Looking at Josephs steel and imagining making one like that. then trying to explain to the police it was for making a fire and not in fact a knuckle duster. 
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The problem would be justifying the carrying of a fire steel in the town or city.
Possessing any object specifically for the purpose of self-defence, lethal or non-lethal, is a criminal offence in Australia.
Keith.
Just light harted banter and attempt at humor. Got to admit it looks very similar perhaps someone had one near during an altercation and improvised and the knuckle duster was born.
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Keith has demonstrated fire starting without steel and flint, by use of the bow, but don’t forget the old hand spinning of a sick either, slow, can be painful, but works. There is also the fire syringe, or fire pump. Essentially a hollow tube with a plunger, that when rapidly compressed heats air enough to start fine tinder smouldering. This was a common method for many centuries in some indigenous cultures before being “rediscovered” by Europeans in 1745, and patented in England around 1809. Was reasonably common in French houses before the invention of the safety match, Cheers.
Not sure how much you pay for them here and get ripped off. In Asia they are 10c and you get sometimes a good one and mostly not. Would never if I am going bush just rely on on of those always would pack a couple of pack of matches. In different spots at least one inside a ziplock bag.
Nah, I just have a lighter and couple of backups. Never had an issue.
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=bT4tAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=18th+century+shot+sizes&source=bl&ots=VLFzue4Snt&sig=U6JknT8A8RCxqZVSsJ0bGvNcdUU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw7-i4sPXeAhWBeysKHZ74D3Q4ChDoATAEegQIBhAB#v=onepage&q=18th%20century%20shot%20sizes&f=false
https://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2018/11/guns-stalking-horses.html
Keith.
Really is should be titled mobile hunting hide. Perhaps the Trojan Horse. The horse is good if the terrain is not flat to push your paper mache cow along and has the advantage of being self propelled. 
Goes to show as soon as hunting was thought of probably back to the stone age people have been devising ways to get the upper hand.
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This thread has started me on having a bit of a play with the making of fire in the old days. I am slowly making my way backwards. I have started by buying some of those Ferrocerium rods which I hope to mount in a Sambar antler somehow like a knife sheath in looking for those I also came upon some Magnesium Rods which finally arrived today. They are a neat little toy a rod 16mm * 90 very light and you just make shavings of it as fuel to generate a lot of heat to get your fire burning.
Next will be the old file as Kieth has suggested I will heat one up to red glowing and quench it in oil to see if I can get some extra carbon in it to make good sparks. Thanks Kieth been a good learning experience. I had it completely the wrong way around thinking it was the special stone that made the sparks.
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Please explain.
Like you I assumed it was the rod and not the steel that produced high volume and high temp sparks…
I just use a lighter.
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Haha… me too but still interested in the theory of how it works; only enough to ask to have it spoon fed to me, though! 
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sungazer
There was more but I think it may have got lost in the editing. Keith set me right
A tomahawk may not have a high enough content of carbon steel sungazer. The sparks are created by striking the steel, the rock shaves off tiny slithers of steel, these slithers of steel are the sparks. You can make a fire steel from a piece of broken metal file, files are high carbon steel.
Keith.
You are referring to a ferocerium rod Gwion, theses are falsely called fire steels, but they have nothing to do with flint & steel fire lighting.
My original 18th century fire steel or striker.
My tinderbox with tinder & flint.
A selection of fire steels & siliceous rocks.
Keith.
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What is it exactly that you want to know more about? How to make a fire steel?
https://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/search?q=flint+%26+steel+fire+lighting
You will need something to make fire. I suggest you make a fire-steel out of a piece of broken file. These items actually were used in the 18th century, either broken files were shaped by a blacksmith into a knife blade or a fire-steel, or the average person could use the broken piece to make a fire-steel as is.
This is one I made. I simply heated to cherry red in the fire, and let it cool slowly. Then I filed one edge smooth, heated to cherry red again and cooled it fast in water. It works very well, great shower of sparks.
https://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2010/06/part-2-of-getting-started-in-historical.html
Kieth I assume you put it in a wood fire until it was red to put more carbon into the steel. Like if you used an oxy acet torch to bring it to cherry red would not have the same effect?
Why the filing of one edge smooth?
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It does not matter how you heat it sungazer, wood fire or other means.
I file the striking edge smooth so that the serrations do not destroy the flint chard when it strikes the steel.
Keith.