Chakmaks and flint striking

Kamidog, I'll take what ever you have that is at least about 1/2". Wheel locks use iron pyrite instead of flint. The pyrite drops about 1/8" onto the spinning wheel which is serrated. The serrations rip off tiny pieces of pyrite. (If you've ever sawn fool's gold with a hack saw, you know that it smokes & smolders pretty good.) The resultant sparking ignites the powder just like a flint spark would. Wheel locks fire faster than flintlocks and many, many percussion guns. Here's my film for the Swedish movie company.
[video]http://vid10.photobucket.com/albums/a109/sbooko/Wheellock%20Firing%202%20.mp4[/video]
 
J W Bensinger said:
http://vid1294.photobucket.com/albu...3-CFC4-4482-A768-3B4DD6332866_zpsssbgksln.mp4
There. Finally worked. Quartz, 5160 full hard chakmak and charcloth.
Click to expand...
I tried 5 or 6 more from some various era knives and as luck would have it the only one that would spark off was the first one I tried (in video). It tears them up pretty good cosmetically so I didnt try some shelf queens. I also tried a bunch of different grades of flint and it made very little difference. I think Im going to take the ones I use in the field and harden them fully and return them to their handles. This was some great info Jim! Thanks for bring this to light (literally).

Bookie: Wow! That sounds faster than flintlock. Lemme dig in my rocks and ill get back to ya. Awesome rifle!
 
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Two new kukri's from Nepal, neither of the chakmaks throw a spark, the blades are way too soft. I sort of expected that since I believe they're just for show.
I'm going to pop the blades out of their little handles with a bit of heat and give them a dose of yellow hot with a quench in water. Hopfully the carbon is up there.
I've made plenty of fire steel's from an old timber mill saw blade the same way, sparks with just a bit of quartz.
 
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