Making Fire with Flint and Steel

When I was a boy and in scouts I was selected to demonstrate the art of starting a fire without matches. I did not do to well, no flame but I did make alot of smoke. Ever sense that night I have made fire from various ways that include flint, sun, & chemical. I taught a survival class in the army that included my fire making skills. I did tell my troops that the best was a BIC cigarette lighter tho. I have always demonstrated to my kids and grandkids the art of flint & steel. I have a fire starting kit to this day ready to demonstrate to anyone that I can talk into watching. Charred cloth seems to work best as tender, but it must be prepared and kept dry for the task. A new wrinkle that has came along is a magnesium match stick. Unfortunately, the magnesium is not necessarily as effective a tinder as you may be led to believe. While the flame from the magnesium shavings is extremely hot, this flame is also relatively short lived. Additionally, the magnesium scraping/shavings can be difficult to use as tinder in some circumstances because they are so light they tend to blow away with the slightest breeze. Moreover, scraping together a small pile can be difficult at times. So, the bottom line is that they work, but the magnesium tinder has some limitations that must be understood and dealt with. Charred cotton cloth seems to work best for me. To prepare char have a Ball quart canning jar. Light the cloth till a good flame is present, stuff it in the jar and twist the lid on tight locking out the outside air. When the fire (flame) goes out the black residue is your char an is ready for a spark. There are a few tricks to success but the fun will be learning for yourself. Have some fun and give it a try. Here are a few pages I found on the subject:
http://www.ragweedforge.com/striking.html
http://www.grannysstore.com/Wilderness_Survival/flintandsteel.htm
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/fire.html
There are lots more, Type "flint steel" (include the quotes)into Google.