Flint and steel sparks are nowhere near as hot as those coming off a ferro rod. There are only a few materials that will light with flint and steel without being charred. I don't know if drier lint is one of them (I don't think so), but in general, if you want your sparks to land; they have to drop onto something that has already been charred.
After a 10 year hiatus, I decided to get back into black powder shooting again. I have a Thompson Center Arms .50 cal. flint lock kit gun I built over 2 decades ago and a TVM .54 cal. Late Lancaster flint lock. Currently I am working on developing a hunting load for the T/C rifle. Yesterday, I...
Working Up A Hunting Load For T/C Arms Rifle Hawken Flint Lock Rfle.
A buddy of mine made a nice little bushcraft knife out of a 1095 carbon steel blank. Not sure what process he put it through as far as tempering and heat treating but I can't get it to throw sparks. I've tried English Flint, Chert and Quartz. Not a single spark from any of them. My WCF striker...
Carbon Steel Knife as a steel for a flint and steel? - Bushcraft USA Forums
Here is a steel striker that I made yesterday for a flint and steel kit. I have been making them from 1/4" coil springs from overhead doors. It is a pretty...
Also, a tip on flint and fero-rods. Flint cuts the metal. High carbon is grea for that and put the tinder (char cloth) above the flint because the sparks will fly up. With a fero-rod, the steel cuts the rod. Put the tinder under the metal, more like a target because the sparks fly down. I hope this is good info that youcan use.