I concluded my post by saying that the traditional flint and steel was a poor choice for a survival kit because it took skill to use and required char-cloth. In a survival emergency you need to be able to create a fire fast and easily. There was some disagreement on this.
During a recent winter storm I went in my backyard and tried to make a fire with a fire steel. Everyone agrees that making a fire with a fire steel is much easier than making one with a traditional flint and steel. You can watch the results:
It is hard to make a fire with anything in a winter storm. Why would you limit yourself to a flint and steel? Your life depends on it.
The guys that tried to say that a traditional flint and steel was a good choice argued that the flint could be fashioned into another tool and that you do not NEED to use char-cloth. While this is a true statement, I'll wager they have never tried to make a tool from a piece of flint or make a fire with a flint and steel without char-cloth. Both take immense skill. The average hunter, or even average outdoorsman could never do it in a survival situation.
I stand by my assessment.
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