I noticed pretty much the same thing with my scraper. While I'll probably wind up replacing it with a piece of hacksaw blade eventually, as a quick fix I put a much sharper edge on one side of the scraper by simply laying it on the belt sander for a few seconds. This led to greatly improved performance of the striker. Don't let this observation turn you off of the Magfire; it's an excellent product. I'm looking forward to getting the big ones in. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In addition to the other striker options listed here, utility knife blades also work. The spine is hard and sharp enough to scrape bountiful sparks, and the sharp side doubles as a backup sharps for shaving tinder or what-have-you. I've used this set-up many many times without cutting myself, but the squeamish or clumsy might want to cover the sharp edge with a piece of tape or use gloves.

It does require a bit of pressure to get a spark. I showed my Dad one of my new Magfires and (even though he should know better) he proceeded to scrape away with very little pressure and got no results. The goal is to actually remove a bit of material from the steel, so the edge of the scraper needs to "bite" into the surface a little.