One of a series of thirty-one fire-steels

[One of ] A Series of thirty-one Fire-steels (lengths of most 3 to 4 ins); all believed to be Scottish; similar in general to English steels, but on the whole more ornate (a result, no doubt, of former intercourse with France), the tang or tangs at back being more often and more ornamentally twisted or coiled; one type, having curious thumb-piece at top, represented by five examples (nos. 308-312) and unknown in England, was probably introduced from France or Flanders, where it occurs; another type, believed to be exclusively Scottish, and represented by two examples (nos. 313-314), is roughly rectangular, with a striking face on each edge, a pipe-pricker hinged on to one end, folding down into a groove on one side. Scotland.