Identifiying Flint Chert and other Sparking Rocks

[fryop]

Love your channel and show Dave. You are hard core, educational and you kick ass. Keep it up and be safe out there.

[quintin636]

great vid!

[camouflagelane]

are you an eagle scout? im shootin to be one :)

[707100alan]

nice big fan

[1234deathletter]

OMG its dave from Dual survival

[UberSuperEpicPwn]

what knife are you using in this video?

[whoslappedthecat]

have you made a video on a survival kit if you use one or what you commonly use inj a survival situation

[finzzo]

dude your mad funny cuz no sparks were made

[llbb010]

My friend who is older than me sent me a hand forged steel striker and a piece of flint. I have no clue how to sharpen the flint tho. So I was pounding at with a hammer (which broke it in half :( and I hit it just right with the hammer (the hammer is VERY rusty) and it created a large spark which fell back on the flint and burned for about 1-2 seconds. Just showing that flint strikes on A LOT of things.

[celticbattleaxe]

Go Dave go! Just try not to trap anymore skunks in your snares :).

[Goldbrand47]

At my school, we had a fire building contest, and i was the only one who could hit our flint hard enough to cause sparks to ignite our char-cloth, but some retard in our group made it alot harder to make the fire. Mainly because he broke my teams flint rock! Ugh, i still think he's a retard to this very day.

[VaMpIrElU1]

Hei dave are you stil making the dual survival at discovery?

[xbeast133]

@VaMpIrElU1 Yeah, he's still making it. They're just in between seasons.

[SirsRose]

is quartz and flint around most areas in the USA or only certain states?

[spudgebomb]

@SirsRose

Chert is harder to find--I live in Idaho, where we have one, famous (to geologists anyway) granite intrusion: the Idaho Batholith (Sawtooth Mountains). I have found several pieces of chert there, but nowhere else, even here in the panhandle where there are tons of silicate rocks. Chert requires high amounts of pressure and temperature to be exerted on quartz from the earth to form. Quartz is a good sign that there might be chert, though, and quartz rocks work fine anyway.

[TennesseeSurvivalist]

Dave Canterbury, would kindly challenge Bear Grylls to a duel? I want to see that phoney survivalist get his jaw jacked. Cody can throw some pixie dust in his eyes while he's on the ground.

[godofwar10510]

dave, where should i go to get a carbon steel knife?

[lmorrison17]

@godofwar10510 Bark River Knife and Tool ,Before I found them I liked Old Hickory knives from Ontario Knife company.

[mamaxlolXDlol]

can quartz crystal work better than a piece of flint? i found one and i wanna find out

[redbarron709]

think you are awesome. I know the only way to know if rock will spark is to try it but for a quick way to identify can you go by smell?

[dataphreak]

That bag in the video looks awesome! What is it called and what material is it made from?

[DudeitsGrafton]

Ha! Nice you were in Ohio when you were filming this? Which area was it? I live in Springfield Ohio.

[AnimaDiSpada]

Hi Dave... this is an odd (possibly dumb) question... I know we can knap Glass as a substitute for knapping flint/chert and Obsidian... but can you strike sparks off of glass/Obsidian?

[romenskie1990]

ewe

[jakef805]

it says of BHK webist that the bushcrafter is O1 tool steel. would that still work for making sparks?

[aseglkj]

great vid. do you know if it's possible to throw sparks off of a file or is that steel too hard?

btw, I've read that dual survival has been picked up for season 3. congrats! can't wait for new episodes.

[mark0hoke]

what kind of axe is that u have?

[papertoy1000]

your dave from duel survival i have quartz thats see throught will that work  please respond

[ManTheBush]

I found a piece of Iron Pyrite inside of a piece of chert I was knapping today, has anyone else found Pyrite inside chert before?

[jeffbengtson]

working with primitive tools sure makes you appreciate modern advancements, glad to have my magnesium flint

[Jmw312]

I live in the uk Loughborough and cannot find eney fing And l have look for ages

[shawtyshawts]

I live in Central Pennsylvania, there's a lot of quartz, but I have yet to find chert or flint. I have knapped before but using foreign obsidian and flint, along with the bottoms of glass bottles. Is it easier to scout for chert and flint in naturally occurring streams and not man made ones?

[JBladerMS]

Nice. There were a lot of quartz deposits in my old backyard. One time, i struck two pieces together, and they lit up!

[jmg1957]

thanks for sharing.jimbo

[leoarmy88]

when you burn wet wood it steams and pushes out the water inside. is it safe to drink that water or because it has been in the wood is there no point to try and collect that water?

[spudgebomb]

@leoarmy88

How would you collect the water? If you could condense it without also tainting it with the resin from the wood smoke, it would be safe to drink, I think, since it would technically be distilled. However, collecting the steam without collecting tar from woodsmoke could be challenging. You could lay it next to your fire, so that it steamed, but didn't actually burn, I guess. Would take a lot of wood to make a little water.

[leoarmy88]

@spudgebomb i notcied while sitting by the fire the sound of water dripping on to the hot coles of the fire i think if you had a metal cup you could position the log to give you space to catch the water it was a steady drip so i think with one log you could get maybe a half cup of water maybe less... but i think it is still worth a try....

[ROBwithaB]

Any tips for finding pyrite (or other iron-rich rocks) for rock-on-rock firestarting?

Have you had success with rock-on-rock firestarting?

[TheKodiak72]

Great video. i was worried living in Australia about finding Flint here. but hearing that Quarts will do a similair job, is great. Got a ton of it around my home since there are many old gold mines around my area.

[bubber25]

love the tips and help! just wondering in all your wilderness outings have you had any suspicion of big foot. i know when i was a kid in fort benning georgia i was deep out in the woods and i felt like something was watching me. the wilderness is really untreaded these days as people go about their dailys lives trying to make a buck to go buy crap they dont need. wish every piece of stinking land wasnt owned by some jackass so i could go exploring.

[zackrowe1]

haha and most of us probably know somethin about what a bb gun will do to a window and what it'll look like

[ArmyStinger150]

Great vid Dave, here in Central Texas we have lots of chert nodules and Quartz. I've been very successful with both. Keep the faith...Go Army!

[danielskipp1]

@muaythaifutbol

That throw em in the deep end idea might have a few benefits for a guy put into one fight after another... if he was not crippled quick.. which is likely! Generally it does not work in fighting.

In survival in the wild the idea has been tried by very very many people over 1000s of years. It does not work. 99% of people don't learn they just starve, thirst and die of exposure. Hence the need for passing on learnt survival culture.

Give thanks to our elders and ancestors

[Thedalley]

wow dave how long you been back ????

[STLmaniac6]

which rocks will make a spark when struck together?

[lone1sniper]

Great vid. If I need chert just have to walk out in my yard. Plenty of it here in Arkansas.

[mememan121]

hey dave i live in oregon so what would be my best bet

[509bruce]

thanks! i've wanted to see a video about this much appreicated and keep up the good work

[truecallin]

Hey Dave I was wondering what type of boots you are wearing? My leather boots are wearing at the toes due to being all leather and it seems if your boots have a rubber around that area.

[muddog1561]

Stainless steel will work, not as well as carbon but it will work.

[matt94lol]

is this the guy from duel survival?

[wildernessoutfitters]

@matt94lol Yes it is me brother!

[matt94lol]

@wildernessoutfitters sweet, can't wait for the new season, and responds to his own videos. what a guy

[Purrebark]

@wildernessoutfitters You're awesome for real :O

[Purrebark]

@wildernessoutfitters Greetings from sweden :)

[xbeast133]

@wildernessoutfitters You sir, are a badass. When does the new season start? I lie down in Florida, close to Alabama. Pensacola region. Where would I find flint? I've heard that it can be found around railroad tracks.

[oregonmikes]

@matt94lol That's our buddy Dave, I think he does some TV on the side. ;-)

[PHYSICALFLUIDITY]

@matt94lol yes

[hunt458]

Thanks for the excellent video Your explaination of the difference between flint and chert was bettter than I got from the internet and a geologist.

[NicholasKelley111]

Agate and harder varieties of jasper also work very well, prefer agate though. it sparks very well and is very abundant in my area.

[neuroleptika]

Remember that flint when striked releases very small and sharp particles that can go into your skin and even in your lungs and cause serious problems, it´s kind of like glass! I would suggest using a bandana to cover your motuh so you don´t inhale the particles, and of course long sleves and protective gloves wich you make sure to "dust off" (slamming them together for example) after the work with flint is finished. Just a tip.

[gater796]

Will a Mora SL 2 (which is laminated steel) throw sparks off of chert/ flint?? Anybody know or ever tried??

[danthman114]

obsidian works great too...

[TheDishD]

great info and great vid thank you sir, take care.

[graves1966]

thank you Dave

[MrBillTroop73]

Great video Dave!

So far, I have had good luck finding red chert, also known as Jasper.

[ARKSOLDIER7]

darn....well now i need a high carbon steel knife instead of my stainless steel

[gimepepe]

Is it possible to start a fire with just tinder and carbon steel and a flint (without charcloth I mean)

It is now to cold/whet around here to try it out for myself

[wildernessoutfitters]

@gimepepe Not very feasable as the Sparks from this method are a very low temp so you need something very combustable, Tinder Fungus would be the only other possibility other than chared material IMHO, unless you had a liquid excellerant

[gimepepe]

@wildernessoutfitters

Thanks Dave

I will try to find me a Tinder Fungus. (just for trying out)

meanwhile I just ordered your new book and dvd's I am sure they will be great!

[frhans1166]

@gimepepe now would be the time to practice if you can do it now then you would be able to in any weather dont wait till you might freeze to practice

[Jeenyus1983]

Good into Dave--I appreciate all the work you put in here on youtube--Tell Cody Lundin--that I'm building a house like his soon--You guys are hilarious--Thanks and God bless--

[markshmily]

Great video Dave.. thanks a bunch.

[ccsniper]

glad to see you Dave

[Supralobe]

Finding chert/flint that will spark is one thing, getting said sparks to ignite a fire is another story but doable with patience and better than average tinder. Too bad there aren't ferro rocks laying around.

[geraldlee33]

Hey Dave, Great video. I have not thought about making a video about this. I have been knapping for 10 years and do self reliance videos myself and you have blown my mind on this one. I really never thought of doing a video on that. Thanks Dave.

[wildernessoutfitters]

@geraldlee33 Thanks man!

[geraldlee33]

Hey Dave, Great video. I have not thought about making a video about this. I have been knapping for 10 years and do self reliance videos myself and you have brown my mind on this one. I really never thought of doing a video on that. Thanks Dave.

[adaman04]

Thanks for the vid Dave! What's that knife, BHK Bushcrafter?

[wildernessoutfitters]

@adaman04 Yes Sir

[ochuzas]

Very good video, my friend, very interesting.

Saludos.

[SNAFU111999]

Could i find flint by a lake in the midwest?

[crypter27]

I know how to spot quarts.

[flamedrag18]

well, I'm in a horrible area for flint, I'm in a mountain range that doesn't contain any limestone at all, just some gypsum, granite, ect.

really hard to find any form of chert or flint, but loads of quartz, gotta try it with local quartz since I've only used shipped in flint up to now.

[americangamefowl]

Great bit of education in this video. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. I was afraid that once you got started in Dual Survival, you might become too busy to do any youtube videos. I'm glad that I was wrong. Any word on when the new season of Dual Survival will start?

[wildernessoutfitters]

@americangamefowl 1st Quarter 2011 at this point.

[LivingHistorySchool]

4:45 concoidial fractures do not necessary mean its flint/chert/feldspar, although it is a helpful indicator , obsidian produces the best concoidial fractures but doesn't produce a spark

[wildernessoutfitters]

@LivingHistorySchool That is true brother although we dont have obsideon for several hundread miles here in Ohio. Guess I was talking Midwest. LOL

[FixedByDoc]

@LivingHistorySchool i still want some obsidian really bad to work with but like dave said we dont get much around here.

[LivingHistorySchool]

@FixedByDoc

where are you?

[FixedByDoc]

@LivingHistorySchool im in michigan U.P. havnt seen any round here...

[survivalgun]

OHIO

[jenn011754]

A good video, but I will remember to always have several Ferrocerium rods in my pack. LOL

[drumgodtim]

Dave...Thanks you so much for taking the time to respond to my post and for making this video. It is good to know, also, that I should not be freaked out if I try a piece of rock and it does not work for me easily. I need to keep trying different rocks and experimenting until I get something to work. I did not know that "flint" is not prevalent here in the US...you knowledge and willingness to share it is a wonderful gift to us Dave....THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

[janjericho123]

damnit i like your show and everything you do dave , and i would like to test this technic out for myself.

too bad there is no wilderness here in germany! :D

[LeonRFpoa]

@janjericho123 no? don't you guys have some mountains and stuff? No wilderness there?

[janjericho123]

@LeonRFpoa well in the region that i live in , there are a lot of forrests.

but these forrests are owned by someone and you are not really allowed to go in there and/or do anything.

[LeonRFpoa]

@janjericho123 That sucks!

[schachundmatt]

@LeonRFpoa We have woods, but you are only allowed to go in and ehhhhm, out. There's no fire making, no (wild) camping, no nothing, just walking ;o) Ok, you also can gather some fungi, but that's all.