Flint and Steel Fire Starting Striker Styles Last Revised: April 20, 2020

People often ask me about fire steel shapes other than the shape that I usually make, so I got permission from Dave Hartwig of Northwood Iowa to show sketches of different strike-a-light shapes that he has researched.

The idea here is to give you enough information about the various shapes to be able to make them. This is not a history lesson.





I usually make the "French" style striker, but if I burn the end off or forget to mark the length on the bar before making the first end, it often looks like the "English Monkey Tail" design. Lately, I turn my scrolls inward. Not sure why I do that.