drawstring bag. I got my flint from a burn/brook bed - in Strathclyde. I like the silky saw striker. Of course a parade black polish tin.

[@CZ-BO-HUNK]

Oh to have English flint I only have Ozark chert.

[@anthonyjacobs6790]

Great idea, thank you.

[@MichaelR58]

Neil , good video and tips , thanks for sharing ,God bless !

[@mikemaxwell2591]

Good info, thanks.

[@waveman0]

files are much cheaper (Silky blades are way too expensive to snap IMHO) and flint is all but unheard of in my neck of the woods in Australia, quartzite is my day-to-day working stone.

[@greencraft4783]

I'm using one that's already broken , not buying one specifically for it.

[@waveman0]

@@greencraft4783 yeah I get that mate, I've got a couple of Silky saws and have learned to use them and not snap blades and dread the day that I do, as I know the replacement blades cost almost as much as the saws do.

[@jimmycornflake2636]

@@waveman0 have a look at mossy oak folding saw. It's no silky, but it gets the job done and only costs about 20 euros.

[@waveman0]

@@jimmycornflake2636 thanks mate I'll have a look

[@nosher1975]

You have over contemplated a simple task

[@greencraft4783]

I have ?

[@alexandergutfeldt1144]

Excellent tip! Thank you. Where do you get the flint? Here in Switzerland the is only one area where I know they used to find flint .. but that is not so easily accessible (housing development) these days

[@jimmycornflake2636]

It doesn't have to be flint. I'm in Austria and it's also hard to find here. Quartz or chert works just as well as flint.

[@waveman0]

Jimmy is correct, stones are plentiful if you get out of the mindset of just worrying about flint, just about any hard stone will work for percussion fire-making, it just has to be over the hardness of your steel striker, so 5.5 Moh's, quartzite, quartz, jasper, flint/chert, petrified wood all spark well and quartz/quartzite probably being the easiest to find. I've even used obsidian and porcelain. You can also buy flint on ebay and etsy if you are having trouble finding suitable stones.

[@duxdawg]

There are dozens of types of rocks, plus porcelain and carbide steel, that work as the "Flint". Some of the types of rocks that have worked for me include: agates, Burlington chert, chalcedonies, cherts, dolomites, flints, fossilized coral, granites, jaspers, novaculite, onyxes, pyrites, Rootbeer flint, sandstones, quartzes, etc. The main thing is the high quartz content.

[@tourcheverybridge]

Someone sleeps less than me… or gets up early 🤣🤣

[@tourcheverybridge]

@@badhat3051 ok so you telling me I watched a ton of videos and never noticed they where filmed across the pond?… oh I dont know just read your reply again and think I get it now… this insomnia is really getting to me now… sad thing is its not a joke for once.

[@marksadventures3889]

A lot of us over here get up very early too. If you want to travel distances on the road systems it beats the traffic near major cities which can add hours to a journey. But I have always got up early - as a country boy who lived in towns I was up very early for work from a young age.

[@tourcheverybridge]

@@marksadventures3889 to get up early I would have to sleep… unfortunately I dont.. poor me poor me 😢😢😢😢😢

[@tourcheverybridge]

@@badhat3051 they make pills for lots of things ….I take 15 a day as it is, and don’t much like even numbers….

[@tourcheverybridge]

It is morning