Why won't my Mora work with a firesteel?

R

rodogg

Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
279
Been using my "light my fire" firesteel for months and months, sparking it with the little piece of metal that comes with it:
steel_scout_Army_large.jpg

One day recently I took my Mora out and instead tried to use it (I tried the spine and the edge) but I got nothing most attempts, but some times I got a couple of pathetic little sparks.

Is the reason because it's stainless steel? Or is it something else?
 
Its because the spine of a Mora isnt square, you can fix that with a file. thats what i did, most knives are finished with a sharpened spine to use with firesteels, Mora just didnt do that with their knives.
 
sisk61 said:
Its because the spine of a Mora isnt square, you can fix that with a file. thats what i did, most knives are finished with a sharpened spine to use with firesteels, Mora just didnt do that with their knives.
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This is correct. The Firesteel doesn't care about stainless or carbon steel. You can see the striker has a sharp edge, almost like a burr. That is why you get a ton of sparks. The Mora more than likely has a not so square spine, and definitely not enough bite to scrape out a decent shower of sparks.
 
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Hey bud if you drag the spine of your mora back and forth over a extra course stone (like sawing) while your watching tv, in about 30-40 min yt should be good to go for a fire steel (that;s what I did with mine) or if you have a or belt sander than by all means that is easier, or you can just carry the strike with the fire steel, Good luck.
 
The spine on the survival is made to use on a firesteel, I have been thinking about that knife or a Force, I have a thread open talking about it, I just don't know yet if the spine and the cool sheath with firesteel is worth the extra money.
 
I like to square the back of mine near the tip...I set a piece of aluminum angle on a sheet of sandpaper so I know its 90 degrees. I keep the side of the blade pressed against the vertical side of the aluminum and saw it like RescueRiley said...Only take a few minutes with some 80 or 100 grit and gives nice sparks :D
 
I square my Moras on a flat surface with a sheet of 320 of 420 grit sanding paper. Just drag the spine straight towards you and you'll have a squared spine in a few minutes. I leave mine rough looking so it only takes about 5 minutes.

Oh yeah, stainless isn't supposed to work as well on firesteels. Don't know why. Never experienced it personally because I only use the carbon blade versions.
 
i just order light my fire strikers (i think thats right) bc they are dirt cheap. i then attach it to my fire steel with a bright orange paracord. i love it that way. i dont have to dull a knife or worry about a spine not being perfectly square
 
CWL said:
Oh yeah, stainless isn't supposed to work as well on firesteels. Don't know why. Never experienced it personally because I only use the carbon blade versions.
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This is a myth and a very pervasive one. The steel type only comes into play when using a flint(a rock) to strike the KNIFE. Firesteels don't care what you strike it with as long as it's sharp. You can do it with stainless steel, rocks, glass, shells...etc.

As to the OP not getting sparks while striking on the blade, somethings wrong. Either bad technique or bad firesteel.
 
Actually, it's the hardness that causes a firesteel to work. While it's not recommended, you can use a shard of glass (very hard) and it works. But it's very risky.

Squaring off your spine should help, although non of my Moras work very well. The absolute best I've found so far is my Fallkniven F1. Showers and showers of sparks.
 
sodak said:
[...]The absolute best I've found so far is my Fallkniven F1. Showers and showers of sparks.
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Yup :thumbup: Nice long lasting globs too.

Generally, I prefer using flat edged dedicated strikers (the newer LMF ones or the Goinggear ones) and carry one with each of my firesteels. Better control.
 
Shotgun said:
This is a myth and a very pervasive one. The steel type only comes into play when using a flint(a rock) to strike the KNIFE. Firesteels don't care what you strike it with as long as it's sharp. You can do it with stainless steel, rocks, glass, shells...etc.

As to the OP not getting sparks while striking on the blade, somethings wrong. Either bad technique or bad firesteel.
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Yup a broken shard of quartz also works. Your above reason could explain the anti SS/firesteel myth. Sometimes the public (general not many here) calls a firesteel a flint and I have never been able to get a spark off a hard rock with a SS knife but admittedly only tried this with a few. Carbon steel knives works with quartz, chert or flint so maybe that is the source?
 
Is the knife constructed with laminated steel?

I have a laminated carbon steel mora no 2, and it just barely makes a spark. The spine on this is nice and square, but the outer layers of steel are pretty soft and that is what scrapes the firesteel. The corners of the knife spine actually get boogered up, so I think the knife cladding is softer than the ferrocerium. My O1 Trapper works much better at making sparks.
 
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