Easy Flint and Steel Kit

While there are many good fire starters on the market, it never hurts to be prepared in case of lost tools. This is a simple way to always be sure you have an emergency fire starter in your pack in case you leave your matches at home.

First make yourself a simple bag to keep your flint and steel kit in. Take a piece of buckskin or chamois, or suede material. Cut a piece 2 1/4" X 5 1/2" in size.
Fold it in half length wise and sew up the two sides. Then turn it inside out and make a channel for a piece of leather lace to slide through or cut 16 slits near the top for the drawstring. The lace should be 12" long.

Add in the contents. A piece of flint or even cut gem stones like a slab of agate to serve as the flint and for the steel a piece of an old file or stainless steel. Then char a piece of cotton rope or cloth and find some good tinder and you are ready for flint and steel fire starting.

I have found you a link that explains how to use a slab of agate or other cut gem stones in place of flint. Have you ever tried this idea? Please share what you know...here!
https://www.ragweedforge.com/striking.html

 

When you are out in the woods it also be a lot harder than you would think to find the smallest of the small branches or the right bark that will catch easily enough to get the fire started. A lot of beginners make the mistake of trying to use leaves, which you will quickly learn do not do your fire much good. Consider stuffing in some old newspaper that can be shredded up and used as tinder in case it is damp out or there isn't anything you can use nearby.