I think it would be very hard to do that but point noted. I'll consider it when I decide on what to replace them with. I'm still playing with a few ideas.

I broke the scraper thing on my blast match. Not wanting to waste the sparking rod I used my dremmel to drill a small hole through one end and then fixed a wire loop through the hole. I then placed a mini d-ring through the wire to clip it to other gear and added a cut length of hacksaw blade through the wire as well.

It's handy to be able to clip it to stuff now, and I actually like it better than when it was in the plactic case.

That's not a bad idea...drilling a hole I mean. The handles on these fire steels are nice but completely not needed if you strike them a certain way...plus it makes them somewhat reversable which means more strikes. I don't think I'd mind dangling if it were just a little split ring.

I'd likely just use the LMF as the striker...put those serrations to good use.

Rather than use the serrations I'd suggest using the edge of the spine. Keep in mind the intense localized heat created by the firesteel will actually create deposits on the blade (I suspect these are actually small pieces of the blade re-welding themselves to the knife).

I recently used my Gerber LST folder (uncoated satin finish blade) to strike a firesteel and was absolutely convinced that I had ruined the knife -- the entire side of the blade appeared burned and sooty, and was very rough to the touch. Thankfully some scrubbing with an SOS pad cleaned it up.

Jim

Theres a little light show when drilling through the rod, but not as bad as you would think. If you want I can PM you a pic of my set up when I gets off of work. A picture is worth 1000 words and when you see it it will give you a better idea if it will work for you.




True, I like the extra half inch of striking space afforded by removing the handle as well. More length = more sparks

The spine on an LMF II is rounded a little and would be no good unless I filed it down.

A good point though. I've done this to stoves and such lighting them with a firesteel. What I might do is cut and tape a hacksaw blade and include it in this (for lack of a better term) kit. The Gerber Diesel has a wood saw but no metal saw...would compliment the set well and make a fine striker at the same time.

All it needs now is some cordage in case I ever want to lash the knife to a pole. I doubt I'd ever do it but it's designed for it so I might as well be prepared. Wrapping the sheath is out at this point. Maybe one of those paracord keychain box weave fob things? I could likely make one with my usual yellow accessory cord. It would give some extra grip in case I needed to choke down on the handle for chopping leverage.

three stout wood screws may do if space is an issue and assuming you have a wide enough pole. It may not be as strong as cordage but it all depends on what you intend on doing with your spear.

you will need a multi-tool in order to screw and un-screw the knife from the stick though.

This should be noted as a serious design flaw with the blast matches. This happened to me too <50 strikes probably too.

"...somehow folding pliers are more acceptable these days than any knife..."

That is a sad but true fact of life most places these days...

Well, I finally got around to registering for Photobucket, so I'll start posting some images as I find the time. Here's the "Do It All" setup that I use with my LMF II:



I ran one of the existing Gerber velcro straps (the upper one) through the belt loop of the Leatherman pouch, and then added a second velcro strap to the unused (center) slot of the LMF sheath. With these two straps the pouch is attached very securely, and does not move around whatsoever. For the half dozen or so people that haven't yet bought a Gerber LMF, here's what it looks like without the Leatherman (sans the two ridiculous snap straps for the handle of the knife):



The Leatherman is a Charge Al with the optional bit kit stored in the secondary sleeve of the pouch:



To attach the fire steel, I simply ran the lanyard that connects the striker to the fire steel under the Leatherman pouch, then tied it off to the fire steel with a small elastic ranger band (you can just see the cord lock of the lanyard on the opposite side of the LMF sheath in the first image). Like the Leatherman, the fire steel is very secure, yet can easily be removed when needed.

Jim