Hardening a striker?

[crazell]

I hope this is the right place. I have a whale striker that seams soft. When i strike it with a could flint, nothing. Is there a way to harden it now? I have another striker that works great,. I want to give a fire set to my buddy. Any help is wanted.

[hotfxr]

I don't know what a whale striker is but as metal goes, have you already done a heat and quench? I really don't know a lot about hardening steel and it may not do much, but it helped when I was making the throwing knives and tomahawks.

[Patocazador]

They have quit making Kasenite so Cherry Red (available at Brownell's) is the next best choice.

[beowulf]

if it`s decent carbon steel , heat it until it is nonmagnetic and quench in a light oil !should harden up .

[Red Badger]

if it`s decent carbon steel , heat it until it is nonmagnetic and quench in a light oil !should harden up .

no not nonmagnetic... straw color then dip in oil... caution I use old tranny oil and have a cover in case it catches fire... once the striker is in the oil let it go if the oil catches fire and smother fire, of it you are good and you can get it into the oil without fire. then gently swirl around for a minute or two then let it rest on the bottom until cold... for a striker andout 1/2 an hour should be good.

[beowulf]

 odd , I`ve always used that method , makes the steel hard to the point of being almost brittle , then draw back the hardness on the part you hold leaving the striking edge still hard , good quarter inch from the edge . long wearing !   but your method does produce a tougher steel !

[Red Badger]

odd , I`ve always used that method , makes the steel hard to the point of being almost brittle , then draw back the hardness on the part you hold leaving the striking edge still hard , good quarter inch from the edge . long wearing !   but your method does produce a tougher steel !

Mine done that way become to brittle,  nothing sucks worse than drooping a striker and having it break into pieces....

[crazell]

Could i use a torch of some kind?

[beowulf]

should be able to !

[crazell]

I don't know what a whale striker is but as metal goes, have you already done a heat and quench? I really don't know a lot about hardening steel and it may not do much, but it helped when I was making the throwing knives and tomahawks.

The striker is shaped like a whale. Thank you all for your much needed information. Let you know after i do this.     Ron

[William]

I don't know what a whale striker is but as metal goes, have you already done a heat and quench? I really don't know a lot about hardening steel and it may not do much, but it helped when I was making the throwing knives and tomahawks.

The striker is shaped like a whale. Thank you all for your much needed information. Let you know after i do this.     Ron

Was your whale striker made by Wally Pete?

[crazell]

William I'm not sure. I will try and post a picture later. Having issue's with size of picture i want to use.

[West Texan]

Start with good steel. Old files work very well. Heat to bright cherry red " orange " to me. Aneall the steel by burying in very dry ash or fine sand to cool overnight. You can grind or file down the teeth.  Forge to your chosen shape. Aneal again. Heat to bright cherry red and quench in oil. You can stop there. You could cook in an oven at 400 degrees for a couple of hours and quinch in water.
Or if you don't want to go to all that trouble, grind the teeth off the edge of a file keeping it water quenched and cool.  It will spark very well.