Despite the ancient origins of these tools, some blacksmiths have preserved the art that is the production of handmade flint and steel fire making kits.

In fact, had they not done so, steel strikers would essentially have become extinct as fire making tools.

Attempts at mass production have shown that it is simply not possible to maintain the necessary high standards required for the production of reliable and easy-to-use flint and steel kits.

When it comes to fire lighting, handmade is king.

Some blacksmiths have gone a step further and have developed their skills to such a degree that they exclusively produce flint and steel kits, including all of the materials you need for preparing tinder and kindling.

One such craftsman works for Flint and Steel, a company which puts together the finest range of handmade flint and steel fire making kits available on the market today.

Such a kit makes a wonderful gift for anyone with an interest in the outdoors, from experienced hunters to novice Boy Scouts.

Perhaps the best flint and steel kits are those which combine the ancient knowledge of our forebears with some slightly more modern innovations.

While many natural materials can be used as tinder in their raw as well as processed forms, nowadays one of the most reliable materials in use is commonly known as char cloth.

This term describes pieces of cloth, such as cotton or linen, that have been enclosed in a container and subsequently scorched by exposure to heat.

Despite the excellent properties of char cloth, it was not used during the medieval period or in previous epochs. This wasn’t because we had not realized the potential of such materials, but rather because textiles were expensive and hard to come by for common folk.

It would have been criminal to waste such a precious resource at the time! It was only at the dawn of the industrial revolution that textiles were commonplace enough to be used as an easy source of tinder for fire making.

Even with the apparent superiority of char cloth, the beauty of the flint and steel fire making approach is that you can opt to use whichever kind of tinder you like.

The step-by-step process remains the same, no matter which materials you use.

In areas where birch trees are prevalent, such as the forests of Northern Europe, certain species of birch bark fungus would have been used.

These and other fungal species are great for holding an ember for long period of time, and you can even transport them with relative ease for future use.

One of the major advantages of flint and steel kits lies in the fact that the tinder remains in close contact with the flint at all times while being struck by a steel striker.

This gives a very high success rate when it comes to sparks hitting the tinder. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to produce an ember in a matter of seconds.