18th Century Period Fire Lighting Methods. Ebook.

Authors, historical, living history, authenticity, flint and steel, burning glass, reading glass, fire-bow, Mountain men, woodsmen, woodsrunners, books, reading, experimental archaeology, plant tinder, fungi tinder, tinderbox, fire lighting, 18th century, 17th century, 19th century, survival, Indians, primitive, fur trade, French and Indian War, Revolution, historical trekking, long term wilderness living, colonial, Australia, North America, cooking, heating, Reenacting, Reenactment, 

Primitive Fire Lighting-Flint & Steel & Fire Bow.

Title: Primitive Fire Lighting
ID: 9784776
Category: History
Description: “Primitive Fire Lighting”, is a hands on guide to how to make fire with flint and steel and fire bow. This includes some history, a variety of methods, tinder plants identification, and tinder production, tips on fire place construction and use, how to prepare and lay a fire, wet weather fire lighting and magnifying glass fire lighting. The skills and methods in this book will be of interest to a wider range of readers including survivalists, historical re-enactors, bush-walkers and campers, historical–trekkers and even historical novel writers. Although the plant identifications list is mainly Australian it also has some information for England, Europe and America.
Publisher: Keith H. Burgess
Copyright Year: © 2010
Language: English
Country: Australia

Table of Contents
Illustrations. 4
FOREWORD. 6
FLINT AND STEEL FIRE LIGHTING. 8
PLANT FIBRE TINDERS: 11
TINDER PREPARATION. 15
Tinder preparation-charring: 15
OTHER FLINT and STEEL FIRE LIGHTING METHODS: 16
Emergency methods: 17
A WORD ABOUT BLACK POWDER: 17
THE CAMPFIRE FIREPLACE: 18
READING GLASS/MAGNIFYING GLASS FIRE LIGHTING 20
WET WEATHER FIRE LIGHTING. 21
A FINAL WORD OF CAUTION. 23
FIRE-BOW FIRE LIGHTING. 24
Introduction 24
FIRE-BOW FIRE LIGHTING. 25
A Brief Overview. 25
The Parts of the Fire-bow. 26
The Bow. 26
The Drill Piece. 27
The Fireboard. 29
The Tinder-board. 30
The Bearing Block. 31
The Bowstring. 32
Tinder. 32
Making Fire. 32
Making Cordage. 37
The Step for making Cordage. 38
AFTERWORD. 40
Fire steel suppliers. 45
About the author. 45

5.83" x 8.26", saddle-stitch binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-colour exterior ink.
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18th Century Brass Tinderbox with Burn Marks Inside.

This is claimed to be an original 18th century brass tinderbox. Note the burn marks on the inside of the lid, suggesting that this tinderbox was indeed used for snuffing out smouldering tinder. This indicates that this item was used for preparing tinder & for making fire from the tinder whilst it was still in the tinderbox.

Images Credit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/18th-century-outstanding-REV-WAR-HEAVY-BRASS-TINDER-BOX-LIFT-TOP-2-1-2-INCH-/311891543732?nma=true&si=D8Y3Hz9P4kMQwC2JRSYBZT9zQP4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557;

Fire Lighting Videos.

Spunks or Matches.

Brimstone or sulfur tipped matches/spunks that I made some years ago.

Spunks or Matches?

As occasionally happens one gets used to using a certain term or word to describe an object. Then one day your use of that word is put to question, & you find yourself clawing through the pages of a dictionary trying to justify your choice of word. Well this recently happened to me in regards to my use of the term “spunks”, to denote sulphur tipped matches. After my research I find myself still a little lost. I can not remember when or where I first heard this term used, but I have used it ever since. Here then below are the results of my search, & I leave it up to you to decide which term to use. From what I can see, the term “match” or “spunk” seem to hold equal sway.
Regards, Keith.

Detail of the altarpiece of the Saint Georges church in Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France.

In this lower image Joseph is holding flint & tinder in his left hand, & is about to strike downward against the flint with the steel held in his right hand. Below you can see an open wooden tinderbox & some spunks/sulphur headed matches/splints/tapers.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fr_Haguenau_Retable_de_l%27Eglise_Saint_Georges_-_d%C3%A9tail_Sainte_Famille.jpg;

A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-1848. Seven brimstone matches found by Lieutenant W.R. Hobson at an abandoned camp site at Cape Felix, King William Island on 25 May 1859. They were collected by the McClintock Search Expedition 1857-1859. Each match is a flat sliver of wood. Traces of sulphur are visible on the ends of three matches.

http://prints.rmg.co.uk/index.cfm?searchString=Brimstone+matches+&orderBy=0&chunk=24&event=catalogue.qsearch;

Match Sellers.

Painting by Pieter Claesz 1636.

This wooden box for 'spunks' or sulphur matches dates from the early 19th century. It was turned out on a lathe at Kirkpatrick-Durham in Kirkcudbrightshire.

The box is in the form of a barrel which unscrews two-thirds of the way up. It has the initials R.I. (for Robert Innes) on the bottom.

Sulphur matches or 'spunks' have a long history, and may have been used by the Romans.

http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-103-604-C;

SPUNKS.

1815 “Ye may light a SPUNK o' fire in the red room.”—‘Guy Mannering’ by Sir Walter Scott, xi.

In the morning early, before dawn, the first sounds heard in a small house were the click, click, click of the kitchen-maid striking flint and steel over the tinder in the box. When the tinder was ignited, the maid blew upon it till it glowed sufficiently to enable her to kindle a match made of a bit of stick dipped in brimstone [sulphur]. The cover was then returned to the box, and the weight of the flint and steel pressing it down extinguished the sparks in the carbon. The operation was not, however, always successful; the tinder or the matches might be damp, the flint blunt, and the steel worn; or, on a cold, dark morning, the operator would not infrequently strike her knuckles instead of the steel; a match, too, might be often long in kindling, and it was not pleasant to keep blowing into the tinder-box, and on pausing a moment to take breath, to inhale sulphurous acid gas, and a peculiar odour which the tinder-box always exhaled.
Sabine Baring-Gould, Strange Survivals, 1892, Devon, England

1843, John Wilson, John Gibson Lockhart, William Maginn, James Hogg, The Noctes Ambrosianæ of “Blackwood", Volume IV, page 396,

“Spunks "” spunks "” spunks "” who will buy my spunks?" "” cried an errant voice with a beseeching earnestness 

Etymology

1530, blend of spark +‎ funk ‎(obsolete, “spark”).

Funk ‎(“spark, touchwood”) is from Middle English funke, fonke ‎(“spark”), from Old English *funce, *fanca ‎(“spark”), from Proto-Germanic *funkô, *fankô ‎(“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng-, *(s)pheng- ‎(“to shine”), and is akin to Middle Low German funke, fanke ‎(“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke ‎(“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko ‎(“spark”),German Funke ‎(“spark”).

NOUN:  A piece of tinder, sometimes impregnated with sulphur; a match. 

spunk (n.) 

1530s, "a spark," Scottish, from Gaelic spong "tinder, pith, sponge," from Latin spongia

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=sulfur+spunks

The term "spunk" originated in the early 1600's in the British Isles meaning "a spark," having been adopted from the Gaelic spong for "tinder," which in turn comes from the Latin spongia. The Latin appears to be derived from how closely the popular kindling touchwood resembles natural sponges. 

http://etymologynow.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/etymology-of-punk-and-spunk.html

Spunk: A spark of fire or small portion of ignited matter.

Sponk: A word used in Edinburgh which denotes a match or anything dipped in sulphur that takes fire.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=hotTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=when+was+the+term+spunk+first+used+to+mean+sulfur+matches&source=bl&ots=zAB2byv-j8&sig=uc-0A_1xJSvMRMkL-1QINL7b9sA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiG7drVjarPAhUGjZQKHSphBbI4ChDoAQgaMAA#v=onepage&q=when%20was%20the%20term%20spunk%20first%20used%20to%20mean%20sulfur%20matches&f=false

Proceeding Of The Old Bailey. London’s central Criminal Court.

 Peirce Jones, Theft > burglary, 31st August 1692.

 a Betty was found lying near the Door, and some Matches and a Tinder box was found upon the Prisoner; 

Thomas Man, Theft > grand larceny; Benjamin Williams, Theft > receiving, 14th January 1702.

Williams lent them a Bag and some Matches,

Isaac Ragg, Theft > theft from a specified place, 14th January 1715.

 and a Pistol, several Picklock Keys, and some Matches, found upon him.

John Smith, Theft > burglary, 27th April 1715.

 Picklock Keys, and a Tobacco Box, with Tinder and Matches in it, were found in his Pocket. 

 Theft > housebreaking; Mary Powell, Theft > housebreaking, 7th September 1715.

 with a Chissel, a Dark Lanthorn, and a Bundle of Matches. 

Joseph Still, Killing > murder, 27th February 1717.

 Candle and Matches,&c. lying on the Ground. 

George Watson, Theft > grand larceny, 4th April 1722.

about him, with a Tinder Box, Flint, Steel, Matches, a Gimblet, Knife and Pick lock key:

https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/search.jsp?form=_divs&_divs_fulltext=matches&ref=&_divs_div0Type_div1Type=&submit.x=45&submit.y=12&submit=Search

America's 19th-century spunk-faker supposedly sold matches (spunks)

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=HVIPDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=18th+century+spunk-faker&source=bl&ots=Svmahj4i4X&sig=dw-NG-CC1Kr7oldUNzcLdWEg6z0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ2sSZ6qvPAhVNtJQKHXuoBa8Q6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=18th%20century%20spunk-faker&f=false

...the infant at its mother's side too often awoke.....The mother was soon on her feet; the friendly tinder-box was duly sought. Click, click, click; not a spark tells upon the sullen blackness. More rapidly does the flint ply the sympathetic steel. The room is bright with the radiant shower. But the child....shouts till the mother is frantic. At length one lucky spark does its office - the tinder is alight. Now for the match. It will not burn.....Another match, and another, and another. They are all damp. The baby is inexorable; and the misery is only ended when the goodman has gone to the street door, and after long shivering has obtained a light from the watchman.
Charles Knight, Once Upon a Time, 1854.

https://archive.org/details/onceuponatime01kniggoog

The matches were thin splints of soft wood, sharpened at both ends, and tipped with sulphur. The street-dealers were the chief match-sellers. Several matches were spread out, fan-like, into bunches; and according as trade was bad or good, so were we invited to buy three, four, or more bunches for a penny.
Matches and Match-makers, in Chamber's Journal, 1862.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=EanQAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

(1)             Tinder, touchwood, as a means of raising fire from a spark (Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. Gl.), also in Eng.; later, a sliver of wood dipped in a preparation of sulphur and used for the same purpose (Sc. 1782 J. Sinclair Ob. Sc. Dial. 128; s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.). Hist.; in modern usage, since the mid. 19th-c.: a phosphorous friction match, a lucifer (Per., Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1915–26 Wilson; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai). Gen.Sc. Also fig.Sc. 1755  S. Johnson Dict.:
Sponk, a word in Edinburgh which denotes a match, or anything dipt in sulphur that takes fire.Abd. 1794  J. Anderson Peat Moss 30: 
The natives where such fir abounds are in the practice of splitting it into chips, somewhat thicker and larger than those used in the towns for sponks, and employing these instead of candles for giving light.Sc. 1822  Scott Pirate vii.: 
A gathering peat on the kitchen fire, and a spunk beside it.Dmf. 1822  Scots Mag. (Sept.) 308: 
When ill Rab Duff and me laid brunstane i' the logie, and were ta'en i' the verra act o' clapping a spunk till't. Ayr. 1830 Galt Lawrie Todd VI. v.: The puff of passion to which he had put the spunk was out.Ags. 1853  W. Blair Aberbrothock 15: 
Maister Bell's discoorses are no that ill to mak spunks for bawky pipes.Mry. 1872  W. H. Tester Poems 143: 
Has sworn to tax the little lowes That emanate frae spunks.Abd. 1879  G. MacDonald Sir Gibbie xxvii: 
The san' paper 'at they hed been lichtin' a thoosan' or twa lucifer spunks upo'.Per. 1881  D. Kippen Crieff 199: 
Spunks were narrow pieces of fir roots about six inches long, with brimstone on the points, which ignited at the sparks in the tinder-box.wm.Sc. 1886  Trans. Gael. Soc. Inv. XII. 394: 
The making of these matches, or “spunks” as they were called, gave occupation in the long evenings to the male part of the family, who split up fine pieces of fir, and dipped the ends into melted brimstone or sulphur, and thus produced a rude lucifer match.

(2) A thin slip of wood, a spill used for making spunks as above; a splinter, smithereen, chip, in gen. (Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 268); fig. something of no value. Adj. spunkie, like a spill.Dmf. 1810  R. Cromek Remains 148: 
The deil sat grim amang the reek, Thrang bundling brunstane matches; Ye'll run me out o' wun spunks.Sc. 1824  Scott Redgauntlet xvii.: 
All broken to pieces; fit for nought but to be made spunks of.Fif. c.1850  W. D. Latto Twa Bulls 26: 
Wi' that he leaped among the trunks, An' knocked the luckless box to spunks.Abd. 1851  W. Anderson Rhymes 72: 
To hear a' his stories they never wad tire, As they sat in a burichie roun' his spunk fire.Mry. 1887  A. G. Wilken Peter Laing 45: 
The bull gaed to the han' barrow an' brak it to spunks.

http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/spunk

The Joseph Method Of Flint & Steel Fire Lighting By Keith H Burgess

Location of painting showing this flint & steel fire lighting method in the 15th century.

Saint Georges church in Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France.

Flint & Steel Fire Lighting Methods.

Flint & Steel Fire Lighting Methods.

Flint & steel & the use of a tinderbox has been in use since before the middle ages. One common method was to strike sparks onto tinder in the tinderbox by striking flint against steel. Once the tinder has caught the spark from the steel & produced an ember, several methods of making fire can be employed.

1.    You can hold kindling material (dry grass or similar) to the smouldering tinder & blow the kindling into flame.

2.   You can use a spunk (sulphur headed match/splint) to make fire by simply holding the sulphur tip to the smouldering tinder & blow gently.

3.   If you are using tow rag as tinder & have charred this material directly in the fire, then there will be patches of cloth that have not completely charred. If you blow on the ember on the tow rag, the uncharred parts can be blown into flame.

4.   You can hold a candle close to the smouldering ember & drip wax onto the tinder. If the tinder is punk wood or tow rag, it can then often be blown into flame.

The Tinderlighter.

Using a tinderlighter you can employ methods 2 & 3 to create fire. You can also tip the smouldering tinder into a nest of dry kindling & blow the kindling into flame. This method works best if you add additional tinder.

The Flintlock Gun.

Using the pan on the flintlock gun in the same manner as using a tinderlighter, you can make fire by adding the smouldering tinder to a kindling nest. This method is improved by adding additional tinder to the already smouldering tinder in the kindling nest. You can also use a spunk/sulphur match.

No Tinderbox Methods.

Personally I think carrying a tinderbox is a good idea, especially for processing tinder charred directly in the fire. Without a tinderbox you need to find some other method of extinguishing the smouldering tinder. This can be done by using some type of lidded container, or you can bury the tinder under dry earth. The earth does make the tinder less effective, so the method I used was to wrap the smouldering tinder in a piece of leather before burying. Using a tinderbox is the preferred method.

1.    You can place your tinder in a nest of dry kindling & strike sparks onto the tinder & blow the nest into flame.

2.   You can hold a piece of tinder material on top of a piece of flint between thumb & forefinger & strike the steel downward against the flint. This will cast sparks upward onto the tinder held on top of the flint. Once the tinder is smouldering, you can add the tinder to a kindling nest. Again, this method works best if you add additional tinder to the nest.

Detail of the altarpiece of the Saint Georges church in Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France.

In this lower image Joseph is holding flint & tinder in his left hand, & is about to strike downward against the flint with the steel held in his right hand. Below you can see an open wooden tinderbox & some spunks/sulphur headed matches/splints/tapers.

13.   You can use plant tinders even if they are not charred, by adding “a very little” pinch of gunpowder to the piece of tinder & striking a spark onto the gunpowder. Be very careful using this method. Only use very little gunpowder, & keep your face clear of the area. The powder will ignite & start the uncharred tinder smouldering.

For further instruction please visit my video channel & check out my fire lighting videos covering all these methods above. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEOMSZJETfj3GnoyONuvCQ?view_as=public

When Making Fire-Safety.

By Robert Griffing.

When making fire be sure that you have placed your powder horn with your gun well away from the fireplace. I suggest that you secure your fire steel to your belt bag buckle. In this way you can simply drop the steel after striking so that you can place all your attention immediately on the making of fire. In this way you are never likely to lose your steel.

Always make sure there is a clear area of at least two paces around your fireplace before making fire. Pay special attention to any debris that may take fire between the fireplace & your shelter.

Keep your fire small, large fires are a danger & they are more likely to attract attention than a small fire.

Make sure your store dry kindling in the back of your shelter in case the fire should go out at night when it is very cold.

If you do not need a fire, do not light one. It may attract unwanted attention. Always carry foods that do not require cooking.

Unless it is very cold & you need a fire for warmth, extinguish your cooking fire when you have finished cooking.

If you need to keep the fire going all night, make sure you have a good supply of firewood close to hand, so you can feed the fire at night without having to leave your bed.

Smoke from a fire made close to a tree will generally be drawn to the tree & find its way upward exiting through the forest canopy. However, this can not always be relied on because of the shifting breezes in forest areas, so keep your fire smokeless when you are able. Small dry wood will create heat quickly & produce less smoke. A hot fire will create less smoke even when larger pieces of wood are used.

Make sure that you always have plenty of dry spare tinder in your pack. If you are carrying gunpowder bags, place spare tinder in these bags as they become empty. Be sure to keep your tinderbox full of tinder.

Keith.

Tools of the Trade.

My Original 18th Century Fire Steel Update.

Some of you may remember that I acquired an original 18th century fire steel some time ago. I decided to add it to my equipment replacing the copy that I had been using. I found however that the original did not spark as well as the copy, so I re-hardened the steel in the fire. The results were no better, but I decided to keep it & use it anyway. If that was the way it was, then that is how I will use it.
I have seen in some videos copies of fire steels that shed an enormous amount of sparks as if they are coated with some radioactive material. There was such a product sold many years ago for coating the steel on a flintlock, but I think it was removed from sale!!!
Keith.

A Change Of Opinion. Flint & Steel Striking Methods.

I am not sure when or where, but I know that I once made the statement that striking the flint with the steel was not the correct way. Now if one was using a tinderbox or the nest method, this statement would be correct, because by striking the flint with the steel you would be directing the sparks up, instead of directing them down onto the tinder. However, some people do not use either the tinderbox or the nest method. Instead they hold the tinder on the top edge of the flint, & strike the steel upon the flint to catch sparks on the tinder.
In my opinion now, this is not a modern method, but in fact an early method perhaps before the use of the tinderbox, or perhaps this method was simply easier to use when lighting a candle.

In this illustration from Gutenberg for instance a tinderbox is being used, but the sketch appears to be showing the flint being struck by the steel as no sparks are shown as being created at this stage. Using this incorrect method would send the sparks upward before they fall on the tinder. If in fact they did reach the tinder in this round about way, the sparks would have lost their heat & may not catch on the tinder at all.

Here though in this detail of the altarpiece of the Saint Georges church in Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France, you can see the flint is about to be struck with the steel to catch sparks on the tinder held by the hand on top of the flint.

English: Detail of the altarpiece of the Saint Georges church in Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France.

Français : Détail du retable de l'église Saint-Georges de Haguenau, Bas-Rhin, France.

Fire Steels. Researching Three Types.

Fire Steels. Researching Three Types.

I am sure after doing so much research on fire steels, that there is still a lot to learn on my part. I have not even scratched the service on iron & steel properties & whether or not all steels were a combination of the two metals.

There are such a variety of steels from different countries, both in design, & in size. It also occurred to me whilst looking at the close resemblance of one steel to another, if perhaps some of them may have had their rat tailed handles repositioned after forging by the owner. Then there is the problem of not knowing if the artefact actually belonged to the site where it was found, or whether or not a Viking may have stolen a steel from an English village & taken it home with him on his return.

So I have tried to focus on three types or designs of steels only, principally because these are the particular ones I am interested in.

Birka Grave Fire steels Viking.

Post Medieval found in England. This same fire steel has also been described as being Roman.

5 cm long fire steel.

This one is almost a dead ringer for the one above, but this one was found on the Dawson Road convict site in Tasmania, Australia.

The following two steels were found in England.

At 9 cm long, these two steels are quite large in comparison to some copies made today. Going by the design & the amount of wear, my best guess at their period of construction is 17^th century to mid 18^th century, & both made in England.

From The Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia Of The American Revolution By George C. Neumann & Frank J Kravic.

Top right you can see two steels which are very close in design to the steels found in England. All the steels in this image were found at American Revolution sites, but this does not mean that they are dated to this period, they could just as easily date to the French & Indian War or earlier.

This style of steel was surprisingly the most difficult to research. There is no doubt more information out there, but to date I have been unable to find it. This steel was shown with a late 18^th century tinderbox with candle holder, but again, this does not necessarily date this steel to the same period.

http://www.collectivator.com/c/wendy-hamilton-antiques/sheet-brass-tinder-box-england-late-18th-century;

Again, a very similar steel, & even with the same amount of wear, but unfortunately there is no date on the steel.

Record ID: LON-6357F6

Object type: STRIKE A LIGHT

Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL

County: Greater London Authority

Workflow stage: Awaiting validation.

A Post Medieval iron tinder strike (17th century). This object has the characteristic rectangular body and curving square-sectioned arms with coiled terminals. There is a triangular notch in the upper surface just slightly off-centre. Dimensions: length: 78.86mm; width: 40.69mm; thickness: 5.78mm; weight: 29.91g. Identification and dating by Tony Pilson and Ian Smith based on foreshore context.

 Production Date:1500-1700 Museum Of London.

This example I think comes close to matching the squarer & sharper shoulders of the original I am researching.

Amsterdam 1650-1700.

Despite the similarity of all "C" type steels to one another, it is quite obvious that the original example that I have been trying to date is quite unique in it's design, with squarer sharper shoulders than any other of this type I have found so far.

The third design has been the easiest to research, & has been far more common than I first expected. In all these types & designs we must of course bare in mind that these steels have been made far & wide by different Blacksmiths with their own ideas of how a steel should look, or what particular style was perhaps easiest to use.

This is a closer look at the steel I have been trying to date. Note that the rat tail arm reaches down only just over half way, & that the wear is quite excessive considering the amount of steel that is shaved off each time when struck a glancing blow with a piece of sharp edged flint or other similar rock. Note the double cut marks of the file it was made from.

This steel is purported to be dated to 1620ad.

This steel showing very similar wear is dated to the 18^th century. Again, note the double cut of the file this was made from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinderbox;

This one is very similar, but much smaller.

Record ID: LON-891A42

Object type: STRIKING EQUIPMENT

Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL

County: Greater London Authority

Workflow stage: Awaiting validation  Find awaiting validation

Fire steel, striker light, dating to the post medieval period. The lighter is U shaped, and has flat surfaces on both sides. On side of the u shape is thicker, the thinner side curves into itself at the terminous

This one when seen in comparison to the size of the tinderbox it was displayed with is obviously large, at least I would say 9cm.

Tinder box with striker and flint. Photo taken at Ludlow Museum, Castle Street, Ludlow, Shropshire, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia). Again the file cuts can be seen.

This steel reported to be from the medieval era is again very similar in shape. These are found open as this one is, & also closed with the rat tail handle closed against the main body of the steel.

In this detail from a painting The Fire by Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1566, two different fire steels can be seen in the ear & the nose. The nose is very similar to the one above, & the original I have been researching.

Recognition:

My sincere thanks to my close friends Russ Tyenna in Tasmania & Alan Poole in England for their major contribution to this article. Without their assistance it is doubtful I would have written this article.

Keith H. Burgess 4/4/2015.